Self concept as reflected in adults’ self-figure drawings

Abstract

Self-concept, comprising the self-image, self-esteem and ideal self, has been noted to begin early in life and thus several research studies have focused on children and how they use drawings in varied ways including expressing their feelings and thoughts about events and their self-concept. However, not much may have been done regarding how adults reveal themselves in their self-figure drawings except in specific cases depicted by adults who have those disabilities and the clinical set-ups where some adults are undergoing art therapeutic sessions. This study therefore sought to answer these questions 1) what indicators are present in adults’ self-figure drawings that reflect their self-concepts? 2) how different are these indicators from those present in children’s drawings? 3) how relevant are these to teaching and learning? Using a mainly qualitative approach, the research incorporates content analysis and uses self-report, human figure drawing and Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Scale as tools for gathering primary data from 97 young adult participants ranging from 20 -25years. Theoretical framework of the study was largely based on a review of literature on the emotional indicators in children’s drawings, self as expressed in children’s drawings and indicators in adult selffigure drawings about some disabilities. This paper presents the different characteristics of the self-figure drawings that came up and how their self-concept measured with the ASSEI affected the drawings. I will look at differences in the sizes of self-figure drawings in adults and how they are different, if they are, from children’s. I also argue that self-concept may have a correlation with adult self-figure drawing and this is very relevant to teaching and learning.