Children's Near-death Experiences Research Articles

Exploring near death experiences with children post intensive care: A case series

Near death experiences (NDEs) can occur during life-threatening events. In this article, we present preliminary findings from a case study series. We highlight experiences of children that are synchronous with the basic elements of near death experiences (NDEs) and discuss how children describe their own experiences. Children reported unsolicited NDE type experiences that included out of body experiences, bright lights, bedside visions, bi-location and visiting celestial places. The aim of the article is to show that children are an important research population for the study of near-death experiences. Children's near-death experiences are simple and carry transcendental features such as a peaceful darkness, a knowing awareness and time alterations. Children assign a subjective reality to their near-death experiences. Younger children may demonstrate a visual NDE semiosis which warrants further investigation. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the value for involving children in NDE research through participatory and creative research methods.

Guest Editorial: Children and the Near-Death Phenomenon: Another Viewpoint

"Children who brush death, nearly die, or who are pronounced clinically dead but later revive have a much higher incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs) than do adults. Although excellent research now exists on children's cases, there have been discrepancies. I suggest that we need to broaden the range of observations on children's NDEs and reconsider what is known about children and the near-death phenomenon" (abstract).

Adults' Reports of the Role of Psychotherapy in Integrating Their Childhood Near-Death Experiences: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract: The Purpose of the exploratory research was to learn if adults who had childhood near-death experiences (NDEs) sometime between pre-birth to age 17 years had psychotherapy and if they believed it helped them achieve psychological integration of their NDEs. Participants completed three instruments: the NDE Scale (Greyson, 1990), the author-developed Childhood NDE and Psychotherapy Questionnaire, and the three Subjective and Psychological Well-Being Scales (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2008). Of 29 respondents, 23 met the NDE Scale criteria for an NDE. Results for the 15 (67%) who had engaged in psychological integration of NDE's and more positive emotional feelings (r = .77, p .10). The psychotherapy factors identified by participants as successful i helping them process and integrate their NDE's included having a therapist who accepted the NDE as real and validated the experience and who helped the NDEr express thoughts and feelings about, explore the meaning of, and resolve any guilt around the NDE. Results supported the idea that psychological integration of NDEs is related to subjective and psychological wellbeing, and the provided clues about features of psychotherapy that might promote NDE integration. Limitations of the study, implications of results for psychotherapeutic interventions, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Book Review: Closer to the Light: Learning from Children's Near-Death Experiences

Review of the book "Closer to the Light: Learning from Children's Near-Death Experiences" by scientist Melvin Morse with Paul Perry.

Book Review: Children of the New Millenium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind

Reviews of the books "Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind" and "Subtext for Children of the New Millennium," both by researcher P. M. H. Atwater.

Book Review: Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind

Reviews of the books "Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind" and "Subtext for Children of the New Millennium," both by researcher P. M. H. Atwater.

Adults' reports of the role of psychotherapy in integrating their childhood near-death experiences: A preliminary investigation.

The Purpose of the exploratory research was to learn if adults who had childhood near-death experiences (NDEs) sometime between pre-birth to age 17 years had psychotherapy and if they believed it helped them achieve psychological integration of their NDEs. Participants completed three instruments: the NDE Scale (Greyson, 1990), the author-developed Childhood NDE and Psychotherapy Questionnaire, and the three Subjective and Psychological Well-Being Scales (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2008). Of 29 respondents, 23 met the NDE Scale criteria for an NDE. Results for the 15 (67%) who had engaged in psychological integration of NDE's and more positive emotional feelings (r = .77, p < .01) and fewer negative emotions (r = -.84, p < .01). The correlation between psychological integration of NDE and success with a small effect (r = .16, p > .10). The psychotherapy factors identified by participants as successful i helping them process and integrate their NDE's included having a therapist who accepted the NDE as real and validated the experience and who helped the NDEr express thoughts and feelings about, explore the meaning of, and resolve any guilt around the NDE. Results supported the idea that psychological integration of NDEs is related to subjective and psychological wellbeing, and the provided clues about features of psychotherapy that might promote NDE integration. Limitations of the study, implications of results for psychotherapeutic interventions, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Book Review Children of the new millennium: Children's near-death experiences and the evolution of humankind, by P. M. H. Atwater

Reviews of the books "Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind" and "Subtext for Children of the New Millennium," both by researcher P. M. H. Atwater.

Book Review: Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind, by P.M.H. Atwater. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1999, 288 pp, $14.00 pb

Reviews of the books "Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind" and "Subtext for Children of the New Millennium," both by researcher P. M. H. Atwater.

Book Review: Children of the New Millennium: Children' Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind, by P.M.H. Atwater. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1999, 288 pp, $14.00 pb

Reviews of the books "Children of the New Millennium: Children's Near-Death Experiences and the Evolution of Humankind" and "Subtext for Children of the New Millennium," both by researcher P. M. H. Atwater.

Book Review Children of the new millennium: Children's near-death experiences and the evolution of humankind, by P. M. H. Atwater

Book Review Children of the new millennium: Children's near-death experiences and the evolution of humankind, by P. M. H. Atwater

Children and the near-death phenomenon: Another viewpoint.

"Children who brush death, nearly die, or who are pronounced clinically dead but later revive have a much higher incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs) than do adults. Although excellent research now exists on children's cases, there have been discrepancies. I suggest that we need to broaden the range of observations on children's NDEs and reconsider what is known about children and the near-death phenomenon" (abstract).

Review of the book Closer to the light: Learning from children's near-death experiences, by M. Morse, with P. Perry

Review of the book Closer to the light: Learning from children's near-death experiences, by M. Morse, with P. Perry

Closer to the light: Learning from children's near-death experiences, by Melvin Morse with Paul Perry

Closer to the light: Learning from children's near-death experiences, by Melvin Morse with Paul Perry

A comparison of retrospective accounts of childhood near-death experiences with contemporary pediatric near-death experience accounts

I compared five childhood near-death experiences (NDEs) reported by adults and another five NDEs reported by minors, in terms of Ring's five NDE stages, Greyson's four NDE components, Moody and Perry's 12 NDE traits, Sabom's 16 general characteristics, and Gallup and Proctor's 10 basic positive experiences. In this combined pool of 47 NDE characteristics (which were interdependent), only two relating to time sense showed significant differences between the adults' retrospective reports of childhood NDEs and the children's contemporary NDE reports, and that number of differences would be expected by chance. This study therefore supports the claims of previous researchers that adults' retrospective reports of childhood NDEs are not embellished or distorted.

A comparison of retrospective accounts of childhood near-death experiences with contemporary pediatric near-death experience accounts.

A comparison of retrospective accounts of childhood near-death experiences with contemporary pediatric near-death experience accounts.

A near-death experience at birth

Abstract The near-death experience literature includes many accounts of adults who have had near-death experiences as adults or when they were children. The literature also reveals a few accounts of children reporting on their childhood near-death experiences. But the literature does not contain a single case of a near-death experience happening at birth, until the reporting of this case. Not only is this case interesting because it is a birth near-death experience, recalled through the medium of dreams, but because the respondent was born in the Philippines, adding cross-cultural validation to the phenomenon of the near-death experience. This is something the literature has called for in the past. Additionally, unlike the vast majority of near-death experiences, this one had a negative affective quality to it, which is discussed in detail through the use of Grey's typology of negative near-death experiences.

A Pediatric Near-Death Experience: Tunnel Variants

A paucity of literature exists for pediatric near-death experiences with only thirteen cases reported thus far. Morse and his colleagues have called for additional well-documented cases to further our knowledge of children's near-death experiences. The present case study is of a boy who had an NDE due to nearly drowning when he was seven years old. Besides adding to the sparse pediatric NDE population, this case presents a variation of the tunnel experience not before reported in either the adult or the pediatric NDE literature. Instead of seeing deceased friends or relatives or sensing a presence while in the tunnel, this boy was comforted by two of his family's pets who had died prior to the near-drowning incident.

Childhood near-death experiences.

We nonselectively interviewed 11 patients aged 3 through 16 years who had survived critical illnesses, including cardiac arrests and profound comas. Any memory of a time they were unconscious was considered to be a near-death experience (NDE) and was recorded. Seven of these children had memories that included being out of the physical body (six patients), entering darkness (five patients), being in a tunnel (four patients), and deciding to return to the body (three patients). We also interviewed 29 age-matched survivors of illnesses that required intubation, narcotics, benzodiazepines, and admission to an intensive care unit. None of them had any memories of the time they were unconscious. In our study population, NDEs were clearly associated with surviving a critical illness. The elements of NDEs reported are similar to those previously described in adults. No children described elements of depersonalization as part of their NDEs. A core NDE, triggered by the process of dying or resuscitation efforts, may be a natural developmental experience. We present a neurophysiologic hypothesis as to the cause of NDEs.