Observer-Rated Environmental Sensitivity and its Characterization at Genetic, Physiological, and Behavioral Level

• In Event: New Insights on Environmental Sensitivity in Early Childhood

Abstract

Introduction] According to the Environmental Sensitivity (ES) framework, children differ in how they perceive and process environmental information. According to previous studies, 30% of the children would be more sensitive to environmental influences than others which is observed across multiple levels of analysis (i.e., behavior, genetic, and physiological level; for an overview, see Greven et al., 2019; Belsky & Pluess, 2009). However, no study so far has investigated these different levels in the same individuals. The aim was to investigate the psychometric properties of an observational measure of ES in preschoolers (Highly Sensitive Child-Rating System (HSC-RS); Lionetti, Aron, Aron, Klein, & Pluess, 2019), to explore the existence of different sensitivity groups, and to characterize observer-rated sensitivity in preschoolers at the behavioral, genetic, and physiological level. Based on previous studies (for an overview, see Greven et al., 2019), we hypothesized to find evidence for a reliable and valid measure of ES in preschoolers, the existence of three sensitivity groups that differ from each other in terms of temperament, polygenic (candidate and GWAS) risk scores, EEG asymmetry, basal cortisol, and cortisol reactivity.
[Population sample and methods] The HSC-RS was coded in 541 3-year-olds (M(SD)age =3.56 (0.27), 44.5%= male) that participated in the Stony Brook Temperament Study. Temperament, genetic, cortisol, and EEG asymmetry data were collected from subsamples of the study (n = 94 to 476).
[Results] Confirmatory factor analysis showed evidence for a one factor solution of the HSC-RS and a good reliability. Latent class analysis showed evidence for three sensitivity groups (low, medium, and high sensitivity groups). Hierarchical regression analyses and multivariate analyses of variance showed that girls were more sensitive than boys, that sensitivity scores were only partially related to traditional temperamental traits, and that the temperament profile differed between sensitivity groups (Fig 1). Suggestive evidence was found for a positive association between ES and a candidate genes polygenic sensitivity score as well as a negative association with a genomic-wide based polygenic risk score for ADHD. No association was found between ES and the physiological measures (i.e., cortisol and EEG asymmetry; e.g., Table 1).
[Discussion] This was the first study that investigated sensitivity at these different levels of analysis within the same individuals. Based on the findings, it is likely that a heightened ES at the phenotypic level does not necessarily imply a heightened physiological stress response, at least not for preschoolers. A possible explanation is that the quality of the environment moderates the associations with physiological measures (as proposed by the adaptive calibration model to stress of Del Giudice et al., 2011), which means that more sensitive children show a higher cortisol reactivity or more pronounced asymmetry when encountering negative environments (e.g., lots of stressors) or extreme supportive environments, but not when encountering environments with a moderate amount and intensity of stressors. Genetic factors, in contrast, are not directly influenced by environmental factors.

Authors

• Sofie Weyn, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)
  Presenting Author

• Francesca Lionetti, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara and Queen Mary University of London

• Daniel N Klein, Stony Brook University

• Elaine Aron, Stony Brook University

• Arthur Aron, Stony Brook University

• Elizabeth P. Hayden, University of Western Ontario

• Lea Rose Dougherty, University of Maryland, College Park

• Shiva Singh

• Monika Waszczuk

• Roman Kotov, Stony Brook University Hospital

• Anna Docherty

• Andrey Shabalin

• Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London