A possible relationship between figure drawing data collected in medical school and later health status among...

Figure drawings obtained while subjects were in medical school were scored using two different scales: (a) Sophistication-of-Body-Concept, a scoring system that measures the overall quality of the drawings; and (b) Conventionality/deviancy of the drawings, as determined by the relative frequency with which 42 different characteristics occurred in the total sample of drawings. Figure drawings were obtained from 1951 to 1964. As of 1984, subjects were classified into 1 of 11 health outcome (disease) categories plus a "healthy" category. Statistical analysis included one-way analyses of variance and multiple logistic regression in which age and cigarette consumption were controlled. Several statistically significant differences among groups were noted with respect to Conventionality/deviancy, but not with respect to Sophistication-of-Body-Concept.