Validade do Desenho da Figura Humana para avaliação cognitiva infantil

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to verify the construct validity of the human figure drawing to assess children's cognitive development, having as criteria developmental changes as well as comparison with another intellectual measure. Two studies were undertaken, being the sample for the first one composed by composed by 255 Brazilian children (110 females and 145 males ), and 55 Argentineans (26 females and 29 males), living in different cities, ages 7 through 9, and the second sample composed by 103 Brazilian children (53 females and 50 males) , ages ranging from 9 through 11 years old. The selected scoring procedure for the drawings was the one by Wechsler and the intellectual measure was Pasquali's Non-Verbal test of Children's Reasoning (Teste Não Verbal de Raciocínio Infantil - TNVRI). An Analysis of Variance indicated significant effects for age, country of origin, and sex. Pearson correlations between the drawings and the TNVRI varied from r = 0,21 to r = 0,92. The results led to the conclusion that the human figure is a valid measure, although a careful standardization is necessary for its adequate use in each culture environment.