Suicidal, aggressive, and normal children's perception of personal and impersonal death

Tested the assumption that young children's suicidal behavior is connected to their concept of death. An additional objective was to explore whether distortions in the concept of death stem from limitations in cognitive functioning or from a defensive process. The sample consisted of 21 Ss in three equal groups of suicidal, aggressive, and normal children, ages 10-12. The variables of socioeconomic status, cultural background, and intelligence were controlled. The children were asked to respond to questions about impersonal death (the death of others) and personal death (one's own death). The results indicated that the three groups differed mainly in regard to the personal death concept. Suicidal children attributed the cause of death to suicide and referred to life after death and to resurrection more often than the other groups. Both normal and aggressive children emphasized the finality and irreversibility of death. However, normal children attributed the cause of death to natural processes, while aggressive children referred to brutality as a main cause of death. It is concluded that the suicidal children's view of death could facilitate suicidal behavior and that it should be a subject for concern in the treatment of such children.