CORRELATION BETWEEN THE PARENT-CHILD EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT AND THE VISUAL-CONSTRUCTIVE ABILITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Development of visual-constructive ability is crucial for successful learning at both kindergarten as well as school levels. Several internal and external factors may prevent a child from normal development of visual-constructive skills. This study was aimed at finding correlation between the visual-constructive ability and mother-child emotional attachment in early childhood. A total of 60 kindergarten children (mean age 5.7 years) of both sexes were involved in the study (exclusion criteria: incomplete family children, and any kind of neurological and psychiatric disorders). Participants were provided with a paper and a set of color pencils. They were asked to draw a portrait of their family. The drawing task was performed for one hour in the kindergarten play room. Each child sat separately from the others, at the desk. Produced drawings were divided into two types: samples where mother figure was present (Type A, 41 drawings out of the total of 60) and samples where mother figure was omitted, although in fact, mother was not absent in the family (Type B, 19 drawings). The Types A and B were analyzed with respect to: 1. Presence of body details (shoulder, head, torso, eyes, eyebrows, mouth, nose, hair, ears). Depictions differed in the number of family member's figures. For this reason, the mean number of omissions in the type A and in the type B was calculated as a total number of omissions divided by the number of figures depicted; 2. Proportion of body details; 3. Presence of additional details (flowers, the sun, trees, toys, etc.). Marked difference in the quality of drawings between types A and B was revealed. The mean number of omissions was 0.74 and 2.92 in the Types A and B respectively. Proportions of body parts were found distorted in 58.8 % of the type B while three cases (7.31%) of distortion were registered in type A drawings. As compared to the Type B, the Type A was found to be much richer in additional details, such as flowers, animals, trees, the sun, and the sky. Data statistical analysis confirmed the negative correlation between the quality of drawing and the omission of mother in the family portrait. Omission of mother's figure in children's drawings of their family is believed to reflect the insecure mother-child attachment. Data obtained in the current study suggest insecure mother-child attachment to negatively influence the development of visual-constructive ability of the child in early childhood.