| Aggression and Depression Assessed Through Art: Using Draw-A-Story to Identify Children and Adolescents at Risk Contributor(s): Silver, Rawley (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415950155 ISBN-13: 9780415950152 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $61.70 Product Type: Paperback Published: December 2004 Annotation: Recently, Dr. Rawley Silver began investigating a possible use of her Draw a Story Test (DAST) as a screening test for aggression and depression in children. The study compares drawings done by children who have already exhibited violent behavior with those who have not, allowing for a controlled experiment from which to define an expected range of responses to the DAST. The results, based on work with a sample of over 200 children ages 8 to 19, are summarized by discussing the test procedures, collected data, and implications of the findings. Chapters in the book explore the changes in emotional state related to aggression and depression, as expressed in a child's responses to the standard art assessment tests employed by Dr. Silver and her colleagues. The book then explores the exciting potential of the test being used as an early identification of children and adolescents at risk for depression or inappropriate aggression. This volume came about as a result of a pilot study, but its intended scope is considerably broader, aiming to investigate the connections between a child's expression through drawing and his or her violent behavior. The potential use of the DAST in the early indicator of abnormally aggressive and/or depressive behaviors in children and adolescents will have wide-ranging implications, hopefully providing a useful tool in the identification and treatment of disturbed children. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Psychology | Assessment, Testing & Measurement - Psychology | Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent - Psychology | Mental Health |
| Dewey: 155.418 |
| LCCN: 2004009363 |
| Physical Information: 0.52" H x 6.28" W x 8.98" (0.71 lbs) 203 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: A study of more than two hundred children using Rawley Silver's draw a story test showed a strong correlation between aggression or depression and certain types of artistic narratives; meanwhile, unbeknownst to Silver, a pair of Russian therapists were using Silver's assessment tests in a similar fashion with Russian children and achieving similar results. Aggression and Depression Assessed Through Art: Using Draw-A-Story to Identify Children and Adolescents at Risk came about as a result of these studies, but the book's scope goes beyond the numbers to investigate the connections between a child's expression through drawing and his violent behavior. The text, written mostly by Silver but with chapters contributed by therapists from both the United States and Russia, compares drawings by children who have already exhibited violent behavior with those who have not, thus exploring the potential of the test for use as an early identifier of children and adolescents at risk for depression or inappropriate aggression. Other chapters examine the changes in emotional state revealed by a child's responses to standard art assessment tests, as well as the cross-cultural applications of Silver's tests. Silver is recognized as one of the earliest developers of art therapy in the United States, and by providing mental health professionals with a tool to help identify and treat disturbed children this book represents yet another of her major contributions to the field. |