A relatively recent area of research has centred on the social and communicative nature of drawing. The journal articles listed below examine children’s drawings from this perspective and also how drawings can be used to improve the quality and quantity of children’s communication (both in terms of simple recall to the communication of more emotive information).
Backett-Milburn, K., & McKie, L. (1999). A critical appraisal of the draw and write technique. Health Education Research, 14 (3), 387-398.
Barlow, C. M., Jolley, R. P., & Hallam, J. L. (2010). Drawings as memory aids: Optimising the drawing method to facilitate young children's recall. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25 (3), 480-487.
Braswell, G. S. (2007). Keeping the audience in mind: Relationships between symbol production and social cognition. Visual Arts Research, 33 (1), 83-91.
Bradding, A., & Horstman, M. (1999). Using the draw and write technique with children. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 3, 170– 175.
Burkitt, E., Watling, D. & Murray, L. (2011). Children’s drawings of significant figures for a peer or an adult audience, Infant and Child Development, 20, 466–473.
Callaghan, T. (2008). Children's understanding of artist-picture relations: Implications for their theories of pictures. In Milbrath, C., & Trautner, H. M. (Eds.). Children's understanding and production of pictures, drawings and art. (pp. 187 – 205) Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe & Huber.
Callaghan, T. C., & Rochat, P. (2003). Traces of the artist: Sensitivity to the role of the artist in children’s pictorial reasoning. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 21, 415-445.
Coates, E. (2002). ‘I forgot the sky!’ Children’s stories contained within their drawings. International Journal of Early Years Education, 10 (1), 21-35.
Coates, E., & Coates, A. (2006). Young children talking and drawing. International Journal of Early Years Education, 14(3), 221-241.
DeLoache, J. S. (1995). Early symbol understanding and use. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 33, 65-114.
Dreissnack, M. (2005). Children’s drawings as facilitators of communication: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 20 (6), 415-423.
Driessnack, M. (2006). Draw-and-tell conversations with children about fear. Qualitative health research, 16 (10), 1414-1435.
Einarsdottir, J., Dockett, S., & Perry, B. (2009). Making meaning: Children’s perspectives expressed through drawings. Early Child Development and Care, 179 (2), 217-232.
Gross, J., & Hayne, H. (1999). Drawing facilitates children’s verbal reports of emotionally laden events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 5, 265 – 283.
Gross, J., Hayne, H., & Drury, T. (2009). Drawing facilitates children’s reports of factual and narrative information: Implications for educational contexts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 953-971.
Hallam, J. L., Lee, H. A., & Das Gupta, M. (2012). Multiple interpretations of child art–the importance of context and perspective. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6 (2), 185 – 193.
Holliday, E. L., Harrison, L. J., & McLeod, S. (2009). Listening to children with communication impairment talking through their drawings. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 7 (3), 244-263.
Hopperstad, M. H. (2008). How children make meaning through drawing and play. Visual Communication, 7 (1), 77-96.
Hopperstad, M. H. (2010). Studying meaning in children’s drawings. Journal of Childhood Literacy, 10 (4), 430-452.
Kelly, G. (1984). Children’s Drawings as a Means of Non-verbal Communication. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47, 244-246.
Kostenius, C., & Öhrling, K. (2008). ‘Friendship is like an extra parachute’: reflections on the way schoolchildren share their lived experiences of well‐being through drawings. Reflective Practice, 9 (1), 23-35.
Light, P. H. & McEwan, F. (1987). Drawings as messages: The effect of a communication game upon production of view-specific drawings. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 5, 53-60.
Light, P. H. & Simmons, B. (1983). The effects of a communication task upon the representation of depth relationships in young children’s drawings. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 35, 81-92.
Mand, K. (2012). Giving children a ‘voice’: arts-based participatory research activities and representation. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 15 (2), 149-160.
Picard, D., & Boulhais, M. (2011). Sex differences in expressive drawing. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(7), 850-855.
Rich, R. Z., & Blake, S. (1994). Using pictures to assist in comprehension and recall. Intervention in School and Clinic, 29 (5), 271-275.
Rollins, J. A. (2005). Tell me about it: Drawing as a communication tool for children with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 22 (4), 203-221.
Tielsch, A. H., & Allen, P. J (2005). Listen to them draw: Screening children in primary care through the use of human figure drawings. Pediatric Nursing, 31, 320-327.
Walker, K. (2008). Review of Research: Children and Their Purple Crayons: Understanding Their Worlds through Their Drawings. Childhood Education, 84 (2), 96-96.