Date Presented 04/7/21
A descriptive study using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile compared the scores of people recovering from addiction with the profile scores of the normative sample and found a preference for sensation avoiding among people recovering from addiction. This knowledge indicates a need for sensory-informed interventions to enhance self-regulation and occupational performance in home, work, and community environments for people recovering from addictions.
Primary Author and Speaker: Catana Brown
Additional Authors and Speakers: Julie L. Watson
Contributing Authors: Jennifer O'Connor Duffy
PURPOSE: Occupational therapists are interested in sensory processing as a client factor that affects an individual's occupational participation and performance. One measure used to measure sensory processing is the Adolescent Adult Sensory Profile (A/ASP; Brown & Dunn, 2002). The A/ASP measures sensory processing based on Dunn’s four quadrant model (Dunn, 1997): sensory sensitivity, sensation avoiding, low registration and sensation seeking. People with psychiatric conditions often experience sensations differently. A review of studies of five psychiatric conditions (schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder) revealed a pattern of more sensory sensitivity, low registration and sensation avoiding and less sensation seeking across the psychiatric diagnoses; however, there were some differences between the specific conditions (Brown et al, in press). No known study has examined sensory processing preferences using the A/ASP for people with addiction. The purpose of this study is to address the following question, ‘What are the sensory processing preferences of individuals recovering from addictions as measured by the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile?’
DESIGN: This descriptive study depicts the sensory processing preferences of individuals recovering from addiction.
METHOD: Thirty one participants were recruited from a substance abuse recovery program located in the southwest. Participants completed the A/ASP and the Drug History Questionnaire with the occupational therapist at the center. The Drug History Questionnaire was used to characterize the drug use of the sample. The quadrant scores of participants on the A/ASP were compared with the normative sample using an independent sample t-test.
RESULTS: There were 30 (97%) male and 1 (3%) female participant with a mean age of 31.7 (11.98). The majority of the participants were white; 27 (82%), with 2 (6%) African American and 3 (9%) Latino participants. One participant did not report race. Only 3 (9%) participants reported using only one substance. All other participants reported using multiple substances with the average number of substances used being 5.5 (3.1). The means (standard deviation) for the quadrant scores of the A/ASP was as follows: low registration = 30.1 (8.15), sensation seeking = 48.2 (6.52), sensory sensitivity = 34.9 (7.17), and sensation avoiding 37.2 (8.01). Sensory processing preferences of participants in this sample were similar to the normative sample on three of the four quadrants. The one area in which participants had higher scores was sensation avoiding (t = 1.97, df = 526, p = 0.049)
CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that people in recovery for addiction tend towards a sensation avoiding preference. This is consistent with other studies that suggest substance abuse is associated with an avoidant coping style (Van Gundy et al, 2015). Substances may be used to counteract negative sensory experiences.
IMPACT STATEMENT: The descriptions of sensory processing preferences in this study indicate a need for sensory-informed interventions to enhance self regulation and occupational performance in home, work, and community environments for individuals recovering from addictions.
References
Brown. C., Karim, R. & Steuter, M. (in press). Retrospective analysis of studies examining sensory processing preferences in people with psychiatric conditions. American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Brown C., Dunn W. (2002). Adolescent-Adult Sensory Profile: User’s Manual: Therapy Skill Builders. Pearson; London, UK.
Dunn W. (1997). The impact of sensory processing abilities on the daily lives of young children and their families: A conceptual model. Infants Young Child, 9:23–35. https://doi.org/ 10.1097/00001163-199704000-00005
Van Gundy, K. T., Howerton-Orcutt, A., & Mills, M. L. (2015). Race, coping style, and substance use disorder among non-hispanic African American and white young adults in south Florida. Substance Use & Misuse, 50(11), 1459–1469. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2015.1018544
