Differences in Color and Number Preferences of Turkish Children in Varying Stages of Illness - Abstract
Objective: A person’s physiological state contributes to color and number selection, as do sociocultural aspects of childhood socialization. The purpose of the study was to determine the preferences in color and number of Turkish children ages 7-16 in varying states of health. In that way, we aimed to evaluate how these choices reflect the physical and mental status of the children.
Methodology: Data were collected on a convenience sample of 211 subjects. General information about the child’s diagnosis, number of days hospitalized, and number of siblings was also obtained along with other projective information. At first, it was questioned how 13 dominant emotions (anger, sadness, honesty, fear, pain, happiness, love, strength, life, work, school, born, and death) were identified by the children. Afterwards, they were questioned their favorite color and numbers. Children were asked to name their favorite color and number, and then select the color they preferred from a set of color squares. The children preferred colors and numbers that were dark blue, blue, yellow, orange, red, pink, green, violet, brown, grey, white, and black, from 0 to 9, in that order.
Results: Significant differences were found in number preferences of children aged 7-9, 10-12, and 13-16 (?²: 30.381, df: 18, p: 0.034). There was no significant difference between the responses of the male children and those of the female children. Significant differences were found in color preferences of emergency ill, outpatient ill and hospitalized ill children (?²: 34.298, df: 20, p: 0.024).
Conclusions: Using colors and numbers to screen for and/or assess affective states along with physiological changes in children with varying health states may be an initial step.