Children’s sketch: The expression of anxiety and emotions in children’s drawings

Παιδικό ιχνογράφημα: Η έκφραση του άγχους και των συναισθημάτων στα σχέδια των παιδιών (ελληνικά)
Published: Aug 20, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/jret.33992
Αθηνά Μαρία Γαβριηλίδου
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Σπυρίδων Κάμτσιος
Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the expressive strategies used by 11- and 12-year-old children to capture anxiety, positive and negative emotions in their drawing.


The research sample consisted of 60 (5th) and (6th) grade children. Participants completed the following questionnaires: (1) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C) and (2) Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS). At the same time, the children were asked to draw a human figure in a specific emotional state: (a) a figure that does not feel any emotion, (b) a figure that feels anxiety, (c) a figure that experiences positive emotions and (d) a figure that experiences negative emotions. The results of the research showed that the participants chose specific expressive strategies to depict the studied emotions. Furthermore, the existence of a relationship between the experience of emotions and the way children presents each emotion in their drawing was identified. The results of the study are discussed in the context of the modern literature concerning the study of children's drawings.

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