AIM To investigate psychopathological correlates of child obesity via the Draw-A-Person test(DAP).METHODS The participants were 50 children with a mean age of 9.74 years.Body mass index(BMI) was used as a measure of b...AIM To investigate psychopathological correlates of child obesity via the Draw-A-Person test(DAP).METHODS The participants were 50 children with a mean age of 9.74 years.Body mass index(BMI) was used as a measure of body fat.Children were divided into normal(n = 17),overweight(n = 14) and obese(n = 19).Two qualitative methods of scoring the DAP based on an integrative approach were used to assess self-concept(ESW) and overall level of children's adjustment(EAC).A procedure for judging interpretative skills of clinicians was implemented before they evaluated children's drawings.RESULTS As predicted by our hypothesis,BMI was negatively correlated with ESW,r(50) =-0.29,P < 0.05,but not with EAC,r(50) =-0.08,P = ns.To evaluate the effect of gender,Pearson correlations were re-computedregrouping the sample accordingly:BMI and EAC reached a significant negative correlation in female subjects,r(24) =-0.36,P < 0.05,and a positive correlation in male subjects,r(26) = 0.37,P = < 0.05;negative correlation between BMI and ESW became stronger in females,r(24) =-0.51,P < 0.01 but not in males,whose correlation disappeared resulting not-significant,r(26) =-0.06,P = ns.No effect of age was found.Results indicate that obesity has a negative correlation exclusively on overall adjustment and self-concept in female children.CONCLUSION It was concluded that there is a negative bias toward females that reveals how the stigma of obesity is widespread in Western society.展开更多
文摘AIM To investigate psychopathological correlates of child obesity via the Draw-A-Person test(DAP).METHODS The participants were 50 children with a mean age of 9.74 years.Body mass index(BMI) was used as a measure of body fat.Children were divided into normal(n = 17),overweight(n = 14) and obese(n = 19).Two qualitative methods of scoring the DAP based on an integrative approach were used to assess self-concept(ESW) and overall level of children's adjustment(EAC).A procedure for judging interpretative skills of clinicians was implemented before they evaluated children's drawings.RESULTS As predicted by our hypothesis,BMI was negatively correlated with ESW,r(50) =-0.29,P < 0.05,but not with EAC,r(50) =-0.08,P = ns.To evaluate the effect of gender,Pearson correlations were re-computedregrouping the sample accordingly:BMI and EAC reached a significant negative correlation in female subjects,r(24) =-0.36,P < 0.05,and a positive correlation in male subjects,r(26) = 0.37,P = < 0.05;negative correlation between BMI and ESW became stronger in females,r(24) =-0.51,P < 0.01 but not in males,whose correlation disappeared resulting not-significant,r(26) =-0.06,P = ns.No effect of age was found.Results indicate that obesity has a negative correlation exclusively on overall adjustment and self-concept in female children.CONCLUSION It was concluded that there is a negative bias toward females that reveals how the stigma of obesity is widespread in Western society.
