Retrospective Analysis of Studies Examining Sensory Processing Preferences in People With a Psychiatric Condition

When occupational therapists understand sensory processing preferences, they can create environments that promote participation.To determine the sensory processing preferences of people with a psychiatric condition as measured by the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (A/ASP).PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, CINAHL, and OTseeker were searched from 2002 through January 2018.Studies that included people with psychiatric conditions and measured sensory processing preferences using the A/ASP were included. Studies had to report means and standard deviations for all four A/ASP subscales. The retrospective analysis involved extracting sensory processing quadrant scores from each study and comparing these scores with the A/ASP norms by means of independent-samples t tests.Five studies revealed a general pattern of greater sensory sensitivity, sensation avoiding, and low registration and less sensation seeking among people with a psychiatric condition. For each condition (schizophrenia, high risk for psychosis, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder), scores in at least two of the four sensory processing quadrants were significantly different from the normative scores, with some variability in sensory processing preferences across the psychiatric conditions.The sensory processing preferences of people with a psychiatric condition differ from those of the normative sample. This research can lead to condition-specific sensory-based interventions targeting a person's specific sensory needs in the context of occupational performance.This article provides new information that compares and contrasts the sensory processing preferences of people with different types of psychiatric conditions. This information can be useful in treatment planning.