ABSTRACT

Objective : This study was aimed to figure out the correlations between sensory processing ability and problem behavior and to compare sensory processing ability of general teenagers with that of juvenile delinquents. Methods : The subjects were teenagers between the age of 13 and 19 in D metropolitan city. Among the subjects, juvenile delinquents had lived in Juvenile hall through legal proceedings due to their delinquency and the number of the juvenile delinquents who were on probation was 114. The number of general teenagers that went to the middle and high school was 124, bringing the total number of subjects. Results : The score of sensory processing ability between general teenagers and juvenile delinquents, Juvenile delinquents between the age of 17∼13 statistically showed lower scores of both sensory avoiding(p<.05) and sensory sensitivity(p<.01) than those of general teenagers. The results of ages between of 17∼13 statistically showed lower score of not only low registration(p<.05) and of crime such as felonious, sex violence, theft but also sensory sensitivity(p<.05) and of crime such as sex violence, theft, felonious. In the correlation of juvenile delinquents between sensory processing ability scores and problem behavior, Juvenile delinquents between the age of 19∼18, sensory sensitivity(r=-.47, p<.05), sensory avoid(r=-.45, p<.05) and drug abuse was significant correlation statistically. low registration and status offenses(r=-.33, p<.05), violent behavior(r=-.33, p<.05) was significant correlation statistically, between the age of 17∼13. Conclusion : These results indicated that juvenile delinquents between the age of 17∼13 had the difficulty of sensory processing and those who had trouble with sensory processing show problem behavior. Therefore, if we could find out the difficulty of sensory processing in early stages and provide sensory integration as a approach about problem behavior, it would be beneficial.