Identifying sleep disturbance in children: insights using children's drawings and clinical research portfolio

Clark, Nicola Jane (2008) Identifying sleep disturbance in children: insights using children's drawings and clinical research portfolio. D Clin Psy thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Background: Child-centred approaches have been gaining favour in recent years in almost every domain of health care. However, few methods are available which are developmentally sensitive enough to elicit children's voices, whilst also accommodating for cognitive and verbal ability. Drawing is a natural and spontaneous childhood activity which has recently been gaining support. Despite increasing popularity, the use of children's drawings as a reliable and valid clinical tool, continues to be debated. Aims: This paper aims to systematically review studies exploring children's drawings as a means of facilitating psychological evaluation in health care research. Methods: Fifteen articles, that satisfied the criteria of this review, were identified using a systematic search strategy including searching electronic databases and hand searching of relevant articles. The methodological quality of articles fulfilling inclusion criteria were rated using an idiosyncratic quality criteria. Results: Overall, there is little available high-quality evidence to support the use of children's drawings as the sole means of psychological evaluation, as currently too few studies meet the gold standard criteria. More encouragingly, it appears that drawing is an effective tool for establishing relationships and rapport building. Conclusions: Research employing children's drawings as a clinical tool has generally been of poor quality and has prevented any firm conclusions being drawn with regards to the usefulness of children's drawings as a means of facilitating psychological evaluation in health care research.

• Item Type: Thesis (D Clin Psy)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Clinical psychology, children, sleep disorders, sleep.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Supervisor's Name: Ellis, Dr. Jason
• Date of Award: 2008
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2008-74039
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 23 Sep 2019 15:33
• Last Modified: 11 Jul 2021 13:35
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.74039
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/74039