Identification and validation of anxiety symptoms in the family drawing test of children aged 4 to 6 years

The purpose of this study was to identify and validate anxiety symptoms in the family drawing test of 4–6-year-old children. In this study, content analysis and post-event research method were used. The statistical population included children of 4-6 years old from kindergartens in Kashan city. To select a sample, the cluster sampling method was used. In order to screen children with anxiety, a total of 128 parents completed the parent version of the Spence Preschool Anxiety Test. Thirty-nine children with anxiety were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 39 children without anxiety symptoms were randomly assigned to the control group. At the first stage of the research, based on the theoretical review of literature and the opinion of experts, a total of 34 signs of anxiety in children's drawings were grouped in two categories: the general structure of the drawing (20 signs) and the drawing of a person (14 signs). At the second stage, the family drawing test was taken from children of both the experimental and control groups, and the drawn pictures were analyzed using the checklist made by the researcher to assess the symptoms of anxiety. The findings of the study showed that in the family drawings drawn by children, between the experimental group (children with anxiety) and the control group (children without anxiety), there was a difference in meaning in 16 signs in the general structure of the drawing and 13 signs in the drawing of a person. The results of this study show that children's drawings can be used as a tool to screen children's anxiety along with other diagnostic methods and tools.