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

BackgroundOccupational therapists use standardized scales to assess how individuals process and respond to sensory information. Currently, there is limited evidence about the convergent validity between the <i>Adult/Adolescent Sensory History</i> (ASH) and the <i>Sensory Processing Measure 2-Adult Form</i> (SPM-2-Adult).PurposeThe study examined the convergent validity of the ASH and SPM-2-Adult when completed by young adults.MethodsFifty Australian adults aged 21-35 completed the ASH and SPM-2-Adult. Spearman's rho correlations were used to analyze the data.ResultsMost ASH and SPM-2-Adult subscales were significantly associated with correlations ranging from rho = 0.301 to 0.858 (<i>p</i> < .033-.001). Statistically significant correlations were obtained between the <i>SPM-2-Adult Vision</i> subscale and every ASH subscale (rho = 0.322-0.841, <i>p</i> < .023-.001) while the <i>SPM-2-Adult Taste and Smell</i> subscale yielded the most non-significant correlations with the ASH. Most of the statistically significant correlations between the ASH and SPM-2-Adult were in the moderate range.ConclusionPromising evidence of convergent validity between the ASH and SPM-2-Adult sensory subscales and total scales was demonstrated, whereas the convergent validity findings between the ASH Functional-Problems subscales and the SPM-2-Adult sensory subscales were less robust. This adds to the psychometric body of concurrent validity evidence between the two scales.