Utility of Drawings as a Screen for Emotional and Behavioral Concerns in Adolescents: An Exploration of Formal Elements in Drawings and the BASC-2.

Abstract

The research related to the use of art in assessment of emotional and behavioral concerns in adolescent populations has met with inconsistent results. Much of the previous research in this area has focused on analyzing the content (i.e., what is drawn) of participants' drawings. This study explores the use of formal elements (i.e., how it is drawn) as a screening tool with a general sample of high school students (n=193). The aim of the project is two fold, a) explore the psychometrics and underlying factor structure of the FEATS an existing measure of formal elements, and b) assess the ability of the FEATS to accurately screen for emotional and behavioral concerns in high school students. The resulting data was analyzed for inter-rater reliability, distribution of item responses, and underlying factors. This resulted in the creation of 3, internally consistent, composite scales formed from 9 dichotomous items which had achieved acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability. A series of MANCOVAs between these composites and participant's scores on the BASC-2 suggest that the FEATS composites are not an acceptable screening tool for emotional and behavioral concerns. Results do indicate the FEATS composite may provide a means of assessing interpersonal relationships; however future research related to measurement design, factor structure, and ability to detect between group differences is needed before applied use.