The image of the family through the eyes of an older child before and after the birth of the younger sibling in the drawing test "My Family"

Abstract

Emotional state of the child, how he perceives his family before and after the birth of a younger sibling explored in this article. The sample consists from 31 child preschoolers. The children were divided into a control group — whose mothers were not pregnant, and an experimental one, in whose family a new child was expected to appear. Children were tested twice before and after the birth of a younger sibling. Drawing test "My Family" was used in the study. The data obtained show that there are no difference between experimental and control groups when mothers were pregnant. There are statistically significant differences between groups after the birth of younger sibling. The children from experimental group shows higher level of anxiety, aggression, sense of lost emotional contacts with the parents. A qualitative analysis of drawings is also made in the article. Practical recommendations are proposed

Keywords

• drawing test "my family"
• siblings
• family crisis
• emotional state of a child
• birth of younger sibling