The Self-Figure Drawing Emotional Abuse Index: A Preliminary Convergent Validity Study with Teacher-Reported Neglect and Psychological Adjustment in Italian Children

Background/Objectives: Emotional abuse and neglect remain comparatively understudied forms of child maltreatment, and non-verbal screening tools such as the Self-Figure Drawing (SFD) have rarely been examined outside their original cultural contexts. This study provided a preliminary test of the convergent validity of the SFD emotional abuse (EA) index with independent teacher-report indicators of neglect and psychological adjustment in an Italian community sample.

Methods

Participants were 392 Italian children aged 8-10 years. Children completed a Self-Figure Drawing, which was coded for emotional abuse indicators by two trained independent raters blind to teacher reports; teachers completed a neglect scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), whose Total Difficulties score was used as an indicator of global psychological difficulties (higher scores indicated poorer adjustment).