Background: Sensory interventions are prevalent amongst adult mental health practitioners and are supported by major stakeholders and policy makers across the world. The term commonly used by occup...

Defining sensory modulation: A review of the concept and a contemporary definition for application by occupational therapists

IntroductionMindfulness is associated with psychological wellbeing and quality of life. The focus on body awareness in definitions of mindfulness suggests that an individual’s sensory processing pa...

The association between sensory processing styles and mindfulness

Depression and anxiety are among the most common psychological difficulties in
adults. International students also are not immune to these problems. Studying the
factors that individuals are facing in their daily life may provide information about the
possible causes of these psychological difficulties. One of these factors is individuals’
sensory processing pattern, which is the way that they receive, process and respond to
sensory stimuli in their daily life. Studies show, extreme patterns of sensory processing
pattern affect individual’s behavior and quality of life. Considering these facts, the aim
of this study was first to explore the relationship between sensory processing patterns,
depression, and anxiety, and to explore which of the sensory patterns are the best
predictors of depression and anxiety (First Phase of the study). The second aim was
investigating the effectiveness of intervention based on sensory processing approach on
depression and anxiety (Second Phase of the study). For the First Phase, 354
international postgraduate students were randomly selected and completed the study’s
questionnaires including Demographic Questionnaire, Adolescent/Adult Sensory
Profile®, PROMIS® Depression Item bank, and PROMIS® Anxiety Item bank. For the
second phase of the study, one-group repeated-measures design was considered and the
participants’ depression and anxiety were measured for four times (two pretests, a
posttest, and a follow-up). Thirty-eight students who had high level of depression and
anxiety in the first phase of the study participated. Four weekly intervention sessions
were carried out for them based on their sensory processing patterns. As finding
revealed, there is positive significant relationship between three of the sensory processing patterns and depression, including sensation avoiding (r = .31, p < .001),
sensory sensitivity (r = .24, p < .001), and low registration (r = .13, p = .009). There is
also positive significant relationship between sensation avoiding (r = .35, p < .001),
sensory sensitivity (r = .35, p < .001) and low registration (r = .23, p = .001) and
anxiety. The results showed that there is a negative significant relationship between
sensation seeking and depression (r = -.12, p = .019), but the relationship between
sensation seeking and anxiety is not statistically significant. Multiple regression analysis
showed that sensation avoiding (β = .25, p < .05) and sensation seeking (β = .14, p <
.05) are significant predictors for depression and sensory avoiding (β = .192, p < .05)
and sensory sensitivity (β = .180, p < .05) are significant predictors for anxiety. The
results showed that sensory processing interventions had a significant effect on reducing
depression, with F(3,111) = 68.92, p < .001 and anxiety, with F(3,111) = 68.33, p <
.001) between the time points. In addition, the reduction of anxiety continued even a
month after the intervention sessions. The results of this study have implications for
different groups of professionals in mental health and education field and for individuals
themselves. In conclusion, sensory processing intervention provides sensory awareness
to individuals that help them to experience lower levels of psychological difficulties.

Effects of sensory processing intervention on depression and anxiety among international students in a public university / Somayeh Khodabakhsh

Obesity in the adolescent

The purpose of this study was to identify the changes and problems faced by a group of adventitiously blind persons in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. This study covers the issues of adaptation to vision loss and also how the family members treat them. This study also aimed to see whether gender and level of blindness affect the adaptation. Besides, this study also sought to determine the correlation between overprotection attitudes by family members with level of adaptation to vision loss. A set of questionnaire was distributed to 49 participants. The findings indicate that the level of adaptation to vision loss is moderate. In addition, the study found that gender and level of blindness did not affect the level of adaptation to vision loss. Finally, the study revealed that there was a negative correlation between overprotection attitudes among family members with level of adaptation to vision loss. Research findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Malaysian online journal of counseling

The purpose of the authors in this study is to explore the possible relationships among sensory processing styles, possible sensory processing disorders, personality traits, and body mass index. There is research on the relationship between obesity as defined by body mass index and temperament, and sensory processing and temperament; however, no information could be found on the relationship between body mass index and sensory processing styles, or the role that temperament and personality styles may play in these relationships. The 50 female participants were recruited from the University of New England community. The sample included women between the ages of 19 and 59 years, and of various weights. None of the participants had a history of thyroid problems, diabetes, or any physical disabilities that would limit daily physical activity. None had been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. All participants filled out two self-reports and a demographic questionnaire. The Adult/Adolescent Sensory Prof...

Caryn T. Birstler

Papers

The Relationships Among Sensory Processing Styles, Personality Traits, and Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study