Formal Characteristics of Thematic Apperception Test Stories as Indices of Emotional Disturbance in Children

Abstract

Formal characteristics of stories told about picture cards from the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) were defined as reflecting the storyteller's ability to accomplish the task and were distinguished from content that expresses the unique concerns of the individual. It was argued that increased emphasis on formal aspects of TAT responses is warranted, because these characteristics can be determined more objectively and are more suitable for direct group comparison. Therefore, the variables included in our study consisted of an integration and expansion of formal characteristics previously developed with adults, which showed promise in differentiating disturbed and normal groups of children. Based on these formal characteristics of TAT stories, 95% of the comparison group members and 85% of the disturbed group members were correctly classified. Emotionally disturbed boys (n = 40) differed from a comparison group (n = 40) on seven formal scoring categories which were hypothesized to differentiate the groups.