ABSTRACT Art therapists recognise the importance of clients’ early attachment experience. The Bird's Nest Drawing (BND) is an attachment security measure with potential for research and practice, developed by American art therapists. The client draws a bird's nest and writes a corresponding narrative, the latter assisting an integrative evaluation. A systematic rating procedure currently only exists for the drawings. The present study was conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the BND after adding new ratings of the BND story using data from an earlier study with university students. The current investigators established a systematic method for coding BND stories (N = 136). Content analysis yielded five ratings, which were examined in conjunction with the corresponding drawings and existing drawing ratings, and two self-report attachment questionnaires. Four of the 11 drawing rating items and the overall attachment rating had acceptable psychometric properties, as did two of the new story ratings. However, the seven items did not inter-correlate consistently, nor yield improved internal reliability. Construct validity using the established attachment scales was not established convincingly. Results suggest a need for further development of the BND taking greater account of psychometric principles of scale development, with implications for art therapy research and practice. Plain-language summary The relationship people have with others can be greatly affected by the childhood experiences they have with those caring for them and can cause what art therapists call ‘attachment difficulties’. The Bird's Nest Drawing, first developed in America, provides a way for therapists (and researchers) to understand people's attachment difficulties. Drawings can express what is difficult to say in words. The person draws a bird's nest and writes a short story about it. Inclusion of the story is intended to provide richer information about the client and his or her drawing. It is important that the drawing and accompanying story provide an accurate view of people's attachment experiences. This is more likely if they use a tested set of instructions to rate elements in the drawing, such as how the nest is positioned on the tree. Instructions for rating drawings already exist, however no instructions existed for rating the stories people tell. In this study, we used 136 drawings and stories from a previous study with American university students, and also participants’ scores (from the same study) on well-established questionnaires about attachment relationships. We devised a rating system for the stories. Then we checked how reliable and accurate the ratings were for both the drawings and the stories. Part of this checking involved comparing the ratings with the questionnaire scores. We found that neither the existing drawing ratings nor the new story ratings were sufficient when judged by established principles for good design of assessment measures. For example, the ratings did not sufficiently fit the pattern of scores on the established questionnaires. Although drawings can be helpful in art therapy when people find it difficult to use words, we suggest that therapists and researchers exercise caution in how they use the Bird's Nest Drawing (even with stories) until it can be further developed as an assessment measure.

中文翻译：

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依恋安全性评估中的燕窝图画及故事情节

摘要 艺术治疗师认识到客户早期依恋体验的重要性。鸟巢图 (BND) 是一种具有研究和实践潜力的依恋安全措施，由美国艺术治疗师开发。客户画了一个鸟巢并写了相应的叙述，后者协助综合评估。目前仅存在针对图纸的系统评级程序。本研究的目的是在使用早期大学生研究的数据添加 BND 故事的新评级后，确定 BND 的心理测量特性。目前的研究人员建立了一种系统的方法来编码 BND 故事（N = 136）。内容分析得出五个等级，结合相应的图纸和现有图纸等级进行检查，和两份自我报告附件问卷。11 个绘图评级项目中的四个项目和整体依恋评级具有可接受的心理测量特性，两个新故事评级也是如此。然而，这七个项目并没有始终如一地相互关联，也没有提高内部可靠性。使用已建立的依恋量表构建效度并没有令人信服地建立。结果表明需要进一步发展 BND，更多地考虑规模发展的心理测量原则，对艺术治疗研究和实践有影响。简单语言总结 人们与他人的关系会受到他们与照顾他们的人的童年经历的极大影响，并可能导致艺术治疗师所说的“依恋困难”。最早在美国开发的鸟巢图画，为治疗师（和研究人员）提供了一种了解人们依恋困难的方法。绘画可以表达难以用语言表达的东西。这个人画了一个鸟巢，并写了一个关于它的小故事。包含故事旨在提供有关客户及其绘图的更丰富的信息。重要的是，绘图和伴随的故事提供了人们依恋体验的准确视图。如果他们使用一组经过测试的指令对绘图中的元素（例如巢穴在树上的位置）进行评分，则更有可能出现这种情况。已经存在对图纸进行评级的说明，但是不存在对人们讲述的故事进行评级的说明。在这项研究中，我们使用了之前对美国大学生进行的研究中的 136 张图画和故事，以及参与者在关于依恋关系的完善问卷中的分数（来自同一研究）。我们为故事设计了一个评级系统。然后我们检查了图纸和故事的评级的可靠性和准确性。检查的一部分涉及将评级与问卷分数进行比较。我们发现，根据良好设计评估措施的既定原则判断，现有的绘图评级和新故事评级都不够。例如，评分与既定问卷的评分模式不完全相符。尽管当人们发现难以使用文字时，绘画在艺术治疗中可能会有所帮助，但我们建议治疗师和研究人员谨慎使用 Bird'