Date Presented 03/28/20
A descriptive correlation study examined relationships between temperament, effortful control, executive function, and sensory-processing behavior. Outcomes from three standardized questionnaires in children between 7.0 and 10.11 years indicated that statistically significant associations between typical sensory responses were related to abilities for executive function and effortful control, whereas, sensory reactivity was related to decreased abilities for executive function and effortful control.
Primary Author and Speaker: Rachel Diamant
Contributing Authors: Holli Ruiz, Katheryn Holmes
PURPOSE: Identification of factors that influence behavioral self-regulation in children are critical components in intervention planning and positive behavioral outcomes. Developmental psychology has identified temperament and executive function as critical neurological factors in behavioral styles, self-regulation, and social-emotional development in children. Occupational therapy has identified sensory processing behaviors as factors in behavioral self-regulation and emotional development in children. Understanding the relationships between sensory processing behavior styles, temperament effortful control, and executive function may identify supportive strategies that promote development of self-regulation, successful activity engagement and problem-solving. The purpose of study was to determine the extent to which relationships exist between sensory processing behaviors, executive function, and the temperament characteristic of effortful control in school-aged children.
DESIGN: A non-experimental, descriptive, correlation study design was utilized. Participants included 12 parents/primary caregivers of healthy school-aged children between 7.0-10.11 years of age. Recruitment involved the use of flyers at a university and a university-sponsored social media site.
METHOD: Participants completed three standardized questionnaires. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, a parent-report standardized questionnaire for children between 5.0-18.0 years, was used to assess executive function in relation to everyday activities and situations. The temperament characteristic of effortful control was measured by the Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire, a parent-report standardized questionnaire that reflects behavior of children between 7.0-10.11 years in relation to everyday situations. The Sensory Profile-2, a parent-report standardized questionnaire for children between 3.0-14.11 years, was used to assess the style of behavior responses or reactivity to sensory experiences in routine everyday activities. Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s R correlation were used to analyze the extent to which temperament effortful control and executive function were related to the main variables and subscales for sensory-processing behavior patterns.
RESULTS: Data analysis revealed many statistically significant (p = .05 and .01), positive and negative correlations between the constructs. Examples include, positive correlation between executive function for working memory and sensory seeking (r = .899), sensory registration (r = .674), auditory (r = .619), and movement (r = .817); and between auditory and behavioral self-monitoring (r = .607), planning (r = .619), impulsivity (r = .601), cognitive regulation (r = .596) and global executive function (r = .662). Statistically significant, negative correlations were found between effortful control and cognitive regulation (r = -.662); attention and behavioral initiation (r = -.5.83), working memory (r = -.753), planning (r = -.762), on task behavior (r = -.755), and organization (r = -.739). No negative correlations were found between sensory processing and executive function or temperament.
CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that typical responses to sensory experiences were related to appropriate abilities for executive function and effortful control; whereas, increased sensory reactivity was related to decreased abilities for executive function and effortful control along with an increased expression of impulsivity, reduced attention, and decrease in on-task behavior. These outcomes support OT practice by illustrating the need to address sensory responsiveness and reactivity within the context to aid in the support of behavior management for effortful control and executive function.
References
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