An evaluation of the clinical utility of the Draw-a-Person Test

Evaluated the reliability and validity of objective scoring procedures on the Draw-A-Person Test. Handler's (1967) scales and other ratings of overall quality were used. Ss were mentally retarded persons, hospitalized and non-hospitalized psychotics, and normals. Naive raters scored the protocols under blind conditions. Reliability estimates for both sets of scales ranged from .42 to .78. Positive evidence also is presented, which indicates that overall quality does relate to overall level of psychological adjustment. Group and scale differences are discussed.