Learning Objective #1: Understand the way young children perceive unexpected death

Learning Objective #2: Understand how a child's growth and developmental stage impacts his/her grief process

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An unanticipated outgrowth of a quasi-experimental study investigating the effect of children's (n=81) audiotaped storybooks on expressive and receptive vocabulary development, children in the control group (ages 3 ˝ -6 years) expressed themselves in a nonliteracy-related activity, through the medium of art. It was during the data collection and standardized post-testing phase of the study that the national tragedy of September 11th occurred. Surprisingly, perceptions of death in reaction to this national disaster were expressed by many children assigned by stratified random sampling to the placebo control group, via their drawings. Their artwork was later examined in relation to the theoretical frameworks of Piaget and John Bowlby . It has been questioned whether children have the cognitive and emotional ability to understand death and experience mourning. Historically, children's bereavement reactions have been debated and questioned. This study's creative outlet allowed children to express their feelings in a non-threatening, imaginative environment. Studying the drawings, children's grief manifestations included shock, loneliness, anxiety, worry, and fantasy regarding the permanence of death. Results reflected egocentricity as youngsters interpreted the tragedy against a backdrop of animism and magical thinking, and in terms of self and their immediate experiences with death. This research highlights how any study can yield unexpected results different than the initial focus. Specifically, it emphasizes childrens' struggle to comprehend the sadness around them and their view of death as being a temporary and reversible phenomenon.