Friday, 14 January 2005 - 8:00 AM

This presentation is part of: Assessment Methods in School Settings

The Validity of the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED) in Strengths-Based Assessment

Although human figure drawings are among the most widely used psychological tests by clinicians (Camara, Nathan & Puente, 2000), the validity of the approach has been questioned for some time. However, over the past decade, a growing body of research has developed on one psychometrically advanced human figure drawing instrument, the Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedure for Emotional Disturbance (DAP:SPED). The accumulation of evidence from these validity studies has led researchers critical of projective tests to conclude that there is growing support that the DAP:SPED can be used to effectively screen for mental disorders among children (Garb, Wood, Lilenfield & Nezworski, 2002). These validity studies, while showing favorable psychometric results, have selectively used deficit-based measures as the behavioral criterion. This is the first validity study to date to examine the relationship between the DAP:SPED and strengths-based emotional and behavioral measures. Specifically, the incremental predictive validity of the DAP:SPED relative to Intrapersonal and Interpersonal strengths as measured by the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS-2) were examined. Children in the sample (N=109) ranged in age from 9-14 years old and were either in general education classes or receiving special education services. Children completed the DAP:SPED and the BERS-2 student-report, and their parents completed the BERS-2 parent-report. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictive relationship between the DAP:SPED and children’s emotional and behavioral strengths (Interpersonal and Intrapersonal parent-report). Analyses showed that the DAP:SPED accounted for 21.7% of the variance in Interpersonal strength parent-report (Beta = -.480; p<.001) after controlling for demographic variables and Interpersonal strength student-report. Children in general education classes and special education placements were then matched on gender, race and age, and the DAP:SPEDs predictive validity was estimated after controlling for educational placement. Results showed the DAP:SPED accounted for 8.3% of the variance in Interpersonal strength (Beta = -.309; p>.05), but accounted for 27.4% of the variance in Intrapersonal strength (Beta = -.562; p<.001). No statistically significant difference in Intrapersonal strength was found between the special education and general education students; while there was a statistically significant difference found on Interpersonal strength between these two groups, with the special education students showing more limited Interpersonal strengths. Taken together, these findings suggest that traditional school special education placement decision-making may use assessment criteria that overemphasize interpersonal limitations (e.g., social relationship deficits), and may not be as effective at detecting intrapersonal (e.g., a child’s internal strengths and limitations) dimensions. Whereas the DAP:SPED seems to be effective at measuring this internal dimension and, therefore, may be an important supplemental screening tool in child emotional and behavioral assessment practices. The DAP:SPED can be a useful youth-report instrument in large environments, like schools, as a quick and non-threatening way to identify those who may need more specialized attention and to measure the extent of a child’s internal strengths that may otherwise go unrecognized.

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