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The Use of Children's Drawings in the Evaluation and Treatment of Child Sexual, Emotional, and Physical Abuse
Linda W. Peterson, PhD;
Milton Hardin, MA;
Monica J. Nitsch, MD
Arch Fam Med. 1995;4(5):445-452.
Abstract
Primary care physicians can be instrumental in the initial identification of potential sexual, emotional, and physical abuse of children. We reviewed the use of children's artwork as a method of communicating individual and family functioning. A quantitative method of analyzing children's artwork provides more reliability and validity than some methods used previously. A new scoring system was developed that uses individual human figure drawings and kinetic family drawings. This scoring system was based on research with 842 children (341 positively identified as sexually molested, 252 positively not sexually molested but having emotional or behavioral problems, and 249 "normal" public school children). This system is more comprehensive than previous systems of assessment of potential abuse.
Author Affiliations
From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Quantitative Art Techniques to Evaluate Child Trauma: A Case Review
Peterson and Zamboni
CLIN PEDIATR 1998;37:45-49.
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