Elementary Schoolchildren’s Perspectives in the Draw-a-Person-in-the-Rain Test: Open-Ended Items and Self-Assessment of Stress among Japanese Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of self-evaluated stress levels, depict shielding elements against rain, and identify the developmental differences of features in the Draw-a-Person-in-the-Rain (DAPR) test. The study recruited Japanese elementary school children from the third to sixth grades (N = 202). After completing the DAPR test, the participants completed a 10-point self-rating stress scale and answered two open-ended question items about recently experienced stress, and the subsequent narratives of scenarios in their drawings. In this study, the contents of children’s perceived stress were classified into 10 categories, and their relationships with the features of drawings were examined, including correspondence analysis. The results of correspondence analysis indicated relationships without protective shields (e.g., soaking wet conditions and without an umbrella) correspond to stress from family members or the environment and dissatisfaction with friends. In DAPR, a self-figure might project capacities of self-regulation, ego strength, and decreased self-centered sense with development. However, taking cultural differences into account in assessment is important, because the rate of rain gear drawing was higher than that of American elementary school students.

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