Alexithymic characteristics in responses to the Synthetic House-Tree-Person (HTP) Drawing Test.

This study examined the association of certain complex personality traits assessed by the Synthetic House-Tree-Person Drawing Test and alexithymic characteristics assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale for a sample of 589 Japanese college students. Alexithymic students who scored over 61 points on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 exhibited two characteristics relative to the test: poor relationships between figures and additional written explanations. These two characteristics projected on the Synthetic House-Tree-Person Drawing Test may be related to alexithymic characteristics and related factors.