An assessment among children aged between 9-12: The relationship between children's drawings and mental health variables as depression, anxiety, and self esteem

This research aims to scrutinize the possible relationships between the mental health variables including depression, anxiety and self-esteem in the age group of 9 to 12 years old children, and the clues obtained about mental health depending on the drawings made by children. Within the framework of this study in which 120 participants in total take part, The Children's Depression Inventory, The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children are employed to assess the mental health variables in the participants. Correlation analysis is used in comparing the clues obtained about the mental health of the participants depending on their drawings with the scores obtained from research scales. On the other hand, the significance of the effects of demographical characteristics on depression, self-esteem and anxiety is examined through the analysis steps of the "T-test". Based on the results obtained from the analysis, it is shown that there is a moderate downhill correlation (r = -.47, p < .01) between the scores obtained from the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and the scores on the low self-esteem that are obtained from the drawings made by children. A moderately significant (r =.80, p < .01) relationship is determined between the scores obtained from the Children's Depression Inventory by Kovacs and the clues on depression that are obtained from the drawings made by children. A relationship ( r = .52, p < .01) is determined between the scores obtained from the sub-dimension of State anxiety of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the clues about depression that are obtained from the drawings made by children while a moderately significant ( r = .60, p < .01) relationship is determined between the scores obtained from the sub-dimension of Trait anxiety of the Trait Anxiety Inventory and the clues about depression that are obtained from the drawings made by children. Depending on the data obtained from this research, the clues obtained from the drawings made by children can be regarded as a significant instrument in the assessment of mental health. When evaluated all these data, it would be possible to say that the present study, based on the clues obtained by parents and teachers through the drawings, helps children in receiving professional support without any delay, having an accelerated diagnosis and treatment process, and also receiving more immediate response to their emotional needs from their parents and teachers.