A Comparison of Drawing Characteristics of Children in Single Child and Several Child Families Based on Family Drawing Test

Background and Family drawing test is useful for investigate family performance, quality of child-parent attachment, and child relationship with other family members. The purpose of this study was a comparison of drawing characteristics of children in single child and several child families based on family drawing test.
Current study was causal-comparative and the statistical population consisted of all single child and several child families (girl and boy) referred to counseling and psychological services center in Sari city during spring of 2017. The sample consists of 14 single child and 16 children with brothers and sisters that were selected according their desire to draw a family drawing. The research tool was a family drawing test. Chi square was used for data analysis.
The results showed that there was a significant difference in the first person is drawn (P = 0.04) and drawing a new person (P = 0.011) between children in single child and several child families.
The order of birth and the number of children is one of the effective factors in the formation of personality, emotional and behavioral characteristics of children, and the family drawing test is an appropriate tool for children expressing their motives, fears and their desires in a safe environment.