The use of the Machover Draw-A-Person test in detecting adult survivors ofsexual abuse: A pilot study

This pilot study investigates common indicators in human figure drawings do ne by adults who had been sexually abused during childhood. The Machover Dr aw-A-Person test was administered to three clinical groups: (1) ten women, recruited from a family therapy center, who had been sexually abused in chi ldhood; (2) ten men, recruited from a rehabilitation center for substance a buse, who had been abused as children; and (3) ten men and ten women who ha d been neither sexually nor physically abused. This third group served as t he control. Results showed differences between those participants who had b een sexually abused and those who had not in four indicators of the DAP dra wings: face line (double, hollow, or shaded chin or cheek); eyes (dot/hollo wed/shaded/omitted); hands and arms (clinging/detached/cut off/omitted); an d genitals (shaded, blocked off from rest of body). The test shows promise as a clinical instrument for detecting adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.