Family Drawings of Institutionalized Children with Abuse History from South India

Purpose: This study explored how institutionalized children in India express attachment styles through Family Drawings and how these relate to their victimization experiences. Method: Ninety-two Indian children aged 9 to13 completed the Kerns Security Scale, the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, and a Family Drawing coded using Fury’s eight global scales. Results: Principal Component Analysis revealed three emotional themes: Inward Distress, Pathological Presentation, and Conflict/Role Confusion. Most drawings (94.6%) reflected insecure attachment—mainly avoidant or ambivalent patterns. However, these styles were not significantly associated with self-reported attachment, victimization scores, or gender. Males had higher scores on the Bizarreness scale than females. Conclusions: These findings suggest that family drawings can provide meaningful insights into hidden emotional difficulties that may not surface through direct questioning.