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Research Article  |   July 1997
Factor Analysis on the Sensory Profile From a National Sample of Children Without Disabilities
Winnie Dunn; Catana Brown
Author Affiliations
  • Winnie Dunn, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, is Professor and Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy Education, School of Allied Health, 3033 Robinson, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas 66160-7602
  • Catana Brown, MA, OTR, is Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy Education, School of Allied Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
Article Information
Rehabilitation, Participation, and Disability / Research
Research Article   |   July 1997
Factor Analysis on the Sensory Profile From a National Sample of Children Without Disabilities
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, July/August 1997, Vol. 51, 490-495. doi:10.5014/ajot.51.7.490
American Journal of Occupational Therapy, July/August 1997, Vol. 51, 490-495. doi:10.5014/ajot.51.7.490
Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify relationships in the 125 items of the revised Sensory Profile, a tool designed to assess children’s responses to commonly occurring sensory events.

Method. Parents of 1,115 children ages 3 to 10 years and without disabilities completed the Sensory Profile. The parents reported the percentage of time their children engaged in each of the 125 behaviors listed on the profile.

Results. Factor analysis revealed nine discreet factors that indicate sensory modulation and responsiveness: sensory seeking, emotionally reactive, low endurance/tone, oral sensory sensitivity, inattention/distractibility, poor registration, sensory sensitivity, sedentary, and fine motor/perceptual.

Conclusions. In addition to the traditional method of organizing sensory history information by sensory system, we may need to consider a person’s thresholds to sensory events as well as his or her responsiveness to sensation. Because the Sensory Profile factors in these children without disabilities are similar to patterns observed in children with various disabilities, it may be that some sensory processing problems are related to intensity or duration of behaviors as they begin to interfere with functional performance in daily life.