This study explored the child's representation of his family according to some selected variables of the Kinetic Family Drawing test (KFD). Results were compared by culture and by sex. A total of 197 urban, middle class children (113 Japanese and 84 Filipinos) from 2 schools in Tokyo, Japan and Quezon City, Philippines, participated in this research.
The KFD variables chosen were: presence of major figures, figure size, inter-figural distance, actions and styles. Chi square test yielded the following results: Culture significantly affected the frequency of drawing the actual family size, actions depicted, communication and nurturance levels and styles used. Culture did not significantly affect figure size and interfigural distance. Sex significantly affected style usage. Culture and sex did not significantly affect the nature of actions depicted.
Aside from presenting a broad description of children's drawings; the research hoped to have contributed to the data gathering and observation stages of cross-cultural investigations in Asian psychology.