The Diagnostic Drawing Series of Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa
Graduation Date
Summer 1997
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Granting Institution
Notre Dame de Namur University
Program Name
Art Therapy
Abstract
The structural elements in the art of adolescent individuals with Anorexia Nervosa was investigated using the Diagnostic Drawings Series (DDS) (Cohen, 1988). The subjects included 14 female inpatients on a child psychiatry unit and were compared using descriptive and qualitative means to a control group of 55 previously rated DDSs obtained from the DDS Archive in Washington, DC. The completed DDSs were independently rated by two art therapy students trained to rate the DDS. An overall interrater reliability of 87% was obtained. Hypothesized findings were that subjects with Anorexia Nervosa tended to draw No Groundline for Picture one, contained restricted Space Usage on pictures one and three, and also tended to use Inanimate Objects in picture three. Additional findings, not identified in previous studies, are noted as possible findings to pilot future studies. In Picture one of the Anorexia Nervosa group the elements No Blending, Line Only, No Groundline, Broken Line Length, and Unusual Placement differed from the control group. In Picture two of the Anorexia Nervosa group the elements of Line Only, No Groundline, Broken Line Length, Space Usage, and Unusual Placement differed from the control group. In Picture three of the Anorexia Nervosa group the elements of Inanimate Objects, Broken Line Length, Space Usage, and Unusual Placement differed from the control group.