Effects of Active Touch Activities on Children's Body Image Drawings

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the effects of active touch activities on children's body image drawing. Participants included 58 children, aged 5, enrolled in kindergarten and nursery school. Participants were introduced to active touch activities such as interacting with beetles, digging for sweet potatoes, or playing with mud balls. To evaluate their body image, participants were asked to draw their state of activity before and after engaging in active touch activities. The data collected included participant's body drawing score calculated on the basis of the Goodenough Draw-a-Person test criteria. The results indicated that the body drawing score calculated after engaging in active touch activities was significantly higher. The mechanism of body image improvement through active touch activities was also discussed.