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

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 adult-centric 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.