A comparison of kinetic family drawing indicators in intact and divorced children

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA. in family counseling, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran

2 Assistant professor, Department of educational sciences, counseling and guidance, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Projective techniques such as drawing tests to detect psychiatric disorders in children have attracted the attention of many psychologists and therapists. This study aimed to compare the drawing indices of Kinetic Family Drawing Test in intact and divorced children.
Materials and Methods: The sample of this descriptive study consisted of 60 subjects (30 intact boy children and 30 divorced boy children) in the city of Bojnord in April and May 2015. Divorced children were selected purposefully and multi-stage. After studying their files, teacher and principal participation, 30 intact children were all homogenized based on their age, gender, educational level, parent’s educational background and socio-economic level, and living condition. Children's drawings were rated by three trained raters, who were kept intentionally unaware of   the participants’ group membership, based on test scoring guidelines. The data were analyzed via two-way Chi-sqaure test using SPSS software version 22.
Results:According to the test results, the 26 signs Kinetic Family Drawing Test, the frequency of 16 symptoms between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The rest of the symptoms were not significantly different (P>0.05).
Conclusion: According to the significant difference between the symptoms of mental problems (depression, anxiety, aggression and interpersonal relationships of family members) of the two groups in this test and its high differential power in the diagnosis of mental problems among intact and divorced children, the test can be used to identify and diagnose mental problems of these children in schools and counseling clinics by early identification and timely treatment  to prevent children from  bad and destructive effect in the future.

Keywords

Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 18, Issue 6
November and December 2016
Pages 329-337

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