Relationship between listening difficulties and internalising behaviours in school-aged children: a scoping review

The association between listening and internalising behaviours as precursors to effective learning is poorly understood. This scoping review examined existing evidence of these associations in school-aged children.

A search of 11 databases identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria of having assessed school-aged children without peripheral hearing loss or autism on at least one measure each of listening and internalising behaviour.

Of the 18 included studies, most compared listening measured by auditory memory (n = 12) or auditory processing (n = 5) to internalising behaviour measured by anxiety (n = 18) and/or depression (n = 10). Extracted evidence was mixed, with poorer auditory memory and auditory processing showing most associations with increased depression, variable associations with anxiety, and limited associations with other internalising behaviours. Only two studies explored educational outcomes, with one reporting an association between auditory processing disorder and educational risk and one reporting an indirect association between higher anxiety and academic achievement via poor auditory memory.

Current evidence suggests some components of listening (particularly auditory memory) could be associated with some aspects of internalising behaviours (particularly depression). Broader, integrated investigations are needed to determine the extent of associations between listening and internalising behaviours to better inform classroom interventions.