A Clinical Tool for Evaluating Emotional Well-Being: Self-Drawings of Hospitalized Children

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Khatuna Dolidze ; Emma L. Smith ; Kate Tchanturia
• 关键词：Children's drawings ; Heart surgery ; Projective drawings ; Hospitalized children ; Congenital heart defects ; Emotional well-being of surgical children
• 刊名：Journal of Pediatric Nursing
• 出版年：2013
• 出版时间：September-October, 2013
• 年：2013
• 卷：28
• 期：5
• 页码：470-478
• 全文大小：608 K

文摘

This study investigated how the emotional wellbeing of children with congenital heart defect (CHD) hospitalized for heart surgery was expressed in self-drawings before and after their surgical treatment. A sample of 293 children produced self-drawings (hospitalized n = 168, non-hospitalized n = 125). The results indicate significant differences between drawings by hospitalized compared to non-hospitalized children, including size, color and omission of body parts. These differences were interpreted in line with previous analyses of projective drawing. We conclude that self-drawing evaluation is a useful tool to reveal insights into emotional wellbeing, promoting safe and easy communication.