The psychopathology of everyday art: a quantitative Study - World ...

Figure 3 shows the results of the DAPA correlations as a map of associations between
colour variables. It is immediately apparent that each group differs within colour
associations, which informs the discussion of differences identified by the ANOVA
procedure. Controls used more of all colours than the patients, except black, in line with
expectations, they used lots of red and yellow, bright colours together (plot 3e), and
moderate dark colours, so their pictures probably looked brighter and fuller than the
patients. Depressives were nearest to controls, but there were associations between
green and black, dark colours, although these were little used. Personality disorder were
next; substance abusers and schizophrenics showed least use of colour. This finding
supports the general consensus which reports 'impoverishment' of work by
schizophrenics 297 but does not support more frequent reports for work by depressives 298
or by patients generally 299 .
297
Examples of later studies, see M. Miljkovitch, M. Irvine, (1982) Comparisons of drawing performances
of schizophrenics, other psychiatric patients and normal schoolchildren on a Draw-A -Village task, Arts
in Psychotherapy , V.9:203-16 differentiated schizophrenics from other patients; M.B. Morris (1995), The
DDS and the Tree Rating Scale: an isomorphic representation of Multiple Personality Disorder, Manic
Depressive and Schizophrenic populations, Art Therapy , V.12(2):118-128; Wadeson (1976, cited 1980,
op.cit.) found both complete and impoverished pictures in schizophrenia and noted impoverishment was
traditionally associated with psychotic depression, p.193; Amos (1982) op.cit. states that many of the
properties of Manic Depressives found by H. Wadeson and W.E. Bunney (1970), Manic Depressive Art:
a systematic study of differences in a 48 hour cyclic patient, J. Nervous and Mental Disease , V.150:215-
31 are also present in schizophrenia and "reflect dimensions important to diagnosis, prognosis and/or
treatment", p.141.
298
See H. Wadeson (1975), Suicide: expression in images, Am. J. Art Therapy , V.14:75-82; (1980)
op.cit., characteristics of unipolar depression by Wadeson, also tabulation of traditional literature, p.190
reprinted from Wadeson and Carpenter (1976), A comparative study of the art experience of schizophrenic,
unipolar depressive and bipolar non-depressed patients, J. Nervous Mental Disease , V.162(2):334-44; Later
example: H.Wright and M.P. McIntyre (1982), The Family Drawing Depression Scale, J. Clinical
Psychology , V.38(4):853-61; and Amos (1982) op.cit., endorsed and reprinted Wadeson & Bunney's
(1970) Mania/Depression table, low colour, closed forms, hopeless, empty.
299
S. Russell-Lacy et al. (1979) An experimental study of pictures produced by schizophrenic subjects, B.
J. Psychiatry , V.134:195-200 found that schizophrenics and other patients performed equally poorly when
compared with normals; C. Bergland & R.M. Gonzalez (1993), Art and madness: can the interface be
quantified, Am. J. Art Therapy , V.31:81-90, compared patients with personality disorder with normals
although they also found an effect for cross classified depression.
281