Assessing Attachment Using Projective Tests: A Scoping Review on Adolescent and Adult Studies

Background: Projective assessment has been widely used in clinical settings to reveal personal characteristics, including relationship attachment. However, more often attachment was observed in children, rather than older groups. Study aims: The present study aims to conduct scoping review on projective test that had been used to assess a parent-child attachment reported by adolescents and adults. Method: We search original articles in ScienceDirect, Scopus, EBSCOhost, Proquest and Emerald Insight. Initial search resulted 2447 articles, but after selection process was done, finally there are 11 articles to be reviewed. Results: Three projective tests had been used frequently to assess attachment on adolescents and adults were: 1) the Adult Attachment Picture System (AAP); (2) the Bird’s Nest Drawings (BND); and (3) the Draw-a-person test (DAP). These tools were predominantly developed in US and European cuntries. Similar tools validated in Asian countries is very imited. Conclusion: Future studies, particularly outside US and Eurpean countries, need to validate these measures prior to the study.