Relationship between family structure variables and sexual identification as measured by the Draw-A-Person Test

Abstract

A total of 358 college students were given the Draw-A-Person Test (DAP; Machover, 1949) along with a Family Structure Item Form. The sex of the person drawn was compared to the participant's sex and family background characteristics. Results support drawing of a same-sexed individual as normative, regardless of sex. However, a significantly larger number of women than men drew the opposite sex first. Compared to previous studies on Jordanian populations, women drew the opposite sex figure less often than their previous counterparts. This phenomenon and other findings pertaining to some significant family variables are discussed in a sociocultural context and suggestions for future research are presented.