| Two related problems define the scope of this study: (1) Existing projective techniques are inadequate for preschool children, and (2) Object relations, a key construct in projective assessment, has not been consensually defined. Accordingly, the primary goal here is to develop a reliable and valid projective method for assessing object relations in preschool children, with a secondary goal of addressing the problematic construct validity of object relations. Sandplay, is a projective medium well suited to preschoolers' immature language and fine motor development: The child is asked to "Make a world" using 170 miniature figures in a sandtable.; A normative cohort of 26 subjects (15 boys and 11 girls) was obtained who were between the ages of 18 and 69 months, from families of middle class or higher socioeconomic status. An unusual clinical-intuitive research methodology was employed, wherein clinicians (who were familiar with Sandplay) assessed the children's object relations from Sandplay photographs, without being given an operational definition of object relations. The object relations criteria they articulated were synthesized into a manual, which another panel of Sandplay-naive clinicians were asked to apply to the photographs.; High inter-judge reliability (.80 to.98) is reported, as well as significant correlations (.47 to.60) with criteria (observed object relations and chronological age). Predictive, content, and partial construct validity are claimed. A combined phenomenological/structural conceptualization of object relations is outlined. Implications for application to clinical settings are discussed. |
