Expression of Aggressive Tendencies in the Drawings of Children and Youth Who Survived the Northern Pakistan Earthquake

Abstract

The study focused on the presence of aggressive tendencies in the drawings of children who survived the northern Pakistan earthquake. The data was collected one year after the earthquake from Sahara Children Academy (Mallot Tehsil) and Surbuland (camp school set up by the Army at District Bagh). The sample consisted of 75 children (44 boys and 31 girls) age range from 5 to 15 years with a mean age of 8 years. The Human Figure Drawing as projective test (Koppitz, 1969) was used. The drawings were analyzed utilizing a list of emotional indicators for aggression. The list, consisting of 24 indicators, was drawn from the literature on assessment of human figure drawings (Gilbert, 1980). The results indicated the presence of aggressive tendencies among these children with straight lines as the most frequently occurring indicator among both genders. Chi square analysis was conducted to compare males and females for the frequency of occurrence of emotional indicators in drawings. Findings reflect significant differences in frequency of occurrence of aggression related indicators between genders with calculated X2 =4.37, p<.05. However, there was no significant difference observed with reference to the content of emotional indicators for boys and girls.