An investigation of the influence of gender on auditory processing abilities in typically developing children

Abstract

The auditory processing abilities of 27 typically developing children between the ages of 7;0 and 12;11 years were assessed using a behavioral auditory processing test battery and an additional test battery in order to develop age-appropriate normative data for the local population. All participants were screened using an additional test battery to evaluate their nonverbal IQ, phonological processing, and sustained attention abilities. The participants were age and gender balanced in order to investigate the potential influence of maturation and gender on auditory processing abilities. Results revealed an overall improvement in auditory processing abilities with increasing age for some assessments, primarily between the youngest and oldest age groups (i.e., 7-8 year group and 11-12 year group). Although the significant influence of age was not observed on all tests, it is important to recognize the presence of elevated test performance and ceiling effects for most auditory processing assessments. Further, results revealed that the auditory processing abilities of males and females were not statistically different, nor was there a significant difference between left and right ear performance. This study represents one-fourth of a larger scale research study and, ultimately, the results will be collapsed across studies and normative data developed for the region.