Depth in Drawings: What Illustrations by Children Reveal

For many children and adults alike, art continues to be a form of expression through the subconscious mind. Yet for children in particular, certain crafts could be used as forensic tools to further investigate symptoms of abuse.

A recent study conducted by researchers from Tel Aviv University investigated how drawings done by children could potentially illustrate signs of child abuse.

"The act of drawing was not only an empowering experience for these children," said lead researcher Dr. Carmit Katz of Tel Aviv University's Bob Shapell School of Social Work, via a press release. "We also found it to be forensically more effective in eliciting richer testimonies in child abuse cases. We had no idea the gap would be so great between those who drew and those who weren't given this option."

The study involved 125 children between the ages of 5 and 14 who said they had experienced sexual abuse. All participants were interviewed by nine trained forensic interviewers regarding a single occurrence of this abuse, asking open-ended questions to help draw out more comprehensive testimonies.

"For example, we asked children to 'tell me again everything that happened to you,' without using any leading terms to steer the discussion," Katz said, via a press release. "And we found that if that question was followed by the comment, 'you can use the drawing if you want to,' the child's testimony was substantially more comprehensive and detailed."

"The only thing that counts is the child's narrative and his or her narrative of the respective drawing," she said. "But forensic investigators must be very careful not to attribute meaning where none exists. For example, 'I see a penis in this drawing, please tell me about it,' is a projective strategy, which usually garners false results. My strategy is to offer open-ended prompts alongside drawing, which we found to be a great facilitator of communication."

"As a social worker, I'm not only interested in obtaining accurate forensic results," Katz concluded. "I'm also interested in empowering the children. Through drawing, children reported regaining some sense of control - even feeling hopeful. This also has recuperative properties."

What do you think?

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Child Abuse and Neglect.