TY - JOUR
T1 - Children’s drawings as a projective tool to explore and prevent experiences of mistreatment and/or sexual abuse
AU - Ballús, Elisabeth
AU - Comelles, Ma Carmen
AU - Pasto, Ma Teresa
AU - Benedico, Paula
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Ballús, Comelles, Pasto and Benedico.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Reality shows us that situations of mistreatment and sexual abuse in childhood are still seldom visible, despite their high prevalence around the world. It is essential to detect and address them, especially among children in situations of dire risk or neglect. The purpose of this study is to determine if graphic emotional indicators are expressed in the drawings of the projective Draw-a-Person (D.A.P) test, made by children in situations of dire risk or neglect. The sample is made up of 34 children, between the ages of 5 and 11 (17 girls and 17 boys), attended by Specialised Child and Adolescent Care Services of the Barcelona Town Hall (Spain). The drawings were coded quantitatively. The results indicated that most of the drawings show a frequency of graphic emotional indicators, as well as graphic indicators common to experiences of mistreatment and/or abuse, which confirm the existence of emotional problems. However, no significant differences based on gender and age were found, except for one indicator of sexual abuse (body omitted/distorted), which is significantly more common in the boys. Results also revealed that the drawings of human figure enable the children to express their experiences of traumatic situations which are difficult to verbalize. These findings have important implications for professionals, as the use of this projective technique can help to early identification and design treatment strategies in situations of mistreatment and/or abuse in children and their families.
AB - Reality shows us that situations of mistreatment and sexual abuse in childhood are still seldom visible, despite their high prevalence around the world. It is essential to detect and address them, especially among children in situations of dire risk or neglect. The purpose of this study is to determine if graphic emotional indicators are expressed in the drawings of the projective Draw-a-Person (D.A.P) test, made by children in situations of dire risk or neglect. The sample is made up of 34 children, between the ages of 5 and 11 (17 girls and 17 boys), attended by Specialised Child and Adolescent Care Services of the Barcelona Town Hall (Spain). The drawings were coded quantitatively. The results indicated that most of the drawings show a frequency of graphic emotional indicators, as well as graphic indicators common to experiences of mistreatment and/or abuse, which confirm the existence of emotional problems. However, no significant differences based on gender and age were found, except for one indicator of sexual abuse (body omitted/distorted), which is significantly more common in the boys. Results also revealed that the drawings of human figure enable the children to express their experiences of traumatic situations which are difficult to verbalize. These findings have important implications for professionals, as the use of this projective technique can help to early identification and design treatment strategies in situations of mistreatment and/or abuse in children and their families.
KW - childhood mistreatment
KW - childhood sexual abuse (CSA)
KW - children’s drawings
KW - psychometric properties
KW - the projective Draw-a-Person (D.A.P.)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149755836&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1002864
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1002864
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85149755836
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 14
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
M1 - 1002864
ER -