Children's Representations of “Everyday” Aspects of Health and Illness

Abstract

Moving beyond a focus on children's conceptions of causation, the study sought to (a) identify and evaluate additional dimensions along which young children's conceptions of illness might be organized and (b) to discover how young children also understand health concepts related to nutrition and routine preventive medical examination. 27 healthy preschool children, ages 4-6 were interviewed about their conceptions of common illness, knowledge of basic nutrition, and understanding of medical procedures and instruments associated with a standard pediatric examination. The findings demonstrated that children understand five characteristics of illness representations, which have also been identified in adults. They include causation, identity, consequence, time line, and cure. Associations among illness dimensions, concepts of nutrition, and knowledge about routine medical examinations were also found and are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.