The effects of parental presence or absence in the home on the size of male and female human figure drawings were examined for a sample of 480 Barbadian children ages 7 to 13 yr. Most children of both sexes drew larger female than male figures, but significant effects relating to mother-absence and father-absence were found for boys and girls, respectively. Findings were not entirely consistent with those of previous research but would seem to reflect the matrifocality of Caribbean households.
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