The DOI matches its Crossref record; 80 of the 80 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Environmental sensitivity in children: Development of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale and identification of sensitivity groups.
Open accessAbstract
A large number of studies document that children differ in the degree they are shaped by their developmental context with some being more sensitive to environmental influences than others. Multiple theories suggest that Environmental Sensitivity is a common trait predicting the response to negative as well as positive exposures. However, most research to date has relied on more or less proximal markers of Environmental Sensitivity. In this paper we introduce a new questionnaire-the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale-as a promising self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity. After describing the development of the short 12-item HSC scale for children and adolescents, we report on the psychometric properties of the scale, including confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability. After considering bivariate and multivariate associations with well-established temperament and personality traits, we apply Latent Class Analysis to test for the existence of hypothesized sensitivity groups. Analyses are conducted across 5 studies featuring 4 different U.K.-based samples ranging in age from 8-19 years and with a total sample size of N = 3,581. Results suggest the 12-item HSC scale is a psychometrically robust measure that performs well in both children and adolescents. Besides being relatively independent from other common traits, the Latent Class Analysis suggests that there are 3 distinct groups with different levels of Environmental Sensitivity-low (approx. 25-35%), medium (approx. 41-47%), and high (20-35%). Finally, we provide exploratory cut-off scores for the categorization of children into these different groups which may be useful for both researchers and practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8 · Cited by 38,459
Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002) · Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal · doi:10.1207/s15328007sem0902_5 · Cited by 16,280
Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007) · Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal · doi:10.1080/10705510701575396 · Cited by 11,415
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003) · Department of Psychology - University of Koblenz-Landau · doi:10.23668/psycharchives.12784 · Cited by 8,975
Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.319 · Cited by 7,306
Beyond diathesis stress: differential susceptibility to environmental influences
Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0017376 · Cited by 3,039
Self-citationMonroe, S. M., & Simons, A. D. (1991) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.110.3.406 · Cited by 2,143
BOYCE, W. T., & ELLIS, B. J. (2005) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579405050145 · Cited by 2,078
Differential susceptibility to the environment: an evolutionary--neurodevelopmental theory
Ellis, B. J., Boyce, W. T., Belsky, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van Ijzendoorn, M. H. (2011) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579410000611 · Cited by 1,564
For Better and For Worse: Differential Susceptibility to Environmental Influences
Belsky, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2007) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00525.x · Cited by 1,515
Latent Class Analysis and Finite Mixture Modeling
Masyn, K. E. (2013) · Oxford Handbooks Online · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199934898.013.0025 · Cited by 1,458
A Critique of Eysenck’s Theory of Personality
Gray, J. A. (1981) · A Model for Personality · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-67783-0_8 · Cited by 1,374
The Physiology and Psychology of Behavioral Inhibition in Children
Kagan, J., Reznick, J. S., & Snidman, N. C. (1987) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1987.tb03858.x · Cited by 1,341
Socioeconomic Status, Parenting, and Child Development
(2014) · doi:10.4324/9781410607027 · Cited by 1,339
Laurent, J., Catanzaro, S. J., Joiner, T. E., Jr., Rudolph, K. D., Potter, K. I., Lambert, S., Osborne, L., & Gathright, T. (1999) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037//1040-3590.11.3.326 · Cited by 1,150
Vulnerability genes or plasticity genes?
Belsky, J., Jonassaint, C., Pluess, M., Stanton, M., Brummett, B., & Williams, R. (2009) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/mp.2009.44 · Cited by 1,017
Self-citationA Comparison of Bifactor and Second-Order Models of Quality of Life
Chen, F. F., West, S., & Sousa, K. (2006) · Multivariate Behavioral Research · doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr4102_5 · Cited by 955
Are There Long-Term Effects of Early Child Care?
Belsky, J., Vandell, D. L., Burchinal, M., Clarke-Stewart, K. A., McCartney, K., Owen, M. T., & The NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2007) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01021.x · Cited by 922
Sensory-processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality.
Aron, E. N., & Aron, A. (1997) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.2.345 · Cited by 889
Self-citationInternal consistency, retest reliability, and their implications for personality scale validity
McCrae, R. R., Kurtz, J. E., Yamagata, S., & Terracciano, A. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868310366253 · Cited by 874
Scaled and Adjusted Restricted Tests in Multi-Sample Analysis of Moment Structures
Satorra, A. (2000) · Advanced Studies in Theoretical and Applied Econometrics · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4603-0_17 · Cited by 866
Developing a model for adult temperament
Evans, D. E., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.11.002 · Cited by 807
Biological Sensitivity to Context
Ellis, B. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2008) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00571.x · Cited by 675
Sensory Processing Sensitivity: A Review in the Light of the Evolution of Biological Responsivity
Aron, E. N., Aron, A., & Jagiellowicz, J. (2012) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868311434213 · Cited by 645 · cited 8×
“Existence of Sensitivity Groups Theoretical reasoning (Aron & Aron, 1997; Aron et al., 2012; Belsky, 1997b) and accompanying empirical research (Pluess, 2017; Pluess & Belsky, 2015; Wolf et al., 2008) suggest that people fall into different sensitivity groups with about 10-35% of the population…”
InfluentialSelf-citationBehavioral activation and inhibition in everyday life.
Gable, S. L., Reis, H. T., & Elliot, A. J. (2000) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.6.1135 · Cited by 621
semTools: Useful Tools for Structural Equation Modeling
Jorgensen, T. D., Pornprasertmanit, S., Schoemann, A. M., & Rosseel, Y. (2012) · CRAN: Contributed Packages · doi:10.32614/cran.package.semtools · Cited by 603
Vulnerability to psychopathology: A biosocial model.
Zuckerman, M. (1999) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10316-000 · Cited by 601
Individual Differences in Reward Drive Predict Neural Responses to Images of Food
Beaver, J. D., Lawrence, A. D., van Ditzhuijzen, J., Davis, M. H., Woods, A., & Calder, A. J. (2006) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0350-06.2006 · Cited by 594
Vantage sensitivity: Individual differences in response to positive experiences.
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2013) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0030196 · Cited by 569
Self-citationVariation in Susceptibility to Environmental Influence: An Evolutionary Argument
Belsky, J. (1997) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0803_3 · Cited by 562
Obradović, J., Bush, N. R., Stamperdahl, J., Adler, N. E., & Boyce, W. T. (2010) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01394.x · Cited by 561
McNaughton, N., & Gray, J. A. (2000) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00344-x · Cited by 553
Individual Differences in Environmental Sensitivity
Pluess, M. (2015) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1111/cdep.12120 · Cited by 549
Self-citationRoisman, G. I., Newman, D. A., Fraley, R. C., Haltigan, J. D., Groh, A. M., & Haydon, K. C. (2012) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579412000065 · Cited by 548
Temperament and the Reactions to Unfamiliarity
Kagan, J. (1997) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb01931.x · Cited by 512
Vulnerability to Psychopathology: A Biosocial Model
Zuckerman, M., & Riskind, J. (1999) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.14.4.407 · Cited by 512
Development and Validation of an Early Adolescent Temperament Measure
Capaldi, D. M., & Rothbart, M. K. (1992) · The Journal of Early Adolescence · doi:10.1177/0272431692012002002 · Cited by 500
Evolutionary emergence of responsive and unresponsive personalities
Wolf, M., van Doorn, G. S., & Weissing, F. J. (2008) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0805473105 · Cited by 430
Temperamental contributions to social behavior.
Kagan, J. (1989) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037//0003-066x.44.4.668 · Cited by 414
Smolewska, K. A., McCabe, S. B., & Woody, E. Z. (2006) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.09.022 · Cited by 399
Differences in sensitivity to parenting depending on child temperament: A meta-analysis.
Slagt, M., Dubas, J. S., Deković, M., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2016) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000061 · Cited by 381
Belsky, J. (1997) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb04221.x · Cited by 364
Beyond risk, resilience, and dysregulation: Phenotypic plasticity and human development
Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2013) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s095457941300059x · Cited by 347
Self-citationLionetti, F., Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Burns, G. L., Jagiellowicz, J., & Pluess, M. (2018) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-017-0090-6 · Cited by 347
Self-citationLiss, M., Mailloux, J., & Erchull, M. J. (2008) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.009 · Cited by 327
Acevedo, B. P., Aron, E. N., Aron, A., Sangster, M., Collins, N., & Brown, L. L. (2014) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.242 · Cited by 326
Self-citationDifferential Susceptibility to Rearing Influence: An Evolutionary Hypothesis and Some Evidence.
Belsky, J. (2005) · Cited by 321
(2007) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5834.2007.00439.x · Cited by 314
Differential susceptibility to parenting and quality child care.
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2010) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0015203 · Cited by 270
Self-citationKim, S., & Kochanska, G. (2012) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01778.x · Cited by 262
Haworth, C. M. A., Davis, O. S. P., & Plomin, R. (2013) · Twin Research and Human Genetics · doi:10.1017/thg.2012.91 · Cited by 259
van IJzendoorn, M. H., Belsky, J., & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2012) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/tp.2012.73 · Cited by 238
Psychometric Properties of an Abbreviated Instrument of the Five-Factor Model
Mullins-Sweatt, S. N., Jamerson, J. E., Samuel, D. B., Olson, D. R., & Widiger, T. A. (2006) · Assessment · doi:10.1177/1073191106286748 · Cited by 235
Adult Shyness: The Interaction of Temperamental Sensitivity and an Adverse Childhood Environment
Aron, E. N., Aron, A., & Davies, K. M. (2005) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167204271419 · Cited by 227
Self-citationPluess, M., & Boniwell, I. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.011 · Cited by 219
Self-citationThe trait of sensory processing sensitivity and neural responses to changes in visual scenes
Jagiellowicz, J., Xu, X., Aron, A., Aron, E., Cao, G., Feng, T., & Weng, X. (2011) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsq001 · Cited by 218
Self-citationEllis, B. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2011) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s095457941000060x · Cited by 199
Sensory processing sensitivity as a marker of differential susceptibility to parenting.
Slagt, M., Dubas, J. S., van Aken, M. A. G., Ellis, B. J., & Deković, M. (2018) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/dev0000431 · Cited by 167
Booth, C., Standage, H., & Fox, E. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.020 · Cited by 166
Pluess, M., Velders, F. P., Belsky, J., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J., Jaddoe, V. W. V., Albert Hofman, D., Arp, P., Verhulst, F. C., & Tiemeier, H. W. (2010) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.10.006 · Cited by 158
Self-citationBrown, H. M., Eley, T. C., Broeren, S., MacLeod, C., Rinck, M., Hadwin, J. A., & Lester, K. J. (2013) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.11.004 · Cited by 151
Self-citationTemperamental sensitivity: Two constructs or one?
Evans, D. E., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.07.016 · Cited by 143
Obradović, J., & Boyce, W. T. (2009) · Developmental Neuroscience · doi:10.1159/000216541 · Cited by 140
Boterberg, S., & Warreyn, P. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.022 · Cited by 140
Early risk factors and adult person–environment relationships in affective disorder
van Os, J., & Jones, P. B. (1999) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291799001026 · Cited by 139
Sobocko, K., & Zelenski, J. M. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.045 · Cited by 134
Keers, R., Coleman, J. R. I., Lester, K. J., Roberts, S., Breen, G., Thastum, M., Bögels, S., Schneider, S., Heiervang, E., Meiser-Stedman, R., et al. (2016) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000444023 · Cited by 127
Self-citationBIS/BAS sensitivity and self-rated affects during experimentally induced stress
Heponiemi, T., Keltikangas‐Järvinen, L., Puttonen, S., & Ravaja, N. (2003) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00079-x · Cited by 115
Snyder, H. R., Gulley, L. D., Bijttebier, P., Hartman, C. A., Oldehinkel, A. J., Mezulis, A. H., Young, J. F., & Hankin, B. L. (2015) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspp0000047 · Cited by 112
Chen, C., Chen, C., Moyzis, R., Stern, H., He, Q., Li, H., Li, J., Zhu, B., & Dong, Q. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021636 · Cited by 95
Pluess, M. (2017) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12218 · Cited by 90 · cited 4×
“, 2012; Belsky, 1997b) and accompanying empirical research (Pluess, 2017; Pluess & Belsky, 2015; Wolf et al., 2008) suggest that people fall into different sensitivity groups with about 10–35% of the population considered to be highly sensitive.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationGerstenberg, F. X. R. (2012) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.04.019 · Cited by 86
Taxonic Structure of Infant Reactivity: Evidence From a Taxometric Perspective
Woodward, S. A., Lenzenweger, M. F., Kagan, J., Snidman, N. C., & Arcus, D. M. (2000) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00259 · Cited by 67
de Haan, A. D., Prinzie, P., & Deković, M. (2009) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02192.x · Cited by 66
Albert, D., Belsky, D. W., Crowley, D. M., Latendresse, S. J., Alıev, F., Riley, B. P., Sun, C., Dick, D. M., & Dodge, K. A. (2015) · Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · doi:10.1002/pam.21811 · Cited by 50
Ho, M. Y., Cheung, F. M., You, J., Kam, C. C. S., Zhang, X., & Kliewer, W. L. (2013) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2013.05.004 · Cited by 39
V. GENETIC STABILITY, ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2007) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5834.2007.00443.x · Cited by 39
Pluess, M., Boniwell, I., Hefferon, K., & Tunariu, A. D. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0177191 · Cited by 38
Self-citationSlagt, M., Dubas, J. S., Denissen, J. J. A., Deković, M., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2014) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12091 · Cited by 20
Vantage sensitivity: genetic susceptibility to effects of positive experiences
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199686674.003.0012 · Cited by 9
Self-citation
Cited by
Developmental Adaptation to Stress: An Evolutionary Perspective
Ellis, B. J., & Del Giudice, M. (2019) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011732 · Cited by 429
Reliability and validity of an equanimity questionnaire: the two-factor equanimity scale (EQUA-S)
Juneau, C., Pellerin, N., Trives, E., Ricard, M., Shankland, R., & Dambrun, M. (2020) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.9405 · Cited by 59
Metadata
- Authors
- Pluess, M., Assary, E., Lionetti, F., Lester, K. J., Krapohl, E., Aron, E. N., & Aron, A.
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2018-01
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 51-70
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- OpenAlex
- W2760181239
- Cited by
- 344
- References
- 80
- FWCI
- 20.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.