Adolescents' Rejection Sensitivity as Manifested in Their Self-Drawings

Abstract

This study correlated measures of adolescents' rejection sensitivity with their self-drawings in a sample of 323 nonclinical Israeli adolescents. Drawings were coded using the DAP-SPED scoring system (Naglieri, 1988). The findings indicated no correlation between adolescents' level of rejection sensitivity and the DAP-SPED composite score. A global comparison of drawings found differences in the size and placement of the figure for participants with a high level of rejection sensitivity, and detached self-drawings from participants with low levels of anxious expectation of rejection. The findings suggest that art therapists should use a more broadly conceived, overall impression approach to art-based assessment than any sign-based approach.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Limor Goldner

Limor Goldner is Lecturer at the Graduate School of Creative Art Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Shira Carren Sachar and Ayelet Abir are both at the University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the first author at [email protected]

Shira Carren Sachar

Limor Goldner is Lecturer at the Graduate School of Creative Art Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Shira Carren Sachar and Ayelet Abir are both at the University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the first author at [email protected]

Ayelet Abir

Limor Goldner is Lecturer at the Graduate School of Creative Art Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Shira Carren Sachar and Ayelet Abir are both at the University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the first author at [email protected]