Effects of Parental Presence/Absence on Size of Children's Human Figure Drawings

Abstract

The effects of parental presence or absence in the home on the size of male and female human figure drawings were examined for a sample of 480 Barbadian children ages 7 to 13 yr. Most children of both sexes drew larger female than male figures, but significant effects relating to mother-absence and father-absence were found for boys and girls, respectively. Findings were not entirely consistent with those of previous research but would seem to reflect the matrifocality of Caribbean households.