Norms for the Rorschach in six to eight-year-old children

Author(s)

Suélen Fernandes

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2010-09-10

Examining board members

Sonia Regina Pasian; Deise Matos do Amparo; Sonia Regina Loureiro

• Advisor: Sonia Regina Pasian

Abstract

The Psychodiagnosis of Rorschach is a psychological examination, projective technique, acknowledged worldwide in personality assessment processes. As any other psychological assessment instrument, it requires adequate normative references in order to subsidize valid interpretations of its indicators. In face of the insufficiency of studies on such references for the population of Brazilian children, the present work aimed to develop normative standards of the Rorschach for six to eight-year-old children. Also, eventual specificities on the production in this projective technique were assessed, regarding gender, age and school origin. Hundred-eighty, six to eight-year-old children took part of the study. All participants showed indicators of a typical development and lived in a city in the country region of the state of São Paulo (Brazil). The participants were equally divided in terms of gender, age and school origin, and were allowed to take part of the study through formal approval by their parents or responsible caretaker, who also responded to an initial informative questionnaire about their children for their adequate selection. All participants were assessed using the Progressive Matrices of Raven (colored version) and the Rorschach Method (French Psychoanalytical School), with their respective manuals and specific technical orientations. Coding of Rorschach protocols was performed by three independent judges, who were psychologists with prior experience in the technique and had specific training for developing the present work. These analyses revealed high agreeing indexes among the judges, evidencing a sufficient reliability level of the results. The Rorschach data was analyzed in inferential and descriptive terms (mean, standard deviation, median, minimum and maximum values). For inferential, statistical analyses, a regression linear model was used for variables related to productivity and rhythm. An univariate, adjusted model of the binomial distribution was used to analyze the remaining variables of remaining variables of the Rorschach according to the French Psychoanalytic School. Such analyses were performed in order to check for possible effects of gender, age or school origin in participants\' results. A general panorama of the present normative references showed, in average terms, the following indexes: a) productivity and rhythm: R= 14.5; TL= 14.2s and TRm= 28.8s; b) apprehension modes: G= 38.6%, D= 44.2%, Dd= 16.6% e Dbl= 0.5%; c) determinants and formal indexes: F%= 66.4%, F+%= 68.8% e F+ext%= 70.0%; d) predominant affective experiencing style: coartative; e) predominant contents: A%= 64.5% and H%= 14.1%; f) Ban= 18.5%. When regarding the analysis of possible influence of variables such as gender, age and school origin over the results on the Rorschach in the sample assessed, statistically significant differences were observed in a reduced number of variables of the projective technique, suggesting the possibility of composing a single atlas for children between six to eight years of age, of both genders and studying in both private or public schools. It must be noted, though, that age seemed to exert the highest effect on the group of responses for the Rorschach, suggesting that maturational aspects are involved in the interpretation process of this technique and pointing out to the necessity of considering, in clinical assessment processes, the present empiric evidences for the adequate interpretation of the results on the Rorschach. (AU)