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Turkish Adaptation of the 12-Item Highly Sensitive Child Scale
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to adapt the short form of the 12-item Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale into Turkish and examine its factor
structure, validity, and reliability in school-age children and adolescents.
Materials and Methods: 139 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years were reached. A total of 126 participants completed the HSC scale
completely. In parallel with the original version, one-factor, three-factor, and bifactor models were tested in the Turkish sample. Negative
Emotionality, Effortful Control, Perceptual Sensitivity, Behavioral Inhibition, Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS), Negative Affect, and
Positive Affect scales were used to test the validity.
Results: The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the one-factor structure was incompatible with the data, while the bifactor model was
rejected. The three-factor model was accepted as the most compatible model with the data. The reliability values of the scale were found to be
at acceptable values except for the Aesthetic Sensitivity subscale. Cronbach's alpha values were.68 for the 5-item Ease of Excitation subscale,.43
for the 4-item AES subscale,.63 for the 3-item Low Sensory Threshold subscale, and.64 for the 12-item HYC scale. The fact that the correlations
of HYC and its subscales with similar temperament traits were in the expected directions points to the convergent validity of the scale. A
significant percentage of the variances in HYC and its subscales were not explained by the similar scales examined, showing the discriminant
validity of the scale.
Conclusion: As a result, it was found that the Turkish adaptation of the HYC scale was psychometrically adequate.
Keywords: Environmental Sensitivity, Highly Sensitive Child Scale, Sensory Processing Sensitivity, Temperament
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Individuals with high environmental sensitivity have nervous systems that are disproportionately receptive to both the protective and imperilling aspects of the environment, suggesting their mental health is strongly context-dependent. However, there have been few consolidated attempts to examine putative markers of sensitivity, across different levels of analysis, within a single cohort of individuals with high-priority mental health needs. Here, we examine psychological (self-report), physiological (hair hormones) and genetic (polygenic scores) markers of sensitivity in a large cohort of 1591 Syrian refugee children across two waves of data. Child-caregiver dyads were recruited from informal tented settlements in Lebanon, and completed a battery of psychological instruments at baseline and follow-up (12 months apart). Univariate and multivariate Bayesian linear mixed models were used to examine a) the interrelationships between markers of sensitivity and b) the ability of sensitivity markers to predict anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and externalising behaviour. Self-reported sensitivity (using the Highly Sensitive Child Scale) significantly predicted a higher burden of all forms of mental illness across both waves, however, there were no significant cross-lagged pathways. Physiological and genetic markers were not stably predictive of self-reported sensitivity, and failed to similarly predict mental health outcomes. The measurement of environmental sensitivity may have significant implications for identifying and treating mental illness, especially amongst vulnerable populations, but clinical utility is currently limited to self-report assessment.
This multistudy article examines whether children's susceptibility to their socialization experiences varies as a function of their dove temperament dispositions, an evolutionarily informed pattern of traits marked by a low threshold of environmental stimulation and greater behavioral flexibility across environmental contexts. Participants in Study 1 consisted of 70 mothers and their 4- to 6-year-old children: M age = 4.79 years; 57% girls; 33% Black or multiracial; 14% Latinx; median annual income range = 74,999. For Study 2, participants were 243 families, including mothers, fathers, and preschool children: M age = 4.60 years; 56% girls; 54% Black or multiracial, 16% Latinx; median annual income = $36,000). The studies used multimethod, multiinformant measurement batteries within a cross-sectional design (i.e., Study 1) or longitudinal design with three annual measurement occasions (i.e., Study 2). Study 1 findings indicated that associations among maternal parenting quality and psychological problems were only significant for children who were high in dove temperament. Consistent with these findings, Study 2 latent growth curve analyses showed that children experiencing high family adversity (i.e., maternal and paternal parenting difficulties, interparental conflict) were more susceptible to subsequent internalizing and social problems only when they were high in dove temperament. Supporting its role as a susceptibility factor, findings revealed that children with dove temperaments evidenced lower levels of psychological problems under supportive family conditions and higher psychological difficulties in adverse family contexts. Analyses further showed that the composition and moderating effects of dove temperament were distinct from other temperamental susceptibility candidates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
The aim of the present study was to test whether relations between temperament, sibling relationship quality, and problem behavior and social competence of children at school entry are in line with either of two competing models, dual risk and differential susceptibility. Our sample consisted of 977 Dutch mothers (Mean age 35.7 years) reporting about a target child at school entry. Regarding target children, mean age was 4.7 years, 48.1% were boys and 52.1% were older than their sibling. Mean age difference between siblings was 2.7 years. Using a cross-sectional design, mothers filled out online questionnaires concerning sibling relationship quality, temperament, problem behavior, and social competence of the target child. Path analysis was used to examine whether temperament moderated the link between sibling relationship quality and child psychosocial functioning. In line with differential susceptibility, results from moderation analyses indicate that among children low in effortful control (EC), sibling conflict was more strongly positively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems than among children high in EC, but sibling warmth also was more strongly positively related to social competence in children low in EC than in children high in EC. However, follow-up Region of Significance analyses shows that our findings are only consistent with weak differential susceptibility. No significant moderation effects were found for surgency or negative affect. Our findings suggest that low effortful control is a susceptibility marker concerning the link between sibling relationship quality and child functioning. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Children differ in their sensitivity to positive and negative environmental influences, which can be measured with the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale. The present study introduces the HSC-21, an adaptation of the original 12 item scale with new items and factor structure that are meant to be more informative than the original ones. The psychometric properties of the HSC-21 were investigated in 1,088 children across Belgium and the Netherlands, including child and mother reports. Results showed evidence for (a) bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and two specific factors (i.e., Ease of Excitation-Low Sensory Threshold and Aesthetic Sensitivity), (b) (partial) measurement invariance across gender, developmental stage, country, and informants, (c) moderate child-mother agreement, (d) good reliability, (e) normally distributed item scores, and (f) meaningful associations with personality and temperament across both samples. No evidence was found for HSC-21 as a moderator in the relationship between parenting and problem behaviors.
According to several developmental theories some children are more sensitive to the quality of their environment than others, but most supporting empirical evidence is based on relatively distal markers of hypothesized sensitivity. This study provides evidence for the validity of behaviorally observed Environmental Sensitivity as a moderator of parenting effects on children's early development in a sample of 292 children (Mage = 3.74; SD = 0.26) and their mothers. Sensitivity was coded using a newly developed observational measure for the specific and objective assessment of Environmental Sensitivity, the Highly Sensitive Child-Rating System (HSC-RS). HSC-RS factorial structure, associations with temperament traits, and interactions with parenting quality in the prediction of socioemotional child outcomes are reported. Findings supported a 1-factor solution. Observed sensitivity was relatively distinct from observed temperament and interacted with both low and high parenting quality in the development of behavior problems and social competence at ages 3 and 6. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Bu çalışmanın amacı Aron ve Aron (1997) tarafından geliştirilen ve son yıllarda özellikle kişilik psikolojisi alanında yaygın olarak çalışılan Duyusal İşlemleme Hassasiyeti (DİH; sensory processing sensitivity) üzerine yapılan çalış-maları derlemektir.DİH iç veya dış kaynaklı uyarıcılara karşı aşırı hassas olma durumu olarak tanımlanan kalıtımsal bir yetişkin mizaç özelliğidir. Bu yazıda DİH üzerine yapılmış geçmiş çalışmalar sistematik olarak taranmış ve altı alt bölümde derlenen 35 görgül çalışma ışığında konu detaylı olarak ele alınmıştır. Yapılan çalışmalarda DİH'in biyolojik altyapıya dayandığı ve utangaçlık, içekapanıklılık ve negatif duygulanım gibi kişilik özellikleriyle yakın ilişkili olduğu görülmüştür. DİH'in stres ve depresyon gibi olumsuz psikolojik değişkenlerle ilişkili bulunması aşırı hassas kişiler için dezavantaj olarak görülse de dış ve iç kaynaklı uyaranlara karşı hızlı farkındalık ve tepkisellik bu kişilik özelliğinin işlevsel yönünü ortaya koymaktadır. Alt başlıklarda özetlenen temel bulgular DİH'in kişilik özelliklerinden olumsuz psikolojik sonuçlara kadar birçok alanda önemli doğurguları olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu kapsamda ilgili kültürel faktörler ve gelecek çalışmalara ilişkin öneriler de tartışılmıştır.
Abstract This paper aims to systematically review the current literature on sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), proposed by Aron and Aron (1997), and that has recently been increasingly investigated especially within personality psychology. SPS is a genetically disposed adult temperament trait, which is described as being highly sensitive to internal and external stimulations. In the current review, previous studies on SPS have been thoroughly elaborated with a total of 35 empirical studies in six sub-areas. Reviewed studies have shown that SPS has a biological underpinning and is closely associated with certain personality traits, such as shyness, introversion, and negative affectivity. On the one hand, those with high levels of SPS have a tendency for having negative psychological outcomes, such as stress proneness and depression, which can be seen as a disadvantage. On the other hand, they have rapid awareness and keen reactivity to both external and internal stimuli, which can be considered as a functional aspect of this trait. Overall, findings have demonstrated that SPS has critical implications for a number of personality traits as well as positive and negative psychological outcomes. These implications were discussed considering the potential cultural factors and directions for future research.
Adolescents differ in their degree of Environmental Sensitivity, that is, the ability to perceive and process information about their environment. The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Highly Sensitive Child scale (HSC), a self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity, in two Belgian and UK samples with a total of 3056 adolescents. First, the factor structure, internal consistency, dimensionality, and construct validity of the HSC scale were examined. Second, measurement invariance of the HSC scale across developmental stage, gender, and country was tested. Results supported a bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and three group factors: Ease of Excitation (EOE), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES). Cronbach’s alpha and McDonalds’s (hierarchical) omega indicated that the HSC scale is a reliable measure of Environmental Sensitivity, except for AES. Furthermore, AES was associated with different personality traits than EOE and LST. Second, the HSC scale was partially measurement invariant across developmental stage, gender, and country. The results provide important insights in the psychometrics of a first measurement of Environmental Sensitivity in early to late adolescents. Implications for further research are discussed.
Objective
Since inhibitory control has been implicated in children’s ability to successfully navigate their social and academic environments, it is important to explore factors underlying its development. We examined whether attentional focusing (a temperamental factor) and socioeconomic status (a caregiving environmental factor) influenced children’s inhibitory control.
Methods
Inhibitory control was coded from an observed behavioral task (Dinky Toys) and children’s temperament and socioeconomic status were indexed via parent report in 70 (36 girls; M age = 4.40 years) typically developing 4-year-old children.
Results
We found that children low in attentional focusing were differentially sensitive to their caregiving environment in predicting inhibitory control (p= .001): children with low attentional focusing displayed the highest and lowest levels of inhibitory control when their familial socioeconomic status was high and low, respectively. Children with high attentional focusing exhibited an average amount of inhibitory control regardless of their familial socioeconomic status (p= .20).
Conclusion
Findings provide support for a differential susceptibility hypothesis and suggest that plasticity in low attentional focusing may be beneficial to children in some caregiving environments. Findings also highlight the importance of considering factors internal and external to the child when exploring influences on inhibitory control.
According to empirical studies and recent theories, people differ substantially in their reactivity or sensitivity to
environmental influences with some being generally more affected than others. More sensitive individuals have been described as orchids and less-sensitive ones as dandelions. Applying a data-driven approach, we explored the existence of sensitivity groups in a sample of 906 adults who completed the highly sensitive person (HSP) scale. According to factor analyses, the HSP scale reflects a bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor. In contrast to prevailing theories, latent class analyses consistently suggested the existence of three rather than two groups. While we were able to identify a highly sensitive (orchids, 31%) and a low-sensitive group (dandelions, 29%), we also detected a third group (40%) characterised by medium sensitivity, which we refer to as tulips in keeping with the flower metaphor. Preliminary cut-off scores for all three groups are provided. In order to characterise the different sensitivity groups, we investigated group differences regarding the Big Five personality traits, as well as experimentally assessed emotional reactivity in an additional independent sample. According to these follow-up analyses, the three groups differed in neuroticism, extraversion and emotional reactivity to positive mood induction with orchids scoring significantly higher in neuroticism and emotional reactivity and lower in extraversion than the other two groups (dandelions also differed significantly from tulips). Findings suggest that environmental sensitivity is a continuous and normally distributed trait but that people fall into three distinct sensitive groups along a sensitivity continuum.
We compared alternative models to explore the multidimensionality of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS; Aron and Aron 1997) on two Turkish samples. Using exploratory factor analysis, first study (N = 412) yielded four factors representing diverse domains of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). Using both traditional confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), a second study (N = 341) confirmed the multidimensionality of the HSPS, and demonstrated that the four-factor ESEM solution (sensitivity to external stimuli, aesthetic sensitivity, harm avoidance, and sensitivity to overstimulation) was superior to the previously reported alternative models. Four factors were also systematically associated with the external validators including big five personality traits. Findings suggested that a multifaceted approach to SPS representing domain-specific sensitivities is needed.
In this longitudinal multiinformant study negative emotionality and sensory processing sensitivity were compared as susceptibility markers among kindergartners. Participating children (N = 264, 52.9% boys) were Dutch kindergartners (Mage = 4.77, SD = 0.60), followed across three waves, spaced seven months apart. Results show that associations between parenting and child behavior did not depend on children’s negative emotionality. Sensory processing sensitivity, however, interacted with both (changes in) negative and (changes in) positive parenting in predicting externalizing, but not prosocial, behavior. Depending on the interaction, vantage sensitivity and differential susceptibility models were supported. The findings suggest that sensory processing sensitivity may be a more proximal correlate of individual differences in susceptibility, compared with negative emotionality.
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
The goal of the current study was to examine the complex links among anxious solitude, classroom climate, engagement, achievement, and gender. In particular, drawing upon the differential susceptibility hypothesis (Belsky, 1997), we investigated if children high in anxious solitude were particularly sensitive and responsive to the classroom environment. Participants were N = 712 children in Grade 3, drawn from the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development data set. Classroom climate and engagement were assessed using the Classroom Observation Scale (NICHD, 1998). Teachers completed the Teacher Report Form (Achenbach, 1991) as a measure of anxious solitude and the Academic Rating Scale (NICHD, 2010) as a measure of achievement. Hypothesized associations among variables were tested by way of a moderated-mediation model. Among the results, engagement was found to mediate the relation between classroom climate and achievement. In addition, anxious solitude and gender were found to moderate the relation between classroom climate and engagement. Support for the differential susceptibility hypothesis was found, suggesting that children high in anxious solitude may be more reactive (both positively and negatively) to elements of the classroom environment. In addition, gender differences were observed, indicating that boys may be more responsive to the classroom environment as compared with girls. Implications for future research and educational policies are discussed.
Several models of individual differences in environmental sensitivity postulate increased sensitivity of some individuals to either stressful (diathesis-stress), supportive (vantage sensitivity), or both environments (differential susceptibility). In this meta-analysis we examine whether children vary in sensitivity to parenting depending on their temperament, and if so, which model can best be used to describe this sensitivity pattern. We tested whether associations between negative parenting and negative or positive child adjustment as well as between positive parenting and positive or negative child adjustment would be stronger among children higher on putative sensitivity markers (difficult temperament, negative emotionality, surgency, and effortful control). Longitudinal studies with children up to 18 years ( = 105 samples from 84 studies, mean = 6,153) that reported on a parenting-by-temperament interaction predicting child adjustment were included. We found 235 independent effect sizes for associations between parenting and child adjustment. Results showed that children with a more difficult temperament (compared with those with a more easy temperament) were more vulnerable to negative parenting, but also profited more from positive parenting, supporting the differential susceptibility model. Differences in susceptibility were expressed in externalizing and internalizing problems and in social and cognitive competence. Support for differential susceptibility for negative emotionality was, however, only present when this trait was assessed during infancy. Surgency and effortful control did not consistently moderate associations between parenting and child adjustment, providing little support for differential susceptibility, diathesis-stress, or vantage sensitivity models. Finally, parenting-by-temperament interactions were more pronounced when parenting was assessed using observations compared to questionnaires. (PsycINFO Database Record
Previous research on sensory processing sensitivity and related concepts showed an association with internalizing problems. The current explorative study investigated the underlying factor structure of the parent-report Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) and its association with problems in daily functioning. Caregivers of 235 children (3–16 years) completed the HSPS as well as questions on daily functioning. First, the factor structure of the HSPS was explored and evaluated. Second, both differences in reported problems between a high SPS and a control group, and in SPS factors between children with few versus many problems, were examined. Results suggested that the scores of the HSPS have good internal consistency and supported a two-factor structure which distinguishes Overreaction to Stimuli (OS) and Depth of Processing (DP). Children with high SPS were reported to have more internalizing problems. High OS was more common in children who cried excessively as a baby, children with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS), sleeping, eating and drinking problems while high DP was more common in children with MUPS and sleeping problems. This study provides the first empirical evidence that the parent-report HSPS may add valuable information to the assessment of children with problems in daily functioning.
In this study, it was aimed to anaylze the risk factors that predicts the cyberbullying status of secondary school students. Relational model was used in the study. The study was conducted on 400 secondary school student getting educated in different schools in Erzurum. Information form, Revised Cyberbullying Inventory, Positive and Negative Affection Scale, Social Media Attitude Questionnaire was used as data collection tools. The data analysis was done with multinominal logistik regression. In the study, it was determied that 17 % of the students experience cyberbullying, 10.5 % of the students bully others, and 35.2 % of them are bully/victim. As a result of the study, being unable to socialize is a risk factor to be a cyberbully, victim and victim/bully. It was seen that gender and internet usage time are factors to be cyberbully and cyberbully/victim, parental uncontrolling in child's internet use is a risk factor to be cyberbully, social attitude and negative affect are risk factors to be cyberbully/victim.
A fundamental trait found in most organisms is the ability to register, process, and respond to external factors. Although such environmental sensitivity is critical for adapting successfully to contextual conditions, individuals tend to differ in their sensitivity to the environment, with some more sensitive than others. Such differences in environmental sensitivity can be seen across many species, including humans. Although the notion of variability in environmental sensitivity is reflected indirectly in many traditional concepts of human psychology, several new frameworks address individual differences in environmental sensitivity more directly and from a perspective of developmental and evolutionary theory. In this article, I integrate these perspectives into a broad meta-framework before proposing ideas for research on individual differences in environmental sensitivity. I also emphasize that inter-individual variability in environmental sensitivity be considered in both theoretical and applied work.
Background
Theory and research suggest that sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), found in roughly 20% of humans and over 100 other species, is a trait associated with greater sensitivity and responsiveness to the environment and to social stimuli. Self-report studies have shown that high-SPS individuals are strongly affected by others' moods, but no previous study has examined neural systems engaged in response to others' emotions.Methods
This study examined the neural correlates of SPS (measured by the standard short-form Highly Sensitive Person [HSP] scale) among 18 participants (10 females) while viewing photos of their romantic partners and of strangers displaying positive, negative, or neutral facial expressions. One year apart, 13 of the 18 participants were scanned twice.ResultsAcross all conditions, HSP scores were associated with increased brain activation of regions involved in attention and action planning (in the cingulate and premotor area [PMA]). For happy and sad photo conditions, SPS was associated with activation of brain regions involved in awareness, integration of sensory information, empathy, and action planning (e.g., cingulate, insula, inferior frontal gyrus [IFG], middle temporal gyrus [MTG], and PMA).Conclusions
As predicted, for partner images and for happy facial photos, HSP scores were associated with stronger activation of brain regions involved in awareness, empathy, and self-other processing. These results provide evidence that awareness and responsiveness are fundamental features of SPS, and show how the brain may mediate these traits.
We provide a theoretical and empirical basis for the claim that individual differences exist in developmental plasticity and that phenotypic plasticity should be a subject of study in its own right. To advance this argument, we begin by highlighting challenges that evolutionary thinking poses for a science of development and psychopathology, including for the diathesis-stress framework that has (fruitfully) guided so much empirical inquiry on developmental risk, resilience, and dysregulation. With this foundation laid, we raise a series of issues that the differential-susceptibility hypothesis calls attention to, while highlighting findings that have emerged over just the past several years and are pertinent to some of the questions posed. Even though it is clear that this new perspective on Person × Environment interaction is stimulating research and influencing how hypotheses are framed and data interpreted, a great many topics remain that need empirical attention. Our intention is to encourage students of development and psychopathology to treat phenotypic plasticity as an individual-difference construct while exploring unknowns in the differential-susceptibility equation.
For structural equation models, a huge variety of fit indices has been developed. These indices, however, can point to conflicting conclusions about the extent to which a model actually matches the observed data. The present article provides some guide-lines that should help applied researchers to evaluate the adequacy of a given struc-tural equation model. First, as goodness-of-fit measures depend on the method used for parameter estimation, maximum likelihood (ML) and weighted least squares (WLS) methods are introduced in the context of structural equation modeling. Then, the most common goodness-of-fit indices are discussed and some recommendations for practitioners given. Finally, we generated an artificial data set according to a "true" model and analyzed two misspecified and two correctly specified models as examples of poor model fit, adequate fit, and good fit. In structural equation modeling (SEM), a model is said to fit the observed data to the extent that the model-implied covariance matrix is equivalent to the empirical co-variance matrix. Once a model has been specified and the empirical covariance matrix is given, a method has to be selected for parameter estimation. Different estimation meth-ods have different distributional assumptions and have different discrepancy functions to be minimized. When the estimation procedure has converged to a reasonable
Two studies were employed to develop a self-report temperament measure for the early adolescent period. The measure was based on the work of Rothbart and colleagues with adults and focused on emotionality, reactivity, and self-regulation. In Study 1, 97 middle school students (SO girls and 47 boys), aged 11 to 14 years, completed the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ). In addition, 93 parents reported on their adolescent's temperament. Analyses assessing scale reliability, dimensionality, and discriminant validity were conducted. Two of the EATQ's 14 scales were eliminated, and 2 were collapsed to form 1 scale; 92 of the original 168 items were retained after these analyses. The 11 final scales assessed fear, irritability, shyness, sadness, high-intensity pleasure, low-intensity pleasure, sensitivity, autonomic reactivity, motor activation, activity level, and attention. Alphas for the)) scales were high, and average convergence between parent report and adolescent report for the scales was .29. Three factors were identified in an analysis of the remaining 11 scale scores: negative emotion and somatic arousal, positive emotion and sensitivity, and high intensity pleasure or sensation seeking. In Study 2, participants were 64 boys and 64 girls, aged 11 to 14 years. Scale reliability and the factor structure of the modified adolescent scale were replicated in Study 2. In addition, eight scales from other measures were administered to assess convergent validity of the scales, and retests were conducted. Retest stability was high, and correlations with parallel scales averaged .50, indicating scale validity. Results indicate that the EATQ provides reliable and valid assessment of 1) dimensions of temperament for early adolescents.
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
The advantages of applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) data are widely recognized. However, because CFA, as traditionally applied to MTMM data, incorporates single indicators of each scale (i.e., each trait–method combination), important weaknesses are the failure to (a) correct appropriately for measurement error in scale scores, (b) separate error due to low internal consistency from uniqueness due to weak trait or method effects, (c) test whether items or subscales accurately reflect the intended factor structure, and (d) test for correlated uniquenesses. However, when the analysis begins with multiple indicators of each scale (i.e., items or subscales), second-order factor analysis can be used to address each of these problems. In this approach, first-order factors defined by multiple items or subscales are posited for each scale, and the method and trait factors are posited as second-order factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ; Capaldi & Rothbart, 1992) was revised and updated to better assess aspects of temperament related to self-regulation in adolescents. Scales measuring aggression and depressive mood were included to examine relationships between temperament and traits relevant to socialization.177 adolescents, aged 10-16, and 62 parent participants completed questionnaires. Analyses were conducted to determine reliability of scales. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors: Effortful Control, Surgency, Affiliativeness, and Negative Affect. Low Effortful Control and high Negative Affect scores were predictive of both aggression and depressive mood. However, aggression was associated with low scores on Affiliativeness, while depressive mood was associated with high levels of Affiliativeness, even when controlling for differences in gender. Introduction A number of studies over the past two decades have examined the role of temperamental characteristics in adolescent affect and psychopathology (e.g., Windle, Hooker, Lenerz, East, Lerner, & Lerner, 1986; Caspi, Henry, McGee, Moffitt, & Silva, 1995) and substance use (e.g., Wills, DuHamel, & Vaccarro, 1995; Stice & Gonzales, 1998). However, traditional measures of temperament have not specifically tapped experiences common to adolescents, thus prompting the development of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ; Capaldi & Rothbart, 1992). The purpose of the current study was to revise and update the EATQ to better assess aspects of temperament related to self-regulation in adolescents. In addition, scales measuring aggression and depressive mood were embedded within the instrument as a tool to examine possible relationships between temperament and social-emotional functioning.
In a predominantly low-income, population-based longitudinal sample of 1,259 children followed from birth, results suggest that chronic exposure to poverty and the strains of financial hardship were each uniquely predictive of young children's performance on measures of executive functioning. Results suggest that temperament-based vulnerability serves as a statistical moderator of the link between poverty-related risk and children's executive functioning. Implications for models of ecology and biology in shaping the development of children's self-regulation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
This article reviews the literature on sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) in light of growing evidence from evolutionary biology that many personality differences in nonhuman species involve being more or less responsive, reactive, flexible, or sensitive to the environment. After briefly defining SPS, it first discusses how biologists studying animal personality have conceptualized this general environmental sensitivity. Second, it reviews relevant previous human personality/temperament work, focusing on crossover interactions (where a trait generates positive or negative outcomes depending on the environment), and traits relevant to specific hypothesized aspects of SPS: inhibition of behavior, sensitivity to stimuli, depth of processing, and emotional/physiological reactivity. Third, it reviews support for the overall SPS model, focusing on development of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Scale as a measure of SPS then on neuroimaging and genetic studies using the scale, all of which bears on the extent to which SPS in humans corresponds to biological responsivity.
In the current paper we present new empirical data and meta-analytic evidence for the role of dopamine-related genes as a susceptibility factor interacting with the rearing environment for better and for worse, that is, increasing children's susceptibility to both the adverse effects of unsupportive environments and the beneficial effects of supportive rearing. In Study 1 we examined the readiness of 91 7-year-old children to donate their money to a charity (UNICEF). We tested whether the association between attachment and donating behavior was moderated by the presence of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) 7-repeat allele. The attachment story completion task was used to assess attachment as an index of the quality of the rearing environment. Children with secure attachment representations donated more but only if they had the DRD4 7-repeat allele. In Study 2 we present the results of a meta-analysis of gene-environment studies on children up to 10 years of age involving dopamine-related genes (dopamine receptor D2, DRD4, dopamine transporter). The cumulative negative effects of these "risk genes" and adverse rearing environments have been stressed, but potentially cumulative positive effects of these same genes interacting with positive rearing environments remained largely unnoticed. We examined the associations between negative and positive rearing environments and developmental outcomes as moderated by dopamine-related gene polymorphisms. Children with the less efficient dopamine-related genes did worse in negative environments than the comparisons without the "genetic risk," but they also profited most from positive environments. Findings are discussed in light of evolutionary theory, and illustrated with some practical implications of differential susceptibility.
Research on differential susceptibility to rearing suggests that infants with difficult temperaments are disproportionately affected by parenting and child care quality, but a major U.S. child care study raises questions as to whether quality of care influences social adjustment. One thousand three hundred sixty-four American children from reasonably diverse backgrounds were followed from 1 month to 11 years with repeated observational assessments of parenting and child care quality, as well as teacher report and standardized assessments of children's cognitive-academic and social functioning, to determine whether those with histories of difficult temperament proved more susceptible to early rearing effects at ages 10 and 11. Evidence for such differential susceptibility emerges in the case of both parenting and child care quality and with respect to both cognitive-academic and social functioning. Differential susceptibility to parenting and child care quality extends to late middle childhood. J. Belsky, D. L. Vandell, et al.'s (2007) failure to consider such temperament-moderated rearing effects in their evaluation of long-term child care effects misestimates effects of child care quality on social adjustment.
Evolutionary-biological reasoning suggests that individuals should be differentially susceptible to environmental influences, with some people being not just more vulnerable than others to the negative effects of adversity, as the prevailing diathesis-stress view of psychopathology (and of many environmental influences) maintains, but also disproportionately susceptible to the beneficial effects of supportive and enriching experiences (or just the absence of adversity). Evidence consistent with the proposition that individuals differ in plasticity is reviewed. The authors document multiple instances in which (a) phenotypic temperamental characteristics, (b) endophenotypic attributes, and (c) specific genes function less like "vulnerability factors" and more like "plasticity factors," thereby rendering some individuals more malleable or susceptible than others to both negative and positive environmental influences. Discussion focuses upon limits of the evidence, statistical criteria for distinguishing differential susceptibility from diathesis stress, potential mechanisms of influence, and unknowns in the differential-susceptibility equation.
Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of life stress in the past 2 decades raise several questions concerning traditional diathesis-stress theories of psychopathology. First, comprehensive measures of life stress force investigators to become more precise about the particular stressful circumstances hypothesized to interact with diatheses. Second, the influence of the diathesis on a person's life is typically ignored, which results in several types of possible bias in the assessment of life stress. Finally, information is available on diatheses and stress for specific disorders to provide a foundation for more empirically based hypotheses about diathesis-stress interactions. This possibility is outlined for depression. Such an approach provides the basis for developing broader, yet more specific, frameworks for investigating diathesis-stress theories of psychopathology in general and of depression in particular.
Over a series of 7 studies that used diverse samples and measures, this research identified a unidimensional core variable of high sensory-processing sensitivity and demonstrated its partial independence from social introversion and emotionality, variables with which it had been confused or subsumed in most previous theorizing by personality researchers. Additional findings were that there appear to be 2 distinct clusters of highly sensitive individuals (a smaller group with an unhappy childhood and related variables, and a larger group similar to nonhighly sensitive individuals except for their sensitivity) and that sensitivity moderates, at least for men; the relation of parental environment to reporting having had an unhappy childhood. This research also demonstrated adequate reliability and content, convergent, and discriminant validity for a 27-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale.
Background
Children's well‐being in terms of physical, emotional, social, and academic outcomes is largely influenced by environmental characteristics, with the presence of childhood adversities constituting a risk factor, and support provided by the family working as a protective factor. Yet the role of individual differences in children's sensitivity to environmental influences in these relations is still underexplored; following the differential susceptibility model, it could be a potential moderator.
Methods
Participants were 227 children (mean age 7.05 years) and their parents, who were interviewed on the number of experienced childhood adversities and family supportive resources, as well as on child well‐being and environmental sensitivity.
Results
Path analysis showed that, as expected, the number of family adversities was negatively associated with children's physical and emotional comfort and perceived academic performance, whereas supportive resources provided by the family were positively related to child well‐being. Of importance, children's environmental sensitivity moderated these associations emphasizing the negative effects of a stressful environment on physical and social functioning and increasing the positive effect of a supportive environment on children's social performance.
Conclusions
The present data lend support to a diathesis–stress model, with highly sensitive children being more susceptible to both negative and positive environmental influences in relation to well‐being. Interventions may focus on providing clinical support to these children in the context of particularly aversive environments.
Meta-analyses on the effectiveness of antibullying interventions show that average effects tend to be significant but small. Informed by the vantage sensitivity framework, the current study aimed to test in a large randomized controlled trial whether individual differences in environmental sensitivity predict treatment response to an antibullying intervention. A total of 2,042 pupils (Grades 4 and 6) were randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. Significant intervention effects on victimization and internalizing symptoms were moderated by both environmental sensitivity and gender: Boys who scored high on sensitivity benefited significantly more than did less sensitive boys from the effects of the intervention regarding reduced victimization and internalizing symptoms. The findings are consistent with the notion of vantage sensitivity, suggesting that some individuals are disproportionately likely to respond to treatment and others are more resistant as a function of individual differences in environmental sensitivity.
Evidence that adverse rearing environments exert negative effects particularly on children presumed "vulnerable" for temperamental or genetic reasons may actually reflect something else: heightened susceptibility to the negative effects of risky environments and to the beneficial effects of supportive environments. Building on Belsky's (1997, 2005) evolutionary-inspired proposition that some children are more affected-both for better and for worse-by their rearing experiences than are others, we consider recent work on child vulnerability, including that involving measured genes, along with evidence showing that putatively vulnerable children are especially susceptible to both positive and negative rearing effects. We also consider methodological issues and unanswered questions in the differential-susceptibility equation.
Gray (1981, 1982) holds that 2 general motivational systems underlie behavior and affect: a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and a behavioral activation system (BAS). Self-report scales to assess dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities were created. Scale development (Study 1) and convergent and discriminant validity in the form of correlations with alternative measures are reported (Study 2). In Study 3, a situation in which Ss anticipated a punishment was created. Controlling for initial nervousness, Ss high in BIS sensitivity (assessed earlier) were more nervous than those low. In Study 4, a situation in which Ss anticipated a reward was created. Controlling for initial happiness, Ss high in BAS sensitivity (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) were happier than those low. In each case the new scales predicted better than an alternative measure. Discussion is focused on conceptual implications.
What works for whom? Genetic moderation of intervention efficacy - Volume 27 Issue 1 - Jay Belsky, Marinus H. van Ijzendoorn
Adverse early care is associated with attention regulatory problems, but not all so exposed develop attention problems. In a sample of 612 youth (girls = 432, M = 11.82 years, SD = 1.5) adopted from institutions (e.g., orphanages) in 25 countries, we examined whether the Val66Met polymorphism of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene moderates attention problems associated with the duration of institutional care. Parent-reported attention problem symptoms were collected using the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire. DNA was genotyped for the brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met (rs6265) single nucleotide polymorphism. Among youth from Southeast (SE) Asia, the predominant genotype was valine/methionine (Val/Met), whereas among youth from Russia/Europe and Caribbean/South America, the predominant genotype was Val/Val. For analysis, youth were grouped as carrying Val/Val or Met/Met alleles. Being female, being from SE Asia, and being younger when adopted were associated with fewer attention regulatory problem symptoms. Youth carrying at least one copy of the Met allele were more sensitive to the duration of deprivation, yielding an interaction that followed a differential susceptibility pattern. Thus, youth with Val/Met or Met/Met genotypes exhibited fewer symptoms than Val/Val genotypes when adoption was very early and more symptoms when adoption occurred later in development. Similar patterns were observed when SE Asian youth and youth from other parts of the world were analyzed separately.
Aron and Aron (1997) developed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) to measure individual differences in sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS). The purpose of the present study was to examine further the psychometric properties of the HSPS, and its association with the behavioural inhibition system (BIS) and behavioural activation system (BAS) (Carver & White, 1994), and the “Big Five” (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Results demonstrate that the HSPS is a valid and reliable measure of the construct of SPS. However, in contrast to Aron and Aron’s finding that the scale is unidimensional, the current results support a three-component structure consisting of Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and Ease of Excitation (EOE). BIS activity was especially associated with the component of EOE. In addition, the components had different patterns of association with the “Big Five”. More specifically, AES showed the strongest relation with Openness to Experience, while LST and EOE were found to be most closely associated with Neuroticism.
Cronbach's a is the most widely used index of the reliability of a scale. However, its use and interpretation can be subject to a number of errors. This article discusses the historical development of a from other indexes of internal consistency (split-half reliability and Kuder-Richardson 20) and discusses four myths associated with a: (a) that it is a fixed property of the scale, (b) that it measures only the internal consistency of the scale, (c) that higher values are always preferred over lower ones, and (d) that it is restricted to the range of 0 to 1. It provides some recommendations for acceptable values of a in different situations.
Sensory Processing Sensitivity
- E N Aron
- Aron A Jagiellowicz
Aron EN, Aron A, Jagiellowicz J. Sensory Processing Sensitivity.
Personal Soc Psychol Rev. 2012;16:262-282.
Hoogsensitiviteit bij kinderen in het basisonderwijs
- Sae Walda
Walda SAE. Hoogsensitiviteit bij kinderen in het basisonderwijs
[High sensitivity in children from regular education]. 2007. Radboud
Universiteit.
Davranışsal İnhibisyon Sistemi / Davranışsal Aktivasyon Sistemi Ölçeği'nin Türkçeye Uyarlanması: Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması
- S Şişman
- İ Üniversitesi
- E Fakültesi
- P Bölümü
- B İstanbul
Şişman S, Üniversitesi İ, Fakültesi E, Bölümü P, İstanbul B.
Davranışsal İnhibisyon Sistemi / Davranışsal Aktivasyon Sistemi
Ölçeği'nin Türkçeye Uyarlanması: Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması.
Psikol Çalışmaları. 2012;2:1-22.
Pozitif ve Negatif Duygu Ölçeği: Geçerllik ve Güvenilirlik Çalışması
- Gençöz T
GENÇÖZ T. Pozitif ve Negatif Duygu Ölçeği: Geçerllik ve Güvenilirlik
Çalışması. Türk Psikol Derg. 2000;15:19-26.
Using Multivariate Statistics
- B G Tabachnick
- L S Fidell
Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS. Using Multivariate Statistics. 6th ed.
Boston: MA: Pearson. 2013.