THE DIAGNOSTIC UTILITY OF THE DRAW-A-PERSON TEST IN ASSESSING CHILD DEVELOPMENT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL INDICATORS ACROSS CHANGING ERAS
Keywords:
Draw-A-Person (DAP) test, Child Assessment, Digital Era, Intellectual Maturity, Emotional Indicators, Projective TechniquesAbstract
This study evaluates the contemporary relevance and diagnostic utility of the Draw-A-Person (DAP) test amidst the shifting developmental landscape of the digital era. As children's fine motor skills and psychological pressures are increasingly mediated by technology, this research aims to determine the effectiveness of traditional DAP scoring for intellectual maturity, its sensitivity to modern psychopathological phenomena, and its role in integrated clinical profiling. Utilizing a systematic literature review of 17 key studies published between 2015 and 2025, the analysis reveals a significant "graphic-motoric lag" where high digital exposure correlates with diminished anatomical detail, potentially distorting traditional IQ measurements. Conversely, the DAP test remains highly sensitive to modern emotional distress, effectively detecting indicators of cyber-bullying, body image distortion in obese children, and risks of self-harm through specific figurative markers. The findings conclude that while the DAP’s role as a standalone intelligence measure is evolving, its value as a projective screening tool is enhanced when integrated with multi-method diagnostic frameworks. This study recommends a contextualized interpretation of DAP results that accounts for a child's digital lifestyle to ensure a holistic understanding of their cognitive and emotional reality.
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