[Evaluation of maturity in drawing in childhood. I. Evaluation and validation of a graphomotor test in a population of normal children].
BACKGROUND
The tests for measuring the ability of a child for copy a drawing take no less than 15 minutes and require a direct attention to the patient. This makes them almost impossible to use in the neurological or paediatric consultation.


OBJECTIVE
In this report a new test of drawing copy, the grafomotor test, is presented. It is composed by 8 easy figures: diamond, stair, cross, flower, clock, house, cube and bicycle and the score method is simple. The progressive maturation of drawing in childhood and the reliability and validity of the test are studied.


METHODS
Two studies were done: a) 210 children aged 5 12 (all the children belonging to two classes of every age ) of a medium high socioeconomic level primary school made the test, remade it again after 24 hours, and them were scored blindly by a neuropediatrician and a school psychologist. b) 133 children (5 11 year old) of a paediatric consultation of a medium low socioeconomic level. Every child who wanted draw the test.


CONCLUSIONS
1. The score system proposed is easy and takes less than 1 minute to do. The perfect test get a score of 0, and the worst possible a score of 20; 2. Result show high reliability: interobserver Pearson s correlation coefficient r> 0.92, and reliability Cronbach alpha coefficient= 0.97; test retest reliability r> 0,91 and alpha= 0,95. 3. It is a valid tool to measure visuomotor maturation in childhood. Average scores are different at every age until 11 years. 4. There is no difference in scores between children of the two socioeconomic levels studied. 5. The test is easy, and fast to do and to score. It takes 5 10 minutes and can be passed in the same neurological or paediatric consultation, while talking with the parents. Results depend on mental or drawing level, not on the socioeconomic status. 6. GT is, therefore, proposed as another tool to add to the neurological clinical examination.
Pascual Pascual
S I
SI
Servicio de Neurología Pediátrica; Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, 28046, España. jpascualp@hulp.insalud.es
D001154:Art; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012923:Social Class; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
Evaluación de la madurez para el dibujo en la infancia. I. Evaluación y validación de un test grafomotor en la población infantil normal.