A phenomenological study of sensory defensiveness in adults.
This article describes the experiences of five adults who are defensive toward sensations of touch, movement, vision, smell, sound, and taste that most people consider harmless. It also describes the strategies that they use when they perceive environmental stimuli to be aversive. These coping strategies are avoidance, predictability, mental preparation, talking through, counteraction, and confrontation. A conceptual framework is presented to enhance understanding and guide further study of sensory defensiveness in adults.
Kinnealey
M
M
Occupational Therapy Department, College of Allied Health Professions, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140, USA.
Oliver
B
B
Wilbarger
P
P
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D014743:Videotape Recording