Valencia Macarena, D'Ocon Ana, Plata Raquel, Simó Sandra, Cantero María José
Bio-Gipuzkoa Institute of Health Research, 20014 Gipuzkoa, Spain.
Department of Basic Psychology, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Children (Basel). 2025 May 22;12(6):664. doi: 10.3390/children12060664.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Internalizing and externalizing problems have been associated with sensory processing (SP) alteration, where severe alterations are equivalent to sensory processing disorder (SPD). This study aims to examine the relationship between childhood problems and the degree of SP alteration in children referred to a child mental health center (CMHC).
The study included sixty-four children (44 boys and 20 girls), aged 6 to 8 years, referred to a CMHC in Gipuzkoa, Spain. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) and the Child Sensory Profile (CSP-2). Analyses of variance and qualitative analyses were conducted to compare T-scores of childhood problems across SP alteration groups (no alteration, mild, moderate, and severe).
Of the participants, 31.3% (n = 20) exhibited a severe SP alteration and obtained significantly higher scores than those without SP alteration on the Withdrawn/Depressed and Attention, Social, and Thought Problems syndrome scales, as well as on the Internalizing Problems and Total Problems scales. Furthermore, children with severe SP alteration scored within the clinical range on the Anxious/Depressed and Attention Problems scales. Mean scores for Internalizing, Externalizing and Total Problems reached the clinical threshold when the SP alteration was classified as moderate or severe. These findings indicate that SP alteration is associated with increased internalizing and externalizing problems in children referred to the CMHC, with clinical levels observed particularly in cases of moderate to severe SP alteration.
This study highlights the importance of including SP assessment in the diagnostic evaluation of childhood mental health problems.
背景/目的：内化和外化问题与感觉统合（SP）改变有关，严重的改变等同于感觉统合失调（SPD）。本研究旨在探讨转介至儿童心理健康中心（CMHC）的儿童中，童年问题与SP改变程度之间的关系。
该研究纳入了64名年龄在6至8岁之间的儿童（44名男孩和20名女孩），他们被转介至西班牙吉普斯夸省的一家CMHC。家长们完成了儿童行为量表（CBCL/6 - 18）和儿童感觉统合量表（CSP - 2）。进行方差分析和定性分析，以比较不同SP改变组（无改变、轻度、中度和重度）儿童问题的T分数。
在参与者中，31.3%（n = 20）表现出严重的SP改变，在退缩/抑郁、注意力、社交和思维问题综合征量表以及内化问题和总问题量表上的得分显著高于无SP改变的儿童。此外，严重SP改变的儿童在焦虑/抑郁和注意力问题量表上的得分处于临床范围内。当SP改变被分类为中度或重度时，内化、外化和总问题的平均得分达到临床阈值。这些发现表明，SP改变与转介至CMHC的儿童中内化和外化问题的增加有关，尤其是在中度至重度SP改变的情况下观察到临床水平。
本研究强调了在儿童心理健康问题的诊断评估中纳入SP评估的重要性。
