A child’s perception of family is one of the most decisive psychological dynamics shaping self-esteem, basic trust, and interpersonal relationships during early childhood. In the preschool stage (60–72 months), the mental representation of "family" forms the bedrock of their future social bonds and evolving personality. Understanding this internal schema, recognizing the reflections of parental attitudes, and identifying emotional conflicts early on makes projective drawings an invaluable window into the young mind. The master's thesis completed by Ümmühan Akpınar in 2015 offers an in-depth qualitative examination of how 60–72-month-old children perceive their families by triangulating children's drawings with structured verbal narratives.

The research was conducted across three preschool institutions in Trabzon, Turkey, with a study group of 40 children. The data collection protocol involved standardized prompts for a "family drawing activity," followed by individual clinical interviews with each child regarding their artwork, as well as semi-structured interviews with parents. Pairing projective drawing analysis with verbal verification enabled an objective, nuanced interpretation of children's subconscious feelings, attachment bonds, and anxieties.

The empirical findings reveal that children's family perceptions are significantly modulated by critical variables such as gender, sibling status, parental education, and family structure:

• Gender and Primary Attachment Figures: Female participants demonstrated a generally more positive family perception compared to their male peers. In drawing layouts, girls predominantly positioned their mothers as the emotionally and physically closest figure, whereas boys consistently drew their fathers in closest proximity to themselves.

• Sibling Presence and Rivalry: Only children exhibited noticeably more positive family perceptions than children with siblings. In the drawings of children with siblings, the sibling was frequently depicted as the source of conflict, drawn at a distance, minimized in scale, or omitted altogether—reflecting the psychological dynamics of sibling rivalry and competing parental attention.

• Parental Educational Attainment: Higher parental education levels correlated positively with healthier, more integrated family perceptions. Children whose parents held secondary or higher education degrees produced more balanced, collaborative family compositions compared to those whose parents held primary education degrees, echoing established literature on democratic, sensitive parenting in educated households.

• Family Integrity: Children raised in intact, nuclear families exhibited substantially more favorable family perceptions than those from broken or divorced families. Children from non-intact households frequently omitted specific family members, established rigid spatial barriers between figures, or struggled to articulate the definition of a family unit.

• Preschool Experience: Children completing their first year in early education settings showed slightly more positive family perceptions compared to those in their second or subsequent years, suggesting that early adaptation phases and longing for the home environment influence emotional tone in drawings.

Ümmühan Akpınar’s study demonstrates that when young children are handed paper and crayons, their creations are not merely aesthetic exercises; they serve as diagnostic maps of inner emotional landscapes, domestic dynamics, and latent psychological needs. Nurturing healthy development requires fostering warm intra-family communication, sensitively meeting emotional needs, and validating creative, projective forms of expression.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Ümmühan Akpınar for this valuable academic research. The complete thesis can be accessed via www.tez.yok.gov.tr using reference code 421608.