Children’s near-death experiences: A narrative review and future directions for investigating near-death experiences with children.
Donna Thomas, Graeme O’Connor
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice March 30, 2026 DOI: 10.1037/cns0000465 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Narrative review Perspective graphical Theme computing Work physics Epistemology |
| Key findings | Children's near-death experiences are understudied, with few direct studies and no clear research direction, yet children may be a crucial cohort for investigating consciousness at death. |
Abstract
In comparison to adults, little is known about children's near-death experiences (NDEs).A review of the literature shows a scarcity of studies that directly involve children and an absence of direction for this area of work.This presents challenges for researchers who want to develop studies with children and generate more knowledge around the NDE.From a phenomenological perspective, children may be a crucial cohort for the investigation of consciousness at the time of death and they should be included more in fields such as NDE and Consciousness studies.This article aims to address this paucity in evidence by performing a literature review of studies on children's NDEs and proposes some future directions for involving children in near-death research.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distressing Near-Death Experiences | 1992 | Review | |
| Attitude Change Following Near-Death Experiences Individuals who have had near-death experiences | 1980 | Review | n = 21 |
| Near-death experiences. | 2004 | Review | |
| The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences | 2009 | Review | |
| Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors | 2005 | Review |