خلاصة:
هدف از این مطالعه شناسایی و اعتباریابی نشانههای اضطراب در آزمون نقاشی خانوادۀ کودکان 4 تا 6ساله بود. در این پژوهش از روشهای پژوهش تحلیل محتوا و پسرویدادی استفاده شد. جامعۀ آماری شامل کودکان 4 تا 6سالۀ مهدکودکهای شهر کاشان بود. برای انتخاب نمونه از روش نمونهگیری خوشهای استفاده شد. برای غربالگری کودکان مضطرب درمجموع والدین 128 کودک 4 تا 6ساله آزمون اضطراب پیشدبستانی اسپنس نسخۀ والد را تکمیل کردند. از بین کودکان مبتلا به اضطراب 39 نفر در گروه مطالعه و از میان کودکان بدون نشانههای اضطرابی 39 نفر در گروه گواه بهصورت تصادفی گمارش شدند. در مرحلۀ اول پژوهش، براساس بررسی پیشینۀ نظری و پژوهشی و نظر متخصصان، درمجموع 34 نشانه اضطراب در نقاشی کودکان در دو مقولۀ ساختار کلی نقاشی (20 نشانه) و ترسیم آدم (14 نشانه) شناسایی شد. در مرحلۀ دوم از کودکان هر دو گروه آزمایش و گواه آزمون نقاشی خانواده گرفته شد و نقاشیهای ترسیمشده با استفاده از چکلیست پژوهشگرساختۀ ارزیابی علائم اضطراب بررسی شد. یافتههای پژوهش نشان داد که در نقاشی کودکان از خانواده بین دو گروه مطالعه (کودکان مضطرب) و گواه (کودکان بدون اضطراب) در 16 نشانه در ساختار کلی نقاشی و 13 نشانه در ترسیم آدم تفاوت معنیداری وجود دارد. نتایج این پژوهش بیان میکند که میتوان از نقاشی کودکان در کنار سایر روشها و ابزارهای تشخیصی بهعنوان ابزاری برای غربالگری اضطراب کودک استفاده کرد.
The purpose of this study was to identify and validate anxiety symptoms in the family drawing test of 4–6-year-old children. In this study, content analysis and post-event research method were used. The statistical population included children of 4-6 years old from kindergartens in Kashan city. To select a sample, the cluster sampling method was used. In order to screen children with anxiety, a total of 128 parents completed the parent version of the Spence Preschool Anxiety Test. Thirty-nine children with anxiety were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 39 children without anxiety symptoms were randomly assigned to the control group. At the first stage of the research, based on the theoretical review of literature and the opinion of experts, a total of 34 signs of anxiety in children's drawings were grouped in two categories: the general structure of the drawing (20 signs) and the drawing of a person (14 signs). At the second stage, the family drawing test was taken from children of both the experimental and control groups, and the drawn pictures were analyzed using the checklist made by the researcher to assess the symptoms of anxiety. The findings of the study showed that in the family drawings drawn by children, between the experimental group (children with anxiety) and the control group (children without anxiety), there was a difference in meaning in 16 signs in the general structure of the drawing and 13 signs in the drawing of a person. The results of this study show that children's drawings can be used as a tool to screen children's anxiety along with other diagnostic methods and tools.IntroductionAnxiety disorder is known as one of the common problems in childhood which hinders children's ability to behave normally (Azham & Janon, 2021). Painting as a projection tool can give psychologists information about children’s inner and outer world and their understanding of their families (Goldner et al., 2015). The family drawing test is a tool for measuring cognitive-emotional development, mental health and children's understanding of their family relationships (Biasi et al., 2015). In numerous studies, signs of anxiety in children 's paintings have been discussed. Some signs of anxiety in children's painting include shading, frequent erasing, increasing the size, ignoring details, distorting, simplifying the head and simplifying the body (Handler & Reyher, 2010).The purpose of the present study was to investigate the signs of anxiety in the drawings of children with anxiety based on the family drawing test and to answer the following questions: (1) according to the existing theoretical and research literature, what signs of anxiety are identified in the drawings of children with anxiety? (2) which signs of anxiety in the family painting test of children with anxiety (experimental group) in comparison with children without anxiety (control group) are valid and can be used as criteria for their screening?Method The present research analyzes the signs of anxiety in children's family drawings through content analysis. The statistical population of this research included all children between four to six years in kindergartens in Kashan. Cluster sampling method was used to select the sample and a total of 128 children from five kindergartens in Kashan were included in sample. After completing the Spence Preschool Children's Anxiety Questionnaire in the screening phase, 39 children with anxiety were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 39 children without anxiety were randomly assigned to control group, and the children of both experimental and control groups were asked to draw their families.In this study, three different tools were used to collect information. Anxiety Questionnaire for Preschool Children Parent Version SCAS which has 28 questions and 5 components evaluates anxiety (Spence et al., 2001). The results of the validity check of this tool have indicated favorable level of validity (Edwards et al., 2010). The reliability of this tool was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The next research tool is the family drawing test FDT was first developed by Doppel (1931) and Wolff (1942); But after that, it was compiled more completely by Hales (1951) ,(as cited in Salehi, Oliyayi , and Bahrami, 2010) .Various studies have been conducted on the reliability and validity of the family drawing test. To make this checklist, while reviewing the articles available inside and outside the country, the opinions of 5 professors in the field of psychology were used. Finally, totally 34 signs of anxiety were identified in children's drawings. In order to analyze the data, descriptive indices and chi-square test were used to check the significance of the difference for the frequency of anxiety symptoms in the two experimental groups and the control group. FindingsIn the screening stage, using the parents' version of the preschool children's anxiety questionnaire, the average scores of the experimental group were higher than the average scores of the control group in all components of anxiety. All the children in the experimental group were diagnosed with anxiety based on the Spence scale, and the score of the children in the control group was lower than the cut-off point, and as a result, it was at the non-anxiety level. Table 1.Observed Frequency, Percentage and Chi-Square Test of Anxiety Symptoms in Family Painting of Two Experimental and Control GroupsVariablesgroupobserved frequencyFrequencyChi squareThe significance levelshadingExperiment2879.7146.68**0.00Control00Delete a lotExperiment37.693.120.07Control00Increase in sizeExperiment1333.3315.6**0.00Control156.2increase pressureExperiment3179.4851.44**0.00Control12.56deleteExperiment1815.4620.109**0.00Control25.12Loss of detailsExperiment1435.897.22**0.00Control512.82to distortExperiment37.693.120.07Control00SimplificationExperiment3076.9248.75**0.00Control12.56Discontinuity of linesExperiment410.254.21*0.04Control12.56No drawingExperiment00-------Control00Light or bold lineExperiment3076.9248.75**0.00Control12.56small sizeExperiment2256.4130.64**0.00Control00Failure to complete the paintingExperiment12.561.10.31Control00DeleteExperiment1128.212.8**0.00Control12.56Few elementsExperiment1435.8913.94**0.00Control25.12Painting at the bottom of the pageExperiment1538.4618.58**0.00Control00Painting on the edge of the pageExperiment718.427.690.006Control00Self-depreciationExperiment2871.7943.68**0.00Control12.56Use of color Dark onesExperiment1641.0220.19**0.00Control12.56Add detailsExperiment3487.1711.01**0.00Control2256.41 * P ** P According to the data in Table (1), there was a significant difference between the two experimental and control groups in terms of the frequency of all the identified signs of anxiety in children's drawings, except for the four signs of erasing a lot, distorting, not drawing, and not completing the drawing. Table 2.Frequency of Observation, Frequency Percentage and Chi-Square Test of Anxiety Symptoms in the Drawing of People in Two Experimental and Control GroupsVariablesgroupobserved frequencyFrequencyChi squareThe significance levellittle manExperiment2461.5334.66**0.00Control00No trunk and partsExperiment923.0710.17**0.00Control00Small and unstable legsExperiment2769.2341.29**0.00Control00The mouth is linearExperiment3384.6157.2**0.00Control00Emphasis on the eyesExperiment1489.3517.06**0.00Control00Remove the eyesExperiment12.561.010.31Control00big headExperiment2051.2826.89**0.00Control00Inflexible armsExperiment1948.7116.2**0.00Control37.69Removal of body partsExperiment3897.4374.1**0.00Control00Face shadingExperiment2051.2826.89**0.00Control00angry faceExperiment923.0710.17**0.00Control00TransparencyExperiment2153.8420.1**0.00Control12.56Removal of body partsExperiment3692.366.58**0.00Control00thin peopleExperiment2358.9718.051**0.00Control512.82** P In table (2), there was a significant difference between the two study and control groups in terms of the frequency of all the desired signs except for the removal of the eyes. DiscussionAt the first stage of the study, the signs of anxiety in children's drawings were identified by reviewing the theoretical literature and experts' opinions . This list included 34 signs, including two parts of the overall structure of the painting (20signs) and drawing signs in people's paintings (14 signs). At the second stage of the study, the symptoms of anxiety in the family painting test of children with anxiety (experimental group) and children without anxiety (control group) were compared. The results showed that in total there is a significant difference in 16 signs in the general structure of the painting (Table1) and 13 signs in the painting of people (Table 2) between the two experimental group and the control group, and these signs can be used as a criterion for screening. Gray used distressed children in their family paintings. Considering the importance of identifying and screening children with anxiety disorders, it is suggested to pay more attention to these signs in children's family drawings.Among the limitations of the present study can be the limited size of the research sample and the selection of only kindergarten children of Kashan. Therefore, caution should be observed in generalizing the results. Finally, it is suggested that the validity of the signs of anxiety in the drawing of children's family should be analyzed and investigated in the drawing of other groups of children from different statistical samples, so that the signs can be identified more accurately.