Form and content in adults’ ‘Person Picking an Apple from a Tree’ drawings as related to their attachment

Abstract

The present study inquired into the associations between formal art elements and symbolic content in the ‘Person Picking an Apple from a Tree’ drawings of 215 young adults aged 20–35 years, as related to their attachment representations. The ‘Person Picking an Apple from a Tree’ drawings were rated by two scoring systems: the ‘Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale’ and the ‘Symbolic Contents in “Person Picking an Apple from a Tree”/Adults’, scoring form and content levels respectively. Factor analysis of each scoring system yielded three factors in each rating system. Attachment categories were measured by a self-reported questionnaire, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale. For the whole sample, no associations were found between ‘Person Picking an Apple from a Tree’ form and content; however, unique associations were found in the insecure attachment categories. Strong association was found in the anxious attachment group between the factors ‘realness of solution’ and ‘person's agency’; negative association was found in the avoidant attachment group between the factors ‘organisation' and ‘person's agency’; low association was found in the fearful attachment group between the factors ‘animation’ and ‘tree's potency’. The results are discussed in light of attachment and psychoanalytic theories, as well as implications for art therapy.

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