Human figure drawings by children in hospital and mainstream schools

Aim: The main aim of the present study was to investigate the extent to which children in a hospital school use emotion in human figure drawing of themselves and their best friend. Method: Twenty-nine children from a hospital school, 15 male and 14 female (mean age, 9.17, SD = 2.12) and 28 children from a mainstream school in north London, 13 male and 15 female (mean age, 9.1, SD = 2.13) were asked to draw a whole picture of themselves and one of their best friend. The order of drawing was randomly counter-balanced. Emotional indicators in human figure drawings were used for the analysis of the drawings. In addition, the height of each figure was measured in centimetres. Results: Long stay hospital school children placed more emotional indicators on drawing their best friend than short stay or mainstream schoolchildren. Furthermore, there was a significant overall gender difference, with boys showing more emotional indicators than girls. In addition, the size of the drawing showed a significant overall difference, with all children drawing themselves taller than their best friends. Conclusion: Long stay hospitalised children's emotion can be assessed by analysis of the drawings of their best friend using a set of emotional indicators.