Performance of the Arabic population on the adolescent-adult sensory profile : an observational study

Abstract

Background: The Adult-Adolescent Sensory Profile (AASP) is a questionnaire developed to measure the way in which people in different age groups respond to different sensory stimuli. These sensory stimuli may uncover different behavioral problems that may affect activities of daily living. This observational study aimed to validate the Arabic version of the AASP used to assess the sensory processing abilities of healthy individuals. Methods: Participants comprised 560 Jordanians aged 11 years and older. Participants were recruited from different community centers in Amman, Jordan during 10th March 2017 to 10th September 2017. The English version of the AASP was translated into Arabic and all participants were instructed to complete this version of the scale. Results: Internal consistency was 0.78 and 0.79 for the Arabic and the English version, respectively. The ranges of cut-off scores in the Arabic version were higher than the English version for all the quadrants of the scale. The biggest differences were found in the sensation seeking and sensory sensitivity quadrants. In certain age groups (11-17 and 18-64 years), women were more sensitive compared with men. Conclusion: The Arabic version of the AASP showed good internal consistency and can be used to assess the sensory processing abilities of healthy individuals.