Using projective techniques in the evaluation of groups for children of rehabilitating drug addicts

Projective Personification Approach to the Experience of People With Acne and Acne Scarring-Expressing the Unspoken

Importance

The association of acne with emotional and social well-being is not limited to active acne because acne scarring can extend long after cessation of active lesions.

Objective

To explore the psychosocial burden of facial and truncal acne (FTA) and acne scars (AS) in a spontaneous manner using qualitative research.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This qualitative study recruited participants via local panels. A personification exercise, "Letter to my Disease," was developed for participants of 2 independent arms, FTA and AS, of an international qualitative study in the form of letter completion.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Study outcomes comprised perceptions, psychosocial effects of FTA and AS, and coping behaviors.

Results

A total of 60 participants were recruited for the FTA and AS study. Among participants with FTA, 17 were women (57%), 21 (70%) were aged 13 to 25 years, and 9 (30%) were aged 26 to 40 years. Twenty-six (87%) participants had severe active acne and 4 (13%) had moderate active acne. Among participants with AS, 18 were women (60%), 9 (30%) were aged 18 to 24 years, and 21 (70%) were aged between 25 and 45 years. Of these 60 participants, 56 (FTA, 28 and AS, 28) completed the projective exercise, "Letter to my Disease," the analysis of which is presented in the current study. During completion of the letter exercise, participants spontaneously expressed emotional and physical burden as well as the social stigma associated with their skin condition. Three major themes emerged, namely, (1) burden of the condition, (2) attitudes and beliefs, and (3) relationship to the personified condition.

Conclusions and Relevance

Consistent with their skin condition, participants associated acne, through personification, with the character of an intruder and unwanted companion responsible for their poor self-esteem and emotional impairment. The findings of the joint analyses of letters (FTA and AS), as a catalytic process and free-expression space, outline the continuous burden of active acne starting from adolescence and then continuing into adulthood and beyond active lesions with AS, and highlight the struggle for self-acceptance.

Do children favor snacks and dislike vegetables? Exploring children's food preferences using drawing as a projective technique. A cross-cultural study

OBJECTIVE

To avoid the rising spread of childhood obesity and preserve resources within planetary boundaries, healthy and sustainable eating habits and the consumption of adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables should be encouraged. Children's food preference was found to be an important determinant for food choice and consumption. The aim of this study was to explore children's food preferences using drawing as a projective technique in terms of healthy and sustainable eating and compare food preference patterns in Denmark and Lithuania.

METHOD

In total 484 children, aged between 8 and 13 years old, participated in the study (147 in Denmark and 337 in Lithuania). Participants were asked to fill the food preference questionnaire and answer questions about their daily intake of fruits, vegetables, and snacks and draw their favorite meal afterward. Sociodemographic questions about children's age, gender, parents' employment, and family composition were also included in the questionnaire.

RESULTS

Fruits, vegetables, highly-processed and animal-based foods were not included in a large part of children's most preferred meal composition. Favorite meals' composition varied among children in both countries and included different products from separate food groups. Vegetables were more likely to be present in the children's favorite meals together with meat products. Girls in both countries had more expressed vegetable preferences than boys. Boys in Lithuania had a relatively more expressed preference for highly-processed foods, while Danish girls had a more expressed preference for animal-based products.

CONCLUSIONS

Children's preferences for foods such as meat and animal-based products expressed in children's drawings, might be considered as relatively positive in terms of sustainable eating. However, children's preferences and intake of fruits and vegetables should still be encouraged among young consumers. Cultural and gender differences in children's food preferences should be considered while creating interventions and marketing strategies for promoting healthy and sustainable eating among young consumers.

"It's in the Cards": The Contribution of Illustrated Metaphor Cards to Exploring Values Within Narratives

In this article, we present the use of illustrated metaphorical cards as a technique to enrich the qualitative narrative interview. We examine the advantages of incorporating a projective tool to assist in constructing and understanding personal narratives of people living with severe mental illness. We interviewed 25 participants-staff and members of a clubhouse in Israel (an international community model of rehabilitation in mental health)-and sought to understand their stories focused on personal and organizational values. The findings revealed that, in most cases, the cards contributed to data collection by enhancing the interviewees' ability for expression and by facilitating richer, more comprehensive stories and descriptions. This in turn enhanced the researcher's ability to understand the messages and stories presented. The research conclusions discuss the cards' potential contribution to improving data collection and analysis. The cards became an additional channel for expressing participants' experiences, emotions, and unique voice.

Cybernetics: a possible solution for the "knowledge gap" between "external" and "internal" in evaluation processes

This paper addresses the issue of the knowledge gap between evaluators and the entity being evaluated: the dilemma of the knowledge of professional evaluators vs. the in-depth knowledge of the evaluated subjects. In order to optimize evaluative outcomes, the author suggests an approach based on ideas borrowed from the science of cybernetics as a method of evaluation--one that enables in-depth perception of the evaluated field without jeopardizing a rigorous study or the evaluator's professionalism. The paper focuses on the main concepts that deal with this dilemma--showing how cybernetics combines the different bodies of knowledge of the different stakeholders, including the professional evaluator, resulting in a coherent body of knowledge created mainly by those internal to the process, owned by them, and relevant to all--those who are internal and those who are external and their different purposes.