Human figure drawings and child behavior checklist in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder / 临床儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objectives To study the psychological characteristics of children with attention deifcit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods Human ifgure drawings (HFD) as a projective technique was performed in 107 children with ADHD aged (8.69 ±1.48) years old (6.5~11.5 years), and 107 matched healthy children. Characteristic features of the HFDs in children with ADHD, and correlations between emotional indicators of the HFDs and factors of child behavior checklist (CBCL) were assessed and com-pared with the control group. Results Signiifcant differences in emotional index were found between ADHD and healthy chil-dren, including bad body composition, short arms, long arms, big ifgure, omission of hands and omission of feet (P<0.05). Nega-tive correlation was found between the HFDs emotional index and the factors of activity and social ability in the CBCL (P<0.05), but a positive correlation was found between the HFDs emotional index and behavioral problem (P<0.05). Conclusion Human ifgure drawings can relfect some emotional characteristics of children with ADHD, and when combined with CBCL, it can pro-vide evidence for diagnosis and intervention for ADHD.