The Draw-A-Person: group differences among individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Tourette Syndrome, and normal controls

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the differences among the human figure drawings (HFDs) of individuals diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Tourette Syndrome (TS), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Normal Controls. Males and females (N=161), ranging in age from 7.0 to 58.9 years, diagnosed with OCD, TS, ADHD, and individuals with no diagnosis were administered the Draw-A-Person (DAP; Machover, 1949), a human figure drawing task. Analyses were conducted to evaluate relationships between several variables: sex of participant, age, detail, emotional indicators, symptom severity, and sex of figure drawn. Results provided support for the hypothesis that males would draw a same sex figure more often than females, and that males would include more anxiety indicators than females. Results also provided support for the hypothesis that younger participants would include more unusual characteristics in HFDs, although the variance explained was minimal. The hypothesis that symptom severity would influence HFD characteristics was not supported, nor was the hypothesis that sex of participant would influence inclusion of detail. Several of the regression analyses of the smaller clinical groups were statistically significant, yet these results should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of cases used for the analysis.