Psychological connotations in the drawings of children with post-traumatic stress disorder (Qualitative analysis of sample drawings from Derna children)

Abstract

The primary purpose of the current study is to identify the psychological implications in the drawings of children with PTSD, as well as to determine whether these psychological signs produced by children's drawings are consistent with the symptoms of PTSD, by following the method of case study as a qualitative analysis method. Data were collected by using the "Macover" Personality Drawing Test as a projective expression method from a sample of 5 children suffering from PTSD as sequences of war in the Libyan city of Derna. The results of the qualitative analysis and projective interpretations of children's drawings resulted in several psychological signs related to PTSD in children from the research sample, which were isolation, convergence, anxiety, aggression, denial, lack of security, feelings of inferiority. The results of the research also showed the consistency of most of the psychological signs that were interpreted from the drawings with symptoms of PTSD such as isolation, aggression, anxiety, and denial. While the psychological implications of feeling insecure and feelings inferior were not consistent with the common symptoms. The researchers concluded some recommendations and proposals in light of these results.