Children's drawings as a self-report measurement

The present exploratory paper addresses school-aged children's assessments of treatment outcomes using drawing as a self-report measure with usefulness for assessment and therapy. The process of using drawing in therapy can provide information on how a particular child perceives and conceives his or her own world. Examples are presented of drawings by three children with oppositional defiant disorder aged 10–11 years who participated in group intervention aiming to reduce aggressive behaviour. All three were asked to draw themselves twice on the same day at the end of treatment: (1) a retrospective drawing of themselves as they had been at the beginning of intervention; and (2) a drawing of themselves as they were now, after intervention. Children then described what they had drawn, revealing the change they perceived. Drawing as a self-report measure added information regarding: the child's ability for self-awareness; the link between thoughts, emotions and behaviours; and the process of change.