How Many Times Do We Stop Being Children? An Analysis on the Social Representation of Children’s Autonomy

Abstract

The definition of the age range for childhood varies from one society to
another, and has often been used as evidence that childhood is a social
construction. The aim of this study is to analyse the collective
representation of these age limits and their relationship with the concept
of autonomy as constructed by public opinion in Spain. The latest
available data about attitudes towards childhood from the Spanish
Sociological Research Centre (CIS) were used, as well as CIS study 2621
on opinions, and attitudes to Childhood. Factorial analysis revealed a
series of components that we have called «autonomy factors». The main
conclusion is that public opinion understands childhood from an adultcentric
perspective as a complex sequence that includes different
temporal boundaries, ranging from an early age, where autonomy appears
as an expression of a private world under family authority; to others closer
to the age of majority, which include participation in the institutional
sphere and behaviour associated with youth leisure time.