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Journal of Pediatric Psychology 19(1) pp. 91-101, 1994
© 1994 Society of Pediatric Psychology

research-article

Beliefs About Illness Causality Among Preschoolers with Cancer: Evidence Against Immanent Justice

Ken Springer1

Southern Methodist University

1All correspondence should be sent to Ken Springer, Southern Methodist University, Department of Psychology, Dallas, Texts 75275-0442

Evaluated whether preschoolers with cancer are more or less likely than their healthy counterparts to consider illness a form of punishment for misdeeds (immanent justice). It was found that a sample of preschoolers with cancer (n = 17) rejected immanent justice as a general cause of illness, both in themselves and in others, just as frequently as healthy controls (n = 17). Both groups also rejected immanent justice in cases where misbehavior was prolonged. Children with cancer demonstrated a view of illness causality based on greater differentiation between themselves and other people, in that they were more likely than healthy controls to accept immanent justice as a cause of illness in themselves but not others, and vice versa. Finally, nearly all of the children with cancer who accepted immanent justice as a general cause of illness in themselves also attributed their cancer specifically to immanent justice

Key words: immanent justice; cancer; beliefs about illness; illness causality.


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