The performance of deaf children on the Draw-A-Person test: a validity study

Human figure drawings were scored for 30 deaf subjects ages 5 to 15 using the Goodenough-Harris Draw-A-Person method (DAP) in an investigation of the validity of this test as a measure of intellectual maturity in deaf children. DAP standard scores were shown to be positively correlated (r = .43, p .05) with Performance Scale IQ scores of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), but negatively correlated with age (r = -.41, p .05) for all subjects. A significant difference was found between DAP scores and WISC-R Performance IQ scores for all subjects: The mean WISC-R IQ score exceeded the mean DAP standard score by 10 points (t = 2.7, p = .01). Those deaf subjects whose parents were also deaf (DP) outperformed deaf subjects with hearing parents (HP) on the WISC-R Performance Scale by over one standard deviation (t = -2.64, p .01). No difference was found in DAP scores between the DP and HP groups. It was concluded that the DAP is a valid measure of intellectual maturity in deaf children through age 12, but must be used with caution due to its tendency to underestimate criterion scores, and should be used with additional measures, as part of a larger test battery.