The Convergent Validity Between Two Adult Self-Report Sensory Processing Scales

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Psychometrics
• Sensory Processing

Background:

• Occupational therapists utilize standardized scales to evaluate sensory processing and responses.
• Limited evidence exists on the convergent validity between the Adult/Adolescent Sensory History (ASH) and the Sensory Processing Measure 2-Adult Form (SPM-2-Adult).

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the convergent validity of the ASH and SPM-2-Adult in young adults.
• To assess the relationship between two key sensory processing assessment tools.

Main Methods:

• Fifty Australian adults aged 21-35 completed both the ASH and SPM-2-Adult.
• Spearman's rho correlations were employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

• Most subscales of the ASH and SPM-2-Adult demonstrated significant associations (rho = 0.301 to 0.858).
• The SPM-2-Adult Vision subscale correlated significantly with all ASH subscales.
• The SPM-2-Adult Taste and Smell subscale showed the fewest significant correlations with the ASH.

Conclusions:

• The study provides promising evidence for the convergent validity of sensory subscales and total scores between the ASH and SPM-2-Adult.
• Convergent validity was less robust between ASH Functional-Problems subscales and SPM-2-Adult sensory subscales.
• This research contributes to the psychometric evidence supporting the concurrent validity of these sensory assessment scales.