Does temperament relate to sensory processing styles in 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers with disabilities?
Item
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Title
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Does temperament relate to sensory processing styles in 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers with disabilities?
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:56b3e13478ac:10559
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identifier
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10874
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Creator
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Cavanaugh-Todd, Jeanne M.,
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Contributor
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Georgiana S. Tryon
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Educational psychology | Early childhood education | Behavior | Preschoolers | Sensory Processing | Special Education | Temperament
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Abstract
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The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between temperament, as assessed on the TABC-R Teacher Form (Martin and Bridger, 1999), and sensory processing, as assessed on the Sensory Profile Caregiver Questionnaire (Dunn, 1999). In examining the literature, these constructs appear complementary in theory and purpose. While temperament and sensory processing both explain behavior, the former defines how a child reacts and the latter explains why. It has been suggested that similarities exist between the theories of temperament and sensory processing, but few studies have examined this relationship. There is some evidence that a difficult temperament relates to increased sensory processing dysfunction, however, temperament is more complex than a continuum of easy to difficult. Increased knowledge of this relationship would benefit school psychologists when addressing challenging behaviors and creating individualized interventions.;The study included 57 children between the ages of 3 and 5 currently receiving preschool special education services. Relationships amongst sensory processing styles and temperament types were investigated. With a few exceptions, correlations were not significant at the customary p < .05 level. Consequently, my hypotheses were not supported by the data. Post hoc analyses, however, revealed a few significant results. These results suggest that a child's adaptive behavior is correlated with sensory processing dysfunction and temperament, and that a low threshold to sensory stimuli is related to temperaments with a stronger inhibited trait. Correlation analyses revealed that delayed development of adaptive skills significantly related to the low threshold sensory processing patterns of Sensitivity and Avoiding. It approached significance with the high threshold patterns of Registration and Seeking. A significant relationship between a low adaptive behavior composite score and the Typical temperament was discovered. The relationship between the adaptive score and the Inhibited and Reticent temperaments also approached significance.;After controlling for the Adaptive score, due to its effect on the variables of interest, partial correlations revealed a significant relationship between Sensory Sensitivity and the Inhibited temperament. In addition, Sensory Sensitivity and Sensory Avoiding correlated with the Inhibition dimension. Implications and limitations of results are discussed.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Educational Psychology
