Draw-a-Person test: The sex of the first-drawn figure revisited

This study investigated one of the Draw-a-Person test (DAP) indicators: the sex of the first-drawn figure. The developmental trajectory of same-sex figures was explored in a control sample, while the association between opposite-sex figures and psychopathology was investigated in a clinical sample. Participants were 606 children (6–12 years old) divided into two groups: clinical and control. More than 70% of children drew figures of their own sex first. Within the control sample, the frequency of opposite-sex figures was over 17%. Thus, drawing the opposite sex first was not confirmed as an indicator of emotional difficulties. Nevertheless, the impossibility to identify the sex of the first figure emerged as an emotional indicator and a new DAP indicator was proposed: undefined sex.