“Farbror Lárus, Stefáns pappa, är inte han min bror?”: Hur utvecklas barns begrepp om familjerelationer?

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This is a comparative study of Icelandic and Danish children's acquisition of kinship concepts. Three factors: age, cognitive development and language were hypothesized to influence this acquisition. A structured interview about kinship relations was given to 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old Icelandic children (n=120) and 4-, 6-, and 8-year-old Danish children (n-88). The children were asked about kinship relations in three generations of their own family (based on information obtained from their parents) and about three generations in an doll family. Results, based on statistical as well as qualitative analysis, confirm the role of cognitive development. The logical properties of kinship concepts are constructed gradually in the direction of growing decentration from the child's own reference point as measured in generations and familiarity. Three qualitatively different levels were established, corresponding approximately to ages 4, 6, and 8 years old. The hypothetical influence of language on conceptual development was not found; transparently encoded linguistic information about certain kinship relations available to the children in their natural environment does not seem to facilitate the children's acquisition of these relations. On the other hand, there were interesting indications of the role played by the more globally-defined culturel context. The results support constructivist and interactionist theories of conceptual development in children.