Investigation of personality traits and agressin tendencies of children diagnosed with spesific learning disabilities by drawing pictures a projective method

Specific learning disabilities are one of the most common areas among students receiving special education. In addition to academic difficulties, social and psychological difficulties experienced by students with specific learning disabilities cause difficulties in their daily lives. It is known that they have more difficulties than their peers due to their difficulties in using language and organizing their thoughts, which are necessary for them to express themselves. This study examined the personality traits and aggression tendencies of children diagnosed with specific learning disabilities through drawing pictures, a projective method. It was aimed to reach information about their personality traits and emotional states without feeling the anxiety of writing and reading performance. Within the scope of the research, "Draw a Cactus Test" and "Draw a Non-Existent Animal Test" were applied to students receiving special education in a special education and rehabilitation center in the 2023-2024 academic year. Sociodemographic information was obtained during one-to-one interviews. Of the 100 students with specific learning difficulties, 65 were male students and 35 were female students. While analyzing the findings, features such as size, smallness, location, and colors used in the students' drawings were taken into consideration. In the "Draw a Cactus" test, thorns, pot, whether the cactus was wild or domestic were taken into consideration. In the "Draw an Animal That Doesn't Exist Test", reactive and proactive aggression symptoms of animals were emphasized. For this purpose, the drawn organs and added features were analyzed. While analyzing the drawings, the emotions reflected by the students were emphasized. Attention was paid to the differences of the findings obtained according to gender. All data were quantified by taking frequencies. According to the research findings, the majority of the students had aggression tendencies and drawings of reactive aggression traits were revealed regardless of gender. All participants showed drawings of homebody personality traits, but male students reflected their need for freedom and independence more than female students. It was observed that cues for calmness, irritability, protective traits and anxious mood were reflected at similar rates in all students. Female students drew drawings suggesting that they might be more extraverted than male students. It was observed that female students had higher rates of drawing both negative-depressed mood and cheerful mood than male students. Clues about rebelling against authority were higher in male students than in female students. When the genders were considered separately, it was seen that homebody, non-belonging and dependent personality traits were revealed at the same rate in female students (0.94) within their own gender and in male students (0.60) within their own gender. Keywords: Specific Learning Disabilities, Personality, Aggression