The Role of Multisensory Integration in Postural Stability Regulation among 5- to 7-Year-Old Children

While postural control in preschool children relies on visual, proprioceptive, and vestibular inputs, the hierarchical contribution of multisensory integration - particularly the role of tactile feedback - remains undercharacterised. Few studies have systematically mapped the developmental trajectory of sensory weighting strategies in early childhood. We randomly selected 128 preschool children from a kindergarten in Suzhou in June 2025. Sensors measured the angular velocity modulus (ω) of the body centre of mass shaking under eight conditions. Paired-samples t-test and one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance were used to analyze differences in ω across sensory integrations. The ω of vestibular integration with proprioception was smaller than with visual or tactile senses ( P < 0.001). The ω of vestibular integration with visual-proprioception was smaller than that with proprioception-tactile senses or visual-tactile senses ( P < 0.001). The ω significantly decreased ( P < 0.001) when proprioception was integrated with all sensory conditions and under vestibular integration with visual, vestibular-tactile, and vestibular-proprioceptive inputs. No significant changes ( P > 0.05) occurred under vestibular-tactile-proprioception integration with visual. The ω significantly decreased ( P < 0.001) under vestibular-tactile integration. Proprioceptive integration consistently reduced postural sway, with vestibular-proprioceptive coupling demonstrating the strongest stabilizing effect, followed by visual integration. Tactile input only enhanced stability in the absence of visual and proprioceptive cues, highlighting its compensatory role in sensory-deprived developmental contexts.