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

Abstract

Child abuse is an underreported phenomenon despite its high global prevalence. This study investigated how child abuse is perceived by children and adolescents as manifested in their drawings and narratives, based on the well-established notion that drawings serve as a window into children’s mental states. A sample of 97 Israeli children and adolescents aged 6–17 were asked to draw and narrate what child abuse meant to them. The drawings and narratives were coded quantitatively. The results indicated that participants did not perceive a distinction between abuse and violence and referred to them interchangeably. Almost half of the participants focused on emotional abuse. The most frequent type of abuse within the family was between parents and children, and the most frequent abuse outside the family was peer victimization. Most of the drawings were figurative and realistic and half of the drawings included words suggestive of the participants’ attempts to be heard and fully understood. The vast majority of drawings did not include the figure of the artist, about a third of the drawings employed dissociative techniques (i.e., included positive objects, were unrelated to abuse, used words alone, or did not follow the instructions), and almost half of the narratives were dissociative or characterized by negative resolution, describing feelings such as sadness, humiliation, and loneliness. These findings suggest the emotional pain associated with the abuse or violence and the use of dissociative mechanisms to bypass the pain. The findings are discussed in light of the literature on children’s disclosure.

Legal Analysis of Support of Sexual Violence Against Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Berdasarkan UU No 23 Tahun 2022 tentang (Goldner, Lev-Wiesel, and Binson 2021) perlindungan terhadap anak, yang termaksud kategori ini adalah usia di bawah 18 tahun, juga lebih jelas ditulis kategori anak termaksud yang masih didalam andungan. Definisi ini tentunya ingin memperjelas bahwa dalam ketentuan hukum anak disamakan seperti makluk lemah, rapuh, tidak memiliki kemampuan fisik yang sudah kuat juga secara kapasitas anak belum mampu untuk melihat atau mencerna hal baik maupun buruk.…”

Trends in Research on Art Therapy Indexed in the Web of Science: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…In the specific case of the visual arts modality (drawing, illustration, painting, collage, photography and sculpture), art therapy not only prevails as a clinical intervention tool (Cheng et al, 2021;Hass-Cohen et al, 2021;Tang et al, 2021) but also as a diagnostic tool (Akhavan Tafti et al, 2021;Goldner et al, 2021;Grenimann Bauch and Bat Or, 2021), which gives it a versatile and innovative character, and which distinguishes it from the other art therapy modalities. Bearing in mind the above, and given the variety of studies and publications in this regard, it is of interest to have a more in-depth view of the scope and characteristics of the existing research; bibliometrics is the ideal instrument for this objective since by using bibliometric indicators, it is possible to evaluate scientific activity in any discipline or area of knowledge, and thus determine different basic categories that define who the producing people, institutions or countries are, how much they produce, what the impact of their publications is and how they collaborate with each other (Rodríguez Gutiérrez and Gómez Velasco, 2017).…”

Uso e Interpretação do Desenho Infantil na Prática Clínica

“…[1][2][3] Ao permitir o acesso à vivência interna da criança, o desenho auxilia, também, a avaliação de abusos físicos, emocionais e sexuais. 5,6 O Teste do Desenho da Família e o Teste da Figura Humana constituem dois exemplos de testes projetivos de inspiração psicodinâmica com muita utilidade na prática clínica.…”

“…A presença de partes do corpo exageradas ou realçadas, como mãos, ombros, nariz com narinas salientes, sobrancelhas, orelhas duplas ou salientes e a presença de dentes estão muitas vezes associadas a hostilidade e agressividade, e podem indiciar abuso físico. 5,6 Detalhes como olhos sombreados e a ausência de braços e mãos estão associados a sentimentos como desamparo, vergonha, medo e ansiedade social e encontram-se com maior frequência em crianças com vivências de abuso emocional. A presença de genitais excessivamente grandes ou sombreados, a ausência de características faciais, como por exemplo os olhos, a presença de detalhes como por exemplo um queixo duplo, braços ou pernas acentuadas ou ausentes, a omissão da parte inferior do corpo ou a flutuação da imagem no limbo, a nudez ou a representação de símbolos com forma fálica, podem sugerir abusos sexuais.…”

“…A presença de genitais excessivamente grandes ou sombreados, a ausência de características faciais, como por exemplo os olhos, a presença de detalhes como por exemplo um queixo duplo, braços ou pernas acentuadas ou ausentes, a omissão da parte inferior do corpo ou a flutuação da imagem no limbo, a nudez ou a representação de símbolos com forma fálica, podem sugerir abusos sexuais. 5,6 Contudo, há que interpretar estes desenhos de forma cuidada e contextualizada com a história de vida e a fase do desenvolvimento da criança. Nem sempre a manifestação de conteúdos, símbolos e temáticas erotizadas sugerem abusos sexuais, mas antes a curiosidade face à sexualidade própria da criança.…”