title: Human figure drawings: validity in assessing intellectual level and academic achievement.
abstract: In a sample of 216 child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients, significant but low correlations were found between Goodenough-Harris (GH) drawing scores and both Full Scale IQs and academic achievement. The percentage of subjects correctly classified in appropriate IQ categories ranged from 35 to 44%; the percentage of misclassified subjects ranged from 56 to 65%. Consideration of visual-motor integration, using the Bender-Gestalt, did not improve the accuracy of G-H scores in predicting IQ scores in this sample. These results indicate that human figure drawings should not be substituted for other well-established intelligence and achievement tests nor used as an additional measure of these constructs when one is evaluating psychiatric patients.
authors.affiliation: Loyola University of Chicago.
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Aikman
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Belter
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Finch
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001154:Art; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D011386:Projective Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics