Temporal auditory aspects in children with poor school performance and associated factors

To investigate the auditory temporal aspects in children with poor school performance aged 7-12 years and their association with behavioral aspects, health perception, school and health profiles, and sociodemographic factors.

This is an observational, analytical, transversal study including 89 children with poor school performance aged 7-12 years enrolled in the municipal public schools of a municipality in Minas Gerais state, participants of Specialized Educational Assistance. The first stage of the study was conducted with the subjects' parents aiming to collect information on sociodemographic aspects, health profile, and educational records. In addition, the parents responded to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The second stage was conducted with the children in order to investigate their health self-perception and analyze the auditory assessment, which consisted of meatoscopy, Transient Otoacoustic Emissions, and tests that evaluated the aspects of simple auditory temporal ordering and auditory temporal resolution. Tests assessing the temporal aspects of auditory temporal processing were considered as response variables, and the explanatory variables were grouped for univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The level of significance was set at 5%.

Significant statistical correlation was found between the auditory temporal aspects and the variables age, gender, presence of repetition, and health self-perception.

Children with poor school performance presented changes in the auditory temporal aspects. The temporal abilities assessed suggest association with different factors such as maturational process, health self-perception, and school records.