The usefulness of human figure drawings as an index of overall adjustment

This study investigates the relation between global ratings of human figure drawings and psychological adjustment. The sample was comprised of a group of Vietnamese refugees who were evaluated at their entry into a residential education program. Adjustment was defined as the number of foster-care placements experienced by these clients during the 5 years following the program. Results showed that ratings of overall artistic quality, figure bizarreness, and estimated client adjustment all varied linearly as a function of number of foster-care placements. A fourth predictor variable, number of Koppitz emotional indicators, did not produce this result. All four predictor variables were found to be related, and it was shown that ratings of figure bizarreness alone adequately predicted the criterion. Implications of these results are discussed, and results suggest that projective drawings could provide a useful index of overall adjustment when better sources of information are not available.