Death Education: A Comparison of two Programs for Mothers of Young Children

Abstract

The study compared two death education programs for mothers (N = 90) of young children. Pre- and post-test scores on the State-Anxiety Scale and researcher-designed instruments that included the Children's Questions About Death Scale (CQADS) and Future Plans Inventory (FPI) were compared. Mothers in both the Didactic and Didactic-Experiential programs scored significantly higher than the Control group in their level of effectiveness in responding to children's questions, but the two treatment groups did not significantly differ from each other. Neither the Didactic Death Education nor the Didactic-Experiential Death Education programs significantly affected mothers' anxiety before responding to children's questions about death. Post hoc analyses suggested trends relating subject characteristics to mother's level of effectiveness in responding to a child's questions about death.

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