Family test: what is it and how is this projective test used?

A projective test applied to children, based on drawing a family.

Projective techniques aim to bring out the repressed or unconscious material of the person, through drawings, images, words, etc. In this article we will know one of them, the family test, or family drawing test, created by Maurice Porot (1952) and applied in childhood and adolescence..

In this projective type test, the child is asked to draw a family, and from there a series of questions are asked to later analyze his answers, as well as the drawing itself. This is an expressive technique that tries to explore how the child is located in his family environment..

The expressive or graphic projective techniques

In psychological assessment, expressive or graphic techniques are a type of projective test (psychodynamic) where the subject is given the task of drawing certain elements. the subject is asked to draw certain elements; through the drawing, the subject is supposed to express his personal way of organizing the world and the way he organizes it.Through the drawing, the subject is supposed to express his personal way of organizing the world and to try to reproduce it. Moreover, according to psychodynamic theory, graphic behavior (drawing) is freer from conscious control than verbal behavior.

However, there are few empirical studies for expressive techniques. In addition, interpretation is characterized by a high level of subjectivity. This has meant that there are no standardized ways of evaluating the drawings made by children, which makes it very difficult to compare results and draw general conclusions about their psychological state.

According to Machover (1949), drawings provide useful data to formulate clinical hypotheses, but it is essential to make these hypotheses based on the convergence of the psychopathological signs found in the test with the data obtained by other methods.

Family test: characteristics

As we have seen, the family test (or family drawing test) is an expressive or graphic projective test, created by Maurice Porot (1952). The instructions given to the examinee are to draw a family, with no restrictions or concretions. There are other versions of this instruction, such as asking the subject to draw his or her family. After the drawing, the examiner questions the subject about his production.

The family test is based on the free drawing technique; this type of drawing is very popular with children, and they like it. Specifically, the test is a personality test that can be administered to children can be administered to children from 5 years of age up to adolescence..

It is one of the most popular and widely used tests for exploring children's affectivity, which emphasizes projective aspects. In addition, it clinically evaluates how the child subjectively perceives the relationships between family members and how he/she is included in this family system.

On the other hand, the family test also allows investigating aspects of the child's communication with other members of the family and of the remaining members among themselves.

Interpretation

The use and interpretation of the family test is based on the psychoanalytic principles of projection, since it makes it possible to The use and interpretation of the family test is based on the psychoanalytic principles of projection, since it allows the free expression of the children's feelings towards their family members, especially their parents.

In addition, the test is intended to reflect the situation in which the subjects themselves are placed in their home environment.

Modifications

An important author for the test was also Louis Cormanwho introduced important modifications to the instructions given by Porot. While Porot asked the child to "draw your family", Corman's instruction was "draw a family, a family that you imagine".

On the other hand, Bums and Kaufman (1972) present a modified version of the family test, called "The Kinetic Family Drawing Test", for which they propose evaluation criteria. In this version, they use the instructions: "Draw a picture of your family, including yourself doing something" and "Try to draw complete people, not cartoons or stick figures. Remember to draw everyone doing something, engaged in some kind of action".

Application

After giving the slogan to the child or adolescent, the examiner conducts a brief interviewwhich greatly reinforces the interpretation to be made by the psychologist.

Thus, after reinforcing the child's drawing, a series of questions are asked about the child's imagined family and its members. In order to do so, all the necessary questions will be included, considering the circumstances of each one and stimulating at all times the free expression of the child or adolescent.

What does it explore?

The family test is considered a test with an important diagnostic value in circles linked to psychodynamic therapies. Through it it is intended to know the difficulties of adaptation of the family environment and the oedipal conflicts and fraternal rivalry..

In addition, it is a test designed to reflect the intellectual development of the child, since through different elements of the line and the drawing it is possible to determine to a certain extent the child's maturity development (at each stage of childhood the drawing is of one type or another, as established by Luquet).

However, it is important to mention that the family test is used more to evaluate or appreciate aspects of the child's is used more to evaluate or appreciate emotional aspects in the child than to evaluate his or her intellectual and maturational development, although it is used and maturational development, although it is even used to assess certain aspects of learning disabilities.

Approaches

The creator of the family test, Maurice Porot (1952), considers that telling the child to draw his family allows him to know it as he represents it, which is more important than knowing what it is like in reality.

On the other hand, Louis Corman (1961) considers that projection is easier if the indication is more vague.something like: "Draw a family that you imagine". According to him, this slogan allows the unconscious tendencies to express themselves more easily.

Another author, Korbman, mentioned in a series of studies that in clinical practice with young children, the most appropriate slogan in the family test is "Draw your family"; this is based on the assumption that the child is a subject in formation, where repression is lower, and it is considered that he does not defend himself as much as the adult. That is to say, he projects himself openly.

Bibliographical references:

• Buela-Casal, G.; Sierra, J.C. (1997). Manual de evaluación psicológica. Ed. Siglo XXI. Madrid.
• Cohen, R.J., Swerdlik, M.E. (2002) Psychological testing and assessment. McGraw-Hill. Madrid.
• Corman, L. (1967). The Family Drawing Test in medical-pedagogical practice. Kapelusz, Buenos Aires, 1-27.
• Freud, S. (1920), Beyond the Pleasure Principle, XVIII (2nd ed.), Londres: Hogarth Press.
• Miller, A. (1984). Thou shalt not be aware: society's betrayal of the child. Nueva York: Meridan Printing.