The Relationships Among Sensory Processing Styles, Personality Traits, and Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study

The purpose of the authors in this study is to explore the possible relationships among sensory processing styles, possible sensory processing disorders, personality traits, and body mass index. There is research on the relationship between obesity as defined by body mass index and temperament, and sensory processing and temperament; however, no information could be found on the relationship between body mass index and sensory processing styles, or the role that temperament and personality styles may play in these relationships. The 50 female participants were recruited from the University of New England community. The sample included women between the ages of 19 and 59 years, and of various weights. None of the participants had a history of thyroid problems, diabetes, or any physical disabilities that would limit daily physical activity. None had been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. All participants filled out two self-reports and a demographic questionnaire. The Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (Brown & Dunn, 2002) determines a person's sensory processing style and possible sensory processing disorder, and the Basic Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1996) focuses on everyday behaviors to describe temperament and "adult behavioral syndromes'' (p. 5). Through this study the authors show only tentative relationships between body mass index and sensory processing styles and personality traits. The data could be interpreted to support both discriminant and convergent validity between the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile and the Basic Personality Inventory. There were, however, significant correlations between aspects of sensory processing and aspects of personality that appeared to strengthen the idea that differences in sensory processing result in predictable types of behavior, indicating that sensory processing disorders are a separate diagnostic category.