Lo scopo del presente lavoro era di indagare alcuni aspetti della concettualizzazione dei bambini di stati di malessere e di benessere, stati che caratterizzano eventi positivi e negativi della loro vita quotidiana. La conoscenza della rappresentazione dei bambini di stati negativi e positivi può essere utile per stabilire le priorità in contesti educativi, al fine di una maggior consapevolezza dello stato interno di una persona, e per progettare adeguati interventi educativi. Molti studi si sono occupati della memoria dei bambini di eventi associati ad affetto negativo e positivo (Fivush, 1998), come modalità attraverso cui il bambino può creare significato e far fronte a tali esperienze, ma solo alcuni hanno confrontato direttamente la narrazione di eventi positivi e negativi (Fivush, Hazzard, McDermott Sales, Sarfati, e Brown, 2003). Comunque, questi studi non hanno indagato se le narrazioni di eventi negativi e positivi siano caratterizzate dal riferimento a stati fisici o psicologici. Inoltre, è stata indagata la concezione del bambino di stati fisici relativi a salute e malattia (Schmidt e Fröhling, 2000), ma non è stata confrontata direttamente la concezione di stati fisici rispetto a psicologici. Recentemente, è stata anche esaminata l’emergente capacità dei bambini di integrare il dominio fisico con quello psicologico (Notaro, Gelman, e Zimmerman, 2002), ma sono stati considerati solo stati negativi. Quindi, lo scopo generale di questo lavoro è stato quello di analizzare come bambini di diversa età differivano nel loro modo di rappresentare stati relativi a malessere e benessere. Uno degli interessi principali era di osservare se stati negativi e positivi erano concettualizzati come concetti simmetrici o asimmetrici. Inoltre, si voleva indagare l’abilità dei bambini di mettere in relazione aspetti appartenenti ai domini fisico e psicologico. Quindi, il focus degli studi ha riguardato l’abilità di bambini di 5, 7 e 9 anni di caratterizzare stati negativi e positivi in termini fisici e psicologici. A tal fine, nello studio 1 è stato esaminato come i bambini (N = 112) raccontavano eventi personali elicitati attraverso quattro etichette, legate a stati di malessere di tipo fisico (ammalarsi, farsi male), psicologico (rimanerci male) o generale (stare male); l’ultima etichetta lasciava liberi i bambini di scegliere se narrare un evento di tipo fisico o psicologico. Nello Studio 2, i bambini (N = 60) hanno raccontato sei eventi personali elicitati attraverso etichette associate a (a) eventi negativi (stare male) o positivi (stare bene) generali; (b) eventi negativi o positivi legati a malessere o benessere di tipo fisico o psicologico (stare male nel corpo, stare male dentro di sé, stare bene nel corpo, stare bene dentro di sé). Nello studio 3 (N = 60), la concezione dei bambini è stata ulteriormente indagata proponendo un compito basato su un tipo di conoscenza più astratta, chiedendo di definire espressioni linguistiche relative a stati negativi o positivi, e di fornire esempi corrispondenti a tali termini. In questi tre studi, i dati sono stati codificati secondo diverse dimensioni, tra cui il riferimento a stati fisici e psicologici, e la presenza di cause, descrizione dello stato e conseguenze. Infine, nello Studio 4 (N = 60) è stato indagato se i bambini erano in grado di identificare le dimensioni sottostanti a stimoli caratterizzati da diversa valenza (negativa, positiva) e dominio (fisico, psicologico). I risultati fanno luce sullo studio dell’asimmetria nella concezione dei bambini di malessere e benessere. Dalle informazioni relative alla salienza delle dimensioni sottostanti, sembra che la rappresentazione dei due concetti sia asimmetrica, in misura maggiore per i bambini più piccoli rispetto ai più grandi. I bambini più piccoli, infatti, si sono riferiti in maggior misura a stati fisici con il malessere che con il benessere. Per entrambi gli stati, invece, la rappresentazione dei bambini più grandi è risultata caratterizzata in misura maggiore da stati psicologici rispetto ai bambini più piccoli. Ciò indica sia una crescente abilità dei bambini di gestire aspetti di tipo psicologico, sia una maggior capacità di costruire una rappresentazione complessa di stati di malessere. Inoltre, la presenza di cause e conseguenze sia di tipo fisico che psicologico all’interno dello stesso evento o definizione suggerisce un’emergente capacità di mettere in relazione aspetti corporei e psicologici, che probabilmente risulta più saliente per il malessere. I risultati sono stati discussi anche nei termini dei vantaggi dell’uso di metodi naturalistici, come la narrazione di eventi personali, nell’indagine della rappresentazione sottostante a stati di malessere e di benessere.
The aim of this work was to investigate some aspects of children’s conceptualization of suffering and well-being, states which are implied in either negative or positive events in their daily life. Knowledge of children’s representation of negative and positive states can be useful to set priorities in educational contexts toward a greater awareness of one’s internal state and to design adequate prevention programs. Many studies dealt with children’s memory of events associated with negative and positive affect (Fivush, 1998) as a way for children to create meaning and cope with such experiences, but only a few compared directly the narratives of negative and positive events (Fivush, Hazzard, McDermott Sales, Sarfati, & Brown, 2003). However, these studies did not address the issue of whether children’s narratives of negative and positive events are related to either physical or psychological states. Moreover, children’s conception of physical negative states focusing on health and illness was investigated (Schmidt & Fröhling, 2000), but a comparison between a conception of physical vs. mental negative states was not drawn. Furthermore, children’s emerging ability to integrate physical and psychological domains was recently examined (Notaro, Gelman, & Zimmerman, 2002), but only negative states were considered. Thus, the general purpose of this work was to analyse how children of various ages differed in their way of representing states related to suffering and well-being. One of the main interests was to observe whether negative and positive states were conceptualized as symmetrical or asymmetrical concepts. Moreover, we aimed at investigating children’s ability to interrelate aspects belonging to physical and psychological domains. So, we focused on 5-, 7- and 9-year-old children’s ability to characterize negative and positive states in physical and psychological terms. In Study 1 this issue was addressed by examining how children (N = 112) narrated personal events associated with negative states, prompted by four different labels, linked either to physical (to fall ill, to get hurt), psychological (to feel let down) or general suffering (to feel bad); the last label allowed children to freely choose to narrate either a physical or psychological event. In Study 2, children (N = 60) narrated six personal events prompted by labels linked to (a) negative (to feel bad) or positive (to feel good) experiences; (b) negative or positive experiences associated with physical or psychological domain (to feel bad in the body, to feel bad inside, to feel good in the body, to feel good inside). In Study 3 (N = 60), children’s conception was further explored by proposing a task based on a more abstract kind of knowledge, asking to define linguistic expressions referring to negative or positive internal states, and to give examples related to them. In these studies, data were coded according to different dimensions, among which reference to physical and psychological states, and presence of causes, description of the state, consequences. Finally, in Study 4 we investigated whether children (N = 60) were able to identify dimensions underlying stimuli characterized by different affective tone (negative, positive) and domain (physical, psychological). Findings shed some light regarding the study of asymmetry in children’s conceptions of suffering and well-being. From the information concerning the salience of the domain, a more marked tendency toward asymmetry appears to characterize the younger children compared to the older ones. The former children invoke physical states more often when thinking about negative states than when dealing with positive states. Nine-year-olds’ representation of negative states was more frequently characterized by psychological aspects compared to younger children, for both states. This result could underline children’s growing ability either to deal with psychological aspects or to build a more complex concept of negative states. Moreover, the presence of both physical and psychological causes and consequences within the same event and definition seems to suggest an initial ability to interrelate body and mind states, probably more salient for negative events. Results are discussed also in terms of advantages of naturalistic methods, such as narration of personal events, on investigating the representation underlying negative and positive states in children.
Stati di malessere e di benessere: cosa ne pensano i bambini?
RACCANELLO, Daniela
2005-01-01
Abstract
The aim of this work was to investigate some aspects of children’s conceptualization of suffering and well-being, states which are implied in either negative or positive events in their daily life. Knowledge of children’s representation of negative and positive states can be useful to set priorities in educational contexts toward a greater awareness of one’s internal state and to design adequate prevention programs. Many studies dealt with children’s memory of events associated with negative and positive affect (Fivush, 1998) as a way for children to create meaning and cope with such experiences, but only a few compared directly the narratives of negative and positive events (Fivush, Hazzard, McDermott Sales, Sarfati, & Brown, 2003). However, these studies did not address the issue of whether children’s narratives of negative and positive events are related to either physical or psychological states. Moreover, children’s conception of physical negative states focusing on health and illness was investigated (Schmidt & Fröhling, 2000), but a comparison between a conception of physical vs. mental negative states was not drawn. Furthermore, children’s emerging ability to integrate physical and psychological domains was recently examined (Notaro, Gelman, & Zimmerman, 2002), but only negative states were considered. Thus, the general purpose of this work was to analyse how children of various ages differed in their way of representing states related to suffering and well-being. One of the main interests was to observe whether negative and positive states were conceptualized as symmetrical or asymmetrical concepts. Moreover, we aimed at investigating children’s ability to interrelate aspects belonging to physical and psychological domains. So, we focused on 5-, 7- and 9-year-old children’s ability to characterize negative and positive states in physical and psychological terms. In Study 1 this issue was addressed by examining how children (N = 112) narrated personal events associated with negative states, prompted by four different labels, linked either to physical (to fall ill, to get hurt), psychological (to feel let down) or general suffering (to feel bad); the last label allowed children to freely choose to narrate either a physical or psychological event. In Study 2, children (N = 60) narrated six personal events prompted by labels linked to (a) negative (to feel bad) or positive (to feel good) experiences; (b) negative or positive experiences associated with physical or psychological domain (to feel bad in the body, to feel bad inside, to feel good in the body, to feel good inside). In Study 3 (N = 60), children’s conception was further explored by proposing a task based on a more abstract kind of knowledge, asking to define linguistic expressions referring to negative or positive internal states, and to give examples related to them. In these studies, data were coded according to different dimensions, among which reference to physical and psychological states, and presence of causes, description of the state, consequences. Finally, in Study 4 we investigated whether children (N = 60) were able to identify dimensions underlying stimuli characterized by different affective tone (negative, positive) and domain (physical, psychological). Findings shed some light regarding the study of asymmetry in children’s conceptions of suffering and well-being. From the information concerning the salience of the domain, a more marked tendency toward asymmetry appears to characterize the younger children compared to the older ones. The former children invoke physical states more often when thinking about negative states than when dealing with positive states. Nine-year-olds’ representation of negative states was more frequently characterized by psychological aspects compared to younger children, for both states. This result could underline children’s growing ability either to deal with psychological aspects or to build a more complex concept of negative states. Moreover, the presence of both physical and psychological causes and consequences within the same event and definition seems to suggest an initial ability to interrelate body and mind states, probably more salient for negative events. Results are discussed also in terms of advantages of naturalistic methods, such as narration of personal events, on investigating the representation underlying negative and positive states in children.
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