The Relation of Externalizing Behavior and Central Auditory Processing Deficits in 4-Year-Old Children

Cristina de Andrade Varanda^1,2,3*, Eva Cristina de Carvalho Souza Mendes¹, Nilva Nunes Campina¹, Maria da Graça Giordano de Marcos Crescenti Aulicino¹, Rita de Cássia Gottardi van Opstal Nascimento³, Cláudia Maria Fernandes Marczak³, Karla Regina de Jesus Grilo³, Elaine Cristina Diogo³, Fernanda Mello³, Renata Cristina Borges Corrêa³, Fernanda Dreux Miranda Fernandes²

¹Institute of Human Sciences, Paulista University, Santos, Brazil.
²Secretariat of Education, Santos City Hall, Santos, Brazil.
³Secretariat of Education, Santos City Hall, Santos, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2015.613156                

Abstract

The integrity of the central auditory system is a fundamental condition for language development. Good language development is related to good academic performance and adaptive behavior. Therefore, the evaluation of auditory processing along with behavior as well as the verification of a possible relationship between them can indicate possible ways on how to deal with both problem behavior and difficulties in language. 187 parents of preschoolers (mean age 3.8 years) were interviewed individually and asked to fill in the CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist), for ages 1(1/2) to 5, providing a behavioral profile concerning externalizing and internalizing behavior. Children were assessed regarding central auditory processing skills through the Simplified Assessment of the Auditory Processing—SAAP (Pereira & Schochat, 1997) including Sound Source Localization (SSL); Non-Verbal Sound Sequence Memory (NVSSM); Verbal Sounds Sequence Memory (VSSM). To investigate a possible association between central auditory processing skills and behavioral problems, all the scores in CBCL and the total scores of Simplified Auditory Processing Assessment were correlated with functional parameters using the Spearman rank correlation. The behaviors “acts too young for age”; “constantly seeks help”; “does not eat well”; “does not seem to feel guilty after misbehaving”; “easily frustrated”; “nervous movements or twitching”; “nervous, highstrung, or tense”; “poorly coordinated or clumsy”; “repeatedly rocks head or body”; “stares into space and seems preoccupied”, “sulks a lot” and “wanders away” were correlated with poor auditory processing skills. This indicates that the school staff along with health professionals should provide informational counseling regarding, not only the communicative difficulties associated with a poor performance on central auditory processing skills but also the psychosocial difficulties that these children may be facing.

Keywords

Language Development, Child Behavior, Evaluation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA Preschool Forms & Profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.
[2]	ASHA—American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1996). Task Force on Central Auditory Processing Consensus Development: Central Auditory Current Status of Research and Implications for Clinical Practice. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 5, 41-54.
[3]	Bishop, D. V. M., & Adams, C. (1990). A Prospective Study of the Relationship between Specific Language Impairment, Phonological Disorders and Reading Retardation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31, 1027-1050. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1990.tb00844.x
[4]	Bordin, I. A. S., Mari, J. J., & Caeiro, M. F. (1995). Validação da versão brasileira do “Child Behavior Checklist” (CBCL) (Inventário de Comportamentos da Infancia e adolescência): Dados preliminares. Revista ABP-APAL, 17, 55-66.
[5]	Capovilla, A. G. S., & Dias, N. M. (2008). Habilidades de linguagem oral e sua contribuição para a posterior aquisição de leitura. Psic: Revista da Vetor Editora, 9, 135-144. http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1676-73142008000200002&lng=pt&tlng=pt
[6]	Fridlin, S. L., Pereira, L. D., & Perez, A. P. (2014). Relação entre dados coletados na anamnese e distúrbio do processamento auditivo. Revista CEFAC, 16, 405-412. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-18462014000200405&lng=en&tlng=pt.10.1590/1982-0216201416312 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0216201416312
[7]	Hinshaw, S. P. (1992). Externalizing Behavior Problems and Academic Underachievement in Childhood and Adolescence: Causal Relationships and Underlying Mechanisms. Psychological Bulletin, 3, 127-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.127
[8]	Hollingshead, A. B. (2011). Four Factor Index of Social Status. Yale Journal of Sociology, 8, 21-51.
[9]	Homem, T. C., Gaspar, M. F., Santos, M. J. S., Azevedo, A. F., & Canavarro, M. C. (2013). Perturbaç ões de comportamento externalizante em idade pré-escolar: O caso específico da perturbação de oposição. Análise Psicológica, 31, 31-48. http://www.scielo.mec.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0870-82312013000100003&lng=pt&tlng=pt http://dx.doi.org/10.14417/ap.658
[10]	Jorge, T. C. (2006). Avaliação do processamento auditivo na educação infantil. Master’s Thesis, Campinas, São Paulo: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas.
[11]	Pereira, L. D., & Schochat, E. (1997). Processamento Auditivo Central: Manual de avaliação. São Paulo: Lovise.
[12]	Petersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., D’Onofrio, B. M., Coyne, J. E. L., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Van Hulle, C. A. (2013). Language Ability Predicts the Development of Behavior Problems in Children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122, 542-557. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0031963
[13]	Schminky, M. M., & Baron, J. A. (2000). Central Auditory Processing Disorders: An Overview of Assessment and Management Practices. http://www.tsbvi.edu/Outreach/seehear/spring00/centralauditory.htm
[14]	Sharma, M., Purdy, S. C., & Kelly, A. S. (2009). Comorbidity of Auditory Processing, Language and Reading Disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52, 706-722. http://dx.doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/07-0226)