Living and coping with ongoing violence - A cross-national analysis of children's drawings using structured rating indices

The article explores the possibility of analysing the drawings of children aged 8-12 years as a method of understanding the effects of living and copi ng with ongoing civic unrest. The study took place in 1993 prior to the fir st democratic election in South Africa in 1994. The drawings of 64 black So uth African children and 38 white South African children were examined. A c omparison group of drawings by 23 children living in West Belfast were incl uded. The 'Draw-a-Person' and the 'Street Where I Live' were rated by two i ndependent raters on four separate indices, a stress index, an emotional in dex, an adjustment index and a defence mechanism/coping index. The findings reflect cross-national differences in levels of stress and emotional indic ators with Belfast boys showing the highest levels (p < .05). The manner in which children responded to stress varied with greater anger and aggressio n ratings for Belfast boys (p < .01). Overall, girls were more likely to be rated well-adjusted (p < .01). Differences in adjustment and coping strate gies were noted between Belfast boys and black South African boys and are d iscussed in terms of their hypothesized long-term negative effects. The use of coping mechanisms such as denial and social support were perceived as m ediating strategies which could bolster resilience. The advantages and limi tations of using drawings as a medium for understanding the effects of livi ng in climates of civic violence are discussed.