Friends’ Closeness and Intimacy From Adolescence to Adulthood: Art Captures Implicit Relational Representations in Joint Drawing: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

This longitudinal study, employing a mixed-methods explanatory design, explored the power of art to express aspects of one's inner world using the joint drawing technique, which allows for observation and treatment of implicit representations of relationships. At Time 1 (T1, 1977-1978), 200 adolescents created a joint drawing with either a good friend or with a classmate who was not a friend and filled out the Intimate Friendship Scale (IFS) in relation to their best friend. In 2014 (T2), 36 women and 21 men from the original cohort completed the IFS with regard to a good friend and with regard to their spouse. The drawings were analyzed qualitatively to define pictorial phenomena that may be indicative of closeness. The analysis was conducted in accordance with the phenomenological approach to art therapy and with the principles of thematic analysis. Fourteen pictorial phenomena were defined, and a scale was constructed to quantitatively evaluate the extent to which each phenomenon was present in the joint drawing. This yielded a closeness score for each drawing. Quantitatively, no correlations were found between intimacy as measured by IFS at T1 and at T2. In contrast, there was a correlation between the degree of closeness in the joint drawing at T1, and the IFS score with the partner in T2, suggesting continuity over the 36-year time span. This correlation was likewise found when examined separately among participants who drew with a friend. The multivariate ANOVA (MANOVA) results showed a marginally significant effect for the interaction between closeness in drawing and drawing with a friend/non-friend-on IFS. An ANOVA showed that the IFS regarding the participant's best friend and their romantic partner at T2 was higher when the closeness in the drawing at T1 was higher. There was also a significant interaction between closeness in the drawings and the participant's IFS score regarding their best friend at T1. The differences between the joint drawing with the close friend and the non-friend are discussed. These findings, from a span of over 36 years, thus contribute to the validity of the IFS and the joint drawing technique when assessing closeness and intimacy.

Analysis of the Role and Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence in Art Therapy

“…Translational transformation in a three-dimensional coordinate system realizes the change of one point in space moving along a straight line to another point. The transformation process is given in the following equation (18).…”

“…With the rapid development of Internet technology, the intense collision and integration of traditional media and new media, and the increasing maturity of digital technology, the traditional art practice content and modern art interaction methods have been effectively combined, and the interactivity and fun of digital products provide a novel way for art therapy practice. The interactivity and fun of digital products provide a novel way for the practice of art therapy [18][19].…”

The Couples' Closeness–Distance Scale– Observation through joint‐drawing: A pilot dyadic validation study

“…Despite recognition of the value of the joint‐drawing in the evaluation and therapeutic processes of romantic couples (Molina et al, 2019; Rober, 2009) and initial attempts to establish validated measurements with parent–child dyads (Gavron, 2013) and close friends (Snir et al, 2020), very few studies go beyond the phenomenological description toward a reliable assessment of the partners' patterns reflected in the painting process. The Couples' Closeness–Distance Scale (CCDS) aims to bridge this gap by looking at the closeness–distance dynamics of couples through quantitative dimensions that consider the experience of each of the partners while painting together.…”

Perceptions of Child Abuse as Manifested in Drawings and Narratives by Children and Adolescents

“…Empirical and clinical work in art therapy and allied fields has shown that drawings enable the expression of hidden or repressed thoughts and feelings in a relatively fast and straight forward way ( Lev-Wiesel and Shvero, 2003 ; Jacobs-Kayam et al, 2013 ; Woolford et al, 2013 ; Snir et al, 2020 ). Regarding children, researchers and therapists posited that drawings could shed light on children’s internal and outer worlds and their perception of their families and parents in a way that communicates feelings and ideas of their environment ( Goldner and Scharf, 2012 ).…”