ABSTRACT

Objective:

Human Figure Drawings is a frequently used instrument by psychologists, especially child psychologists. When we consider the graduate level courses in clinical psychology on assesment in Turkey it leads us to believe that the situation is similar in Turkey. However studies looking at the validity of these system in Turkish culture are lacking. In this study the frequency of observing Emotional Indicators as scored by the Koppitz system and the effects of sex and school type on these scores were investigated.

Method:

471 children were administered human Figure Drawings individually. 233 of these were boys, while 238 were girls. 240 came from private schools in an affluent area, while 231 children were from public schools in an impoverished area. The drawings were scored with the Koppitz system on both Developmental scores and Emotional Indicators.

Results:

When Emotional Indicator frequencies were analyzed it was found that for ages 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 some of the Emotional Indicators established by Koppitz were found to occur withfrequencies higher than 15% in this sample. When comparisons were made based on sex and school type, it was observed that girls and children in private schools showed fewer Emotional Indicators. There was an interaction effect of age and school type.

Discussion:

The clinical meaning of these findings was discussed. It was pointed out that clinical use of this test that disregards these social and gender effects may well lead to “false positive” errors.