Adolescents High on Sensory Processing Sensitivity are More Reactive to Peer Influences: A Vignette-based Experiment

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Social, Emotional, Personality

Abstract

Theories of Environmental Sensitivity propose that sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a temperament trait that reflects the degree to which an individual is responsive to both positive and negative environmental influences (Greven et al., 2019). Abundant empirical studies support this hypothesis. For example, a longitudinal study showed that compared with average sensitive children, more sensitive children not only increased more in externalizing problems when parenting became more negative but also decreased more in externalizing problems when parenting became more positive (Slagt et al., 2018). Despite these findings, three gaps exist in the literature that limit our understanding of SPS. First, most studies used correlational designs, which are inferior to experimental designs in testing SPS × environment interactions (IJzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2012, 2015). Second, the peer context has rarely been studied although children spend increasingly more time with peers during adolescence and place increased value on maintaining peer relationships (Masten et al., 2009). Finally, extant studies are almost all based on Western samples, limiting our knowledge of whether SPS has similar implications across cultures. The current study tests a novel experimental paradigm to help address these gaps.

Participants were 647 Chinese pre-/ adolescents, 9 to 15 years old (M = 12.08; SD = 1.24), 41% girls. SPS was measured with the Highly Sensitive Child Scale (Pluess et al., 2018). Peer acceptance and rejection were manipulated between-subjects using four hypothetical vignettes adapted from the Children’s Rejection-Sensitivity Questionnaire, describing peer interactions in the school setting familiar to children at this age (Downey et al., 1998). Participants were randomly allocated to either the acceptance or rejection condition, which differed only in how the vignettes ended (i.e., with peer acceptance or rejection). They read all four vignettes, imagining they were the protagonist of the stories. Both before and after this manipulation, participants rated 5 self-directed mood items (i.e., happy, sad, relaxed, nervous, angry) and 3 other-directed (i.e., friendly, angry, satisfied) mood items on a 4-point Likert scale. We calculated self- and other-directed overall mood as the mean of self- and other-directed mood items, respectively, with negative mood items reverse coded.

The results showed that the manipulation was effective. Dependent t-tests revealed significant increases in self- and other-directed overall mood (ps < .00, d = .40 and .46) in the acceptance condition, and significant decreases in self- and other-directed overall mood (ps < .00, d = .66 and .74) in the rejection condition. Moreover, regression analyses controlling for baseline mood revealed a significant SPS × condition interaction on both self-directed (b = .21, p < .001) and other-directed (b = .16, p < .05) overall mood. Adolescents with higher levels of SPS showed larger increases in self- and other-directed overall mood upon acceptance, and larger decreases in self- and other-directed overall mood upon rejection (Figure 1 and 2). The findings suggest that this novel experimental paradigm works, providing a good start for future research on SPS as a marker of Environmental Sensitivity in the peer interpersonal relationship domain.

Authors

• Danni Liu, Universiteit Utrecht
  Presenting Author

• Anouk van Dijk, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maja Deković, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Judith Semon Dubas, Utrecht University
  Non-Presenting Author