Depiction of pain in the self-drawings of children with sickle cell disease

In an attempt to explore the perception of pain in children, 30 children with sickle cell disease were asked to make two drawings; one of themselves and one of themselves in pain. It was hypothesized that the cognitive ability and the emotional state of the child would be affected by the pain experience. Children and their parents were interviewed on the incidence of pain and on the child's control over it. The cognitive ability of the child was related to the kind of control he/she exercised over the pain. An analysis of the drawings concerning their thematic representations, colour and size is also presented. The mental age of the child dropped in the drawing of pain as compared to the non-pain drawing but it was found to be irrelevant to the kind of control the child exercised on the pain.