Human Figure Drawing Test : Validity in Assessing Intel ligence in Children Aged 3-10 Years
RATANOTAI PLUBRUKARN, MD, MHPEd*, SOMCHIT THEERAMANOPARP, BSc, MSc**
Affiliation : * Pediatric Department, ** Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
Objectives : To evaluate whether the Goodenough-Barris human drawing test is valid to classify intelligence in children aged 3-10 years.
Materials and Methods : Record files of 528 children aged between 3 -10 years who had attended the Child and Adolescent Unit at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health (Children's Hospital), Bangkok, Thailand from January 1999 to December 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion criteria included: 1) performing the human figure drawing test and standard intelligence tests on the same day and 2) diagnoses were addressed.
Results :The ages of the children ranged from 3 10 years to 10 11 years with a mean age / / 12 12 of 7 9 years, 49.5 per cent were males and 50.5 per cent were female. The study group was diag / 12 nosed as pervasive development disorder 17 per cent, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 13 per cent, and mental retardation 11.3 per cent. Overall correlation of full scale intellectual quotient (FSIQ) from the standard intelligence test and standard scores on the Goodenough-Barris system was 0.813 (p < 0.01 ). The overall validity of the human figure drawing test in classified correct intellectual level was 60.8 per cent but in children with an intellectual quotient (IQ) less than 70, the correct classifi cation was 69.2 per cent. After stratification by age, it was found that the human figure drawing test had validity in predicting IQ below 70 in 88.7 per cent and 68.8 per cent of children aged< 6 years and aged> 6 years respectively.
Conclusion : The human figure drawing test can be used as an additional measure of assess ing intelligence in young children but it should not be substituted for standard tests. The test is not complicated, therefore, trained personnel can use it in combination with other screening tests for cogni tive development in children.
Keywords : Human Figure Drawing Test, Validity, Intelligence, Children Aged 3-10 Years
