Sensitivity Measures
Measuring Sensitivity in Chinese Children
We translated the most-used sensitivity questionnaire for children into Chinese and studied how well it worked for Chinese children. Our results from two studies are promising: our Chinese version of the Highly Sensitive Child Questionnaire aligned in most aspects with similar studies conducted globally.
Children’s Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Prosocial Behaviours
In two independent samples, we found that children with high sensory processing sensitivity demonstrated higher susceptibility to the influence of positive parenting regarding their prosocial behaviour.
In the lab, highly sensitive children demonstrated higher susceptibility to observed negative feedback compared to children with low sensitivity.
The Self-Awareness of High Sensitivity
This qualitative study has led to the development of a new theoretical aspect of sensory processing sensitivity: The self-awareness of High Sensitivity. This perspective aims to explain the process through which highly sensitive people go in order to become aware of their sensitivity.
Sensitivity Groups Among Polish Teenagers
We investigated the existence of different sensitivity groups among adolescents in Poland.
Similar to research in other populations, we found that teenagers can be divided into three groups: low, medium and high sensitivity. However, the distribution of adolescents across these groups differed from previous research.
Higher Sensitivity is Linked to Feeling Connected with Nature and Animals
We recently found that the higher people score in Sensory Processing Sensitivity, the more they feel connected with the natural environment. In addition, those who are highly sensitive are also more connected with animals, although they do not report higher attachment to pets than less sensitive people.
Sensitive Children and the COVID-19 Lockdown
We investigated highly sensitive children’s behaviour during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Sensitive children showed fewer behavioural problems when experiencing a positive and supportive family environment at home during the lockdown.
How do Highly Sensitive Individuals Maintain their Wellbeing?
In Western cultures, lay perceptions and norms around wellbeing tend to emphasise being socially outgoing and high-arousal positive emotions, but not all people experience wellbeing in this way. In our study, we set out to explore what highly sensitive people do to maintain their wellbeing.
How Do Sensitive Children Respond to Harsh and Fluctuating Family Context?
We found that unpredictability of the environment was predictive of greater increases in child externalizing problems. Furthermore, children with greater sensory processing sensitivity were more affected by an unstable context, showing greater increases and decreases in externalizing problems when raised under highly unpredictable versus stable context, respectively.
Sensitivity to the Childhood Environment is influenced by the Brain
Theory suggests that differences in sensitivity are due to characteristics of the brain. We conducted a study to test whether certain brain regions predict sensitivity in a sample of boys. We found that boys with a larger amygdala were more sensitive to the quality of their childhood environment.
Does Children’s Temperament Reflect Their Level of Sensitivity?
In our recent study, we examined whether children’s “dove” temperament, characterized by a low threshold of environmental stimulation and greater behavioural flexibility, may reflect environmental sensitivity.