GUO Huibing 1,2 , FENG Bin 1,3 , LIU Tiantian 4 , FAN Huiyong 5 , DONG Zaiquan 6 , GONG Qiyong 1,7 , CHEN Taolin 1,8
  • 1. Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institution of Radiology and Medical Imaging, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China;
  • 2. Department of Student Affairs Management, West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China;
  • 3. West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China;
  • 4. Teacher education college, Dali University, Dali 671003, P. R. China;
  • 5. Institute of Education, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013, P. R. China;
  • 6. Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China;
  • 7. Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen 361000, P. R. China;
  • 8. College of Medical Technology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China;
CHEN Taolin, Email: tlchen@scu.edu.cn
Drawing test; House-tree-person test; Person imagery; Mental disorders; Meta-analysis
10.7507/1672-2531.202406069
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Objective To integrate person imagery from drawing tests in screening for mental disorders through meta-analysis to identify indicators that can effectively predict mental disorders. Methods A computerized search of CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCO databases was conducted to collect studies related to mental disorders and drawing tests, with a search timeframe of the period from the creation of the database to May 8, 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using CMA 3.0 after two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted information, and assessed the risk of bias. Results A total of 43 studies were included, with 791 independent effect sizes and 8 444 subjects. Meta-analysis revealed that a total of 29 person imagery traits significantly predicted mental disorders, which could be categorized into 7 types according to the features: absent, bizarre, blackened, simplified, static, detailed, and holistic. The subgroup analysis revealed that the specific indicators of affective disorders included "excessive separation among items", "oversimplified person", "rigid and static person" and "hands behind the back". The specific indicators of thought disorders were "absence of limbs", "absence of facial features", and "disproportionate body proportions". Moreover, there were seven common indicators of mental disorders, including “oversimplified drawing”, “very small drawing”, “very small person”, “weak or intermittent lines”, “single line limb”, “absence of hands or feet”, and “no expression or dullness”. Conclusion The findings could provide a reference standard for selection and interpretation of drawing indicators, promote standardization of the drawing test, and enhance the accuracy of results in screening for mental disorders.