Rigidity and Sensory Sensitivity: Independent Contributions to Selective Eating in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults

Objective: Selective or "picky" eating (SE) refers to rejection of a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar foods based on aversions to their sensory properties. When severe, SE can cause symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), including weight loss, nutritional defic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology 2022-09, Vol.51 (5), p.675-687
Main Authors: Zickgraf, Hana F., Richard, Emily, Zucker, Nancy L., Wallace, Gregory L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety disorders
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Children
Cognitive-behavioral factors
College Students
Developmental disorders
Psychosocial factors
Psychosocial functioning
Repetitive behaviour
Smell
Texture
Weight loss
Young adults
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Summary:Objective: Selective or "picky" eating (SE) refers to rejection of a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar foods based on aversions to their sensory properties. When severe, SE can cause symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), including weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, and/or psychosocial impairment. SE is highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to both typical development and other developmental disorders. A possible explanation for the high prevalence of SE in ASD is the effect of core ASD symptoms, repetitive/restrictive behaviors (e.g., rigidity), and sensory sensitivity on feeding behaviors. These traits are found not only in ASD but also in other clinical groups and the general population, albeit often at subclinical levels. Identifying mechanisms of SE across various populations is critical to inform intervention approaches. Methods: In 263 unselected children ages 5-17, 534 unselected college students ages 18-22, 179 children with anxiety/obsessive spectrum disorders ages 5-17, and 185 children with ASD ages 4-17, we explored the unique contributions of sensory (i.e., oral texture and olfactory) sensitivities and rigidity as predictors of self/parent-reported SE. Results: In each sample, rigidity and oral texture sensitivity, controlling for olfactory sensitivity, age, and gender, emerged as significant, independent predictors of SE. Conclusions: This is the first study to highlight the importance of cognitive/behavioral rigidity to SE, and one of the first to illustrate the domain-specificity of the relationship between sensory sensitivity and SE.
ISSN:1537-4416
1537-4424
DOI:10.1080/15374416.2020.1738236