Highly sensitive adolescents: The relationship between weekly life events and weekly socioemotional well-being

Interactions between environmental sensitivity and gut microbiota are associated with biomarkers of stress-related psychiatric symptoms

BACKGROUND

Humans vary in their sensitivity to stressful and supportive environments and experiences. Such individual differences in environmental sensitivity are associated with mechanisms of stress-related psychiatric symptoms. In recent years, researchers have focused on bidirectional interactions in the brain-gut-microbiota axis as a neurophysiological pathway contributing to the mechanisms of stress-related psychiatric symptoms, and evidence is rapidly accumulating.

METHODS

Data on environmental sensitivity, gut microbiota, gut permeability (lipopolysaccharide-binding protein; LBP) and inflammation (C-reactive protein; CRP) were collected from 90 adults (50 % female; Mage = 42.1; SDage = 10.0). Environmental sensitivity was measured using a self-report questionnaire. Study participants' feces were analyzed, and observed operational taxonomic units for richness, Shannon's index for evenness, and phylogenetic diversity for biodiversity were evaluated as indicators of gut microbiota. In addition, participants' serum was analyzed for CRP and LBP. We investigated whether the interaction between environmental sensitivity and gut microbiota is associated with biomarkers of inflammation and gut permeability.

RESULTS

The interaction between environmental sensitivity and gut microbiota (excluding the Shannon's index) explained the levels of these biomarkers. Individuals with high environmental sensitivity displayed higher levels of CRP and LBP, when the richness and diversity of the gut microbiota was low. However, even highly susceptible individuals had lower levels of CRP and LBP, when the richness and diversity of the gut microbiota was high.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicates that high environmental sensitivity can be a risk factor for inflammation and gut permeability, when the gut microbiota diversity is low, suggesting a brain-gut-microbiota axis interaction.

A multivariate genetic analysis of anxiety sensitivity, environmental sensitivity and reported life events in adolescents

BACKGROUND

Despite being considered a measure of environmental risk, reported life events are partly heritable. One mechanism that may contribute to this heritability is genetic influences on sensitivity, relating to how individuals process and interpret internal and external signals. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic and environmental overlap between self-reported life events and measures of sensitivity.

METHODS

At age 17, 2,939 individuals from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) completed measures of anxiety sensitivity (Children's Anxiety Sensitivity Index), environmental sensitivity (Highly Sensitive Child Scale) and reported their experience of 20 recent life events. Using multivariate Cholesky decomposition models, we investigated the shared genetic and environmental influences on the associations between these measures of sensitivity and the number of reported life events, as well as both negative and positive ratings of life events.

RESULTS

The majority of the associations between anxiety sensitivity, environmental sensitivity and reported life events were explained by shared genetic influences (60%-75%), with the remainder explained by nonshared environmental influences (25%-40%). Environmental sensitivity showed comparable genetic correlations with both negative and positive ratings of life events (r_A  = .21 and .15), anxiety sensitivity only showed a significant genetic correlation with negative ratings of life events (r_A  = .33). Approximately 10% of the genetic influences on reported life events were accounted for by influences shared with anxiety sensitivity and environmental sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

Differences in how individuals process the contextual aspects of the environment or interpret their own physical and emotional response to environmental stimuli may be one mechanism through which genetic liability influences the subjective experience of life events.

Signaling High Sensitivity to Influence Others: Initial Evidence for the Roles of Reinforcement Sensitivity, Sensory Processing Sensitivity, and the Dark Triad

Signaling high sensitivity to others may help individuals with heightened sensitivity to stimuli to craft their social relations to a preferred activation level ("assertive signaling of specific needs" hypothesis). Signaling sensitivity could be also a deceptive strategy helping to extract resources or obtain the desired treatment ("deceptive signaling" hypothesis). The study presents the construction of the measure of signaling high sensitivity to influence others and an initial test of both hypotheses. Two hundred and one participants ranging in age from 18 to 67 (M = 25.6; SD = 7.03) reported on their reinforcement sensitivity (behavioral approach and inhibition system), sensory processing sensitivity, and the Dark Triad. Signaling high sensitivity to influence others was weakly, but significantly, associated with behavioral inhibition system sensitivity, which was consistent with the "assertive signaling of specific needs" hypothesis. The behavioral approach system was positively correlated with signaling high sensitivity, which indicated that this influence strategy could be treated as an assertive self-presentational strategy helping in achieving social rewards for individuals with high reward responsiveness. Narcissism and psychopathy accounted for an additional amount of variance in signaling high sensitivity over and beyond reinforcement sensitivity. This was consistent with the "deceptive signaling" hypothesis. Signaling high sensitivity could be regarded as a strategy to achieve social goals using deception rather than as an expression of sensitive personality.

HSPS-10-Short Version of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale for Students Aged 12-25 Years

The aim of the article is to present a short version of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-10) as a useful tool for the assessment of adolescents and young adults and to improve their self-awareness. (1) Background: The original American HSPS was developed as a tool for the assessment of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), which is understood to be an inherited temperamental trait. The basis for the research is the concept of SPS, which may be included within the broader construct of the Environmental Sensitivity (ES) model. (2) Methods: The research used a Polish-language, short version developed on the basis of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale, where the respondents answered 10 questions in a 7-point Likert scale. (3) Results: The test results show that the Polish, HSPS-10 is a reliable and valid measurement of the SPS construct and that the results obtained using the abbreviated version indicate a three-factor structure. The structure and psychometric properties of the tool are consistent across different age groups. (4) Conclusions: HSPS-10 is a simple and quick tool for group screenings as well as the individual assessment of school students and adults aged 12-25. The developed standardized procedure allows for the early recognition and identification of changes in the SPS over the course of life.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Reactivity to Daily Events

Sensory processing sensitivity is an individual difference that captures the extent to which people show heightened emotional reactivity to, and increased cognitive processing of, their environment. Although central to its definition, there has been no research examining whether highly sensitive individuals display stronger reactivity to naturally occurring negative and positive events in everyday life. We addressed this gap by carrying out a 21-day online diary study with 239 participants, varying in sensory processing sensitivity, who reported their daily life-satisfaction, affective experiences, and self-esteem along with appraisals of the most negative and positive events of the day. Multilevel analyses demonstrated that individuals higher in sensory processing sensitivity showed greater reactivity to more subjectively intense negative events, but no difference in their reactivity to positive events. These findings provide initial insights into how sensory processing sensitivity manifests in daily emotional reactivity with greater reactivity to negative events in our study.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Japanese Adults

BACKGROUND

Sensory processing sensitivity is a personality or temperamental trait defined as individual differences in the tendency to perceive and process both positive and negative stimuli and experiences. Studies have shown that high sensitivity is correlated with psychosocial health, including depression and anxiety. However, its relationship with physical health has not been clarified. To fill this gap, using a large sample size with sufficient statistical power, an adult sample not including university students, and a range of covariates, this study examined the association between gastrointestinal symptoms as an indicator of physical health and sensory processing sensitivity.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, the participants were 863 Japanese adults (female = 450; male = 413; M_age = 30.4 years; SD = 4.9) who completed a web-based questionnaire. We statistically controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and examined whether sensory processing sensitivity is correlated with gastrointestinal symptoms.

RESULTS

The results showed that highly sensitive individuals were more likely to experience a wide range of gastrointestinal symptoms in the past week, including reflux symptoms, abdominal pain, indigestion symptoms, diarrhea symptoms, and constipation symptoms, even when statistically controlling for the participants' sociodemographic characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that high sensory processing sensitivity is associated with physical health. Some of the potential causes of this are also discussed.

Beyond the diathesis-stress paradigm: Effect of the environmental sensitivity × pubertal tempo interaction on depressive symptoms

Based on the Differential Susceptibility Theory, we examined whether the relationship between pubertal maturation and depressive symptoms can be moderated by individual differences in environmental sensitivity. The current article used the three-wave data collected from Japanese adolescents aged from 12 to 15 years (girls = 111, boys = 98). Consequently, a significant Sensitivity × Pubertal Development interaction was observed in 12- to 13-year-old boys, but not girls. Sensitive boys who experienced accelerated physical maturation reported decreased depressive symptoms, while those who experienced less maturation had increased depressive symptoms. The shape of the interaction supported both the Differential Susceptibility Theory and the Diathesis-Stress Model. Our findings suggest that sensitivity during early puberty among boys could be reconsidered as susceptibility rather than vulnerability.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale: The Parent Version

Environmental sensitivity is the ability to perceive, register and process information about the environment, which differs among children and adolescents. The Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale has been used to assess environmental sensitivity in youngsters. The HSC scale is a short and 12-item adapted version of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) scale. The aim of this pilot study is to transculturally adapt the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale, and to analyze its factorial structure, reliability and validity. First, a transcultural adaptation was conducted by bilingual experts. Second, once the questionnaire was translated, the psychometric properties were analyzed. The Spanish version of the HSC scale was administered to parents answering about information of 141 children between 6 and 10 years old. The Spanish version of the Emotionality, Activity and Sociability Survey (EAS) was also applied. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the three-factor structure of sensitivity in our Spanish sample. This structure included the following dimensions: (1) Ease of Excitation (EOE), (2) Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and (3) Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES). Moreover, both Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω values indicated that the Spanish version of the HSC scale was a reliable measure of environmental sensitivity, as a general factor of sensitivity (α = 0.84), and even in its three dimensions: EOE (α = 0.86), LST (α = 0.77) and AES (α = 0.73). Finally, the correlations for convergent validity showed positive associations, especially among the three dimensions of SPS and Emotionality (EOE r = 0.351; LST r = 0.274; AES r = 0.259), which was one of the domains of the EAS survey. The pilot study provided interesting results, which showed a reliable and valid replication of the original structure of sensitivity in the Spanish samples.

Sensory-processing sensitivity and COVID-19 stress in a young population: The mediating role of resilience

Psychologists worldwide are becoming increasingly concerned about the negative impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on adolescents' mental health. However, compared to studies involving adults, research using a young population is limited. To further understand the mental health of older adolescents and young adults during the pandemic, the present study examined whether resilience, as a protective factor, buffers the relationship between the personality trait of environmental sensitivity and COVID-19-related distress. In total, 441 older adolescents and young adults (53.7% women, M_age = 18.91 years, SD_age = 0.82 years) living in urban Japan completed an online cross-sectional survey in October 2020. The results showed that sensitivity was positively, though weakly, correlated with COVID-19 stress and negatively correlated with resilience. Resilience was negatively correlated with COVID-19 stress. Mediation analysis showed that resilience buffered the negative relationship between sensitivity and COVID-19 stress, and its indirect effect was statistically significant, albeit close to zero. These results suggest that higher sensitivity is not necessarily a vulnerability factor, if resilience can be enhanced.