New methodological directions for involving children in past life memories research

Past life memories in children have been studied extensively through standard qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Research to date has produced valuable data to support how we understand children's past life memories. Children are the primary source for data collection in past life research, as the producers/facilitators of memories. Despite this, children tend to be researched on rather than with, through adult-centric approaches. In this article, we include a case study example of spontaneous past life and in-utero memories of a 6-year old child. The case study example is taken from a parent study, 'Investigating Extra Sensory Experiences of Children from Various Cultural Backgrounds'. Through the article, we demonstrate how using creative research methods and sensory ethnography can generate important knowledge from children about their own past life memories. We include results from the parent study that show past life memory data from children, parents and professionals. We propose involving children as active agents in past life memory research and argue for new directions in the field of PLM through creative and child-friendly research.

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Publication Details

Journal
EXPLORE
Published
2025-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2025.103283
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Identity, Memory, and Therapy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.44

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article

New methodological directions for involving children in past life memories research

Shumaila Sharif, Keith Allan, Donna Thomas, Elaine Rycroft
1 citations
EXPLORE
Identity, Memory, and Therapy
3.44
article

New methodological directions for involving children in past life memories research

Shumaila Sharif, Keith Allan, Donna Thomas, Elaine Rycroft
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Past life memories in children have been studied extensively through standard qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Research to date has produced valuable data to support how we understand children's past life memories. Children are the primary source for data collection in past life research, as the producers/facilitators of memories. Despite this, children tend to be researched on rather than with, through adult-centric approaches. In this article, we include a case study example of spontaneous past life and in-utero memories of a 6-year old child. The case study example is taken from a parent study, 'Investigating Extra Sensory Experiences of Children from Various Cultural Backgrounds'. Through the article, we demonstrate how using creative research methods and sensory ethnography can generate important knowledge from children about their own past life memories. We include results from the parent study that show past life memory data from children, parents and professionals. We propose involving children as active agents in past life memory research and argue for new directions in the field of PLM through creative and child-friendly research.

EXPLOREVol. 22(1)
University of Lancashire (GB)
Fundação Bial
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Identity, Memory, and Therapy
3.44
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