Genitalia in human figure drawings: childrearing practices and child sexual abuse.
To replicate and explore the associations of drawing genitalia on a human figure, child-rearing practices, and a history of alleged sexual abuse, we designed a cross-sectional study of 109 alleged child sexual abuse victims, ages 3 through 8 years, and a group of 109 comparison children matched for age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status but with no history of abuse. A standardized format was used to collect drawings, administer the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and gather background data on medical, developmental, and child-rearing issues. Seven alleged sexual abuse victims and one comparison child spontaneously drew genitalia (p = 0.02, one-tailed Fisher Exact Test, estimated relative risk 7.96). No differences in drawing maturity (Draw-A-Man score) were identified, although Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores were higher in comparison children (82.1 vs. 91.0, p less than 0.01). Neither drawing genitalia nor history of alleged sexual abuse were significantly associated with histories of medical problems, enuresis, encopresis, urinary tract infection, or child-rearing practices related to sleeping, nudity, bathing, sexual abuse education, or exposure to sexually explicit materials. The similar patterns of child-rearing practices in both samples should make professionals cautious in attributing allegations of abuse to specific child-rearing practices. This study confirms our previous report that the presence of genitalia spontaneously drawn on a child's drawing of a human figure is associated with alleged sexual abuse.
Hibbard
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Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis 46223.
Hartman
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D001154:Art; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002657:Child Development; D002668:Child Rearing; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005835:Genitalia; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009715:Nudism; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012736:Sex Education