Environmental Sensitivity in Japanese Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale and Its Role in Socio-Emotional and Behavioral Development

Environmental sensitivity, defined as the capacity to perceive and process information from both supportive and adverse environmental experiences, plays an important role in socio-emotional and behavioral development. However, existing research has predominantly focused on childhood, leaving a gap in our understanding of environmental sensitivity during adolescence. To bridge this gap, we conducted three studies using self-report data from 2,375 Japanese adolescents aged 10–14 years and their mothers. First, we aimed to provide a comprehensive description of adolescent sensory processing sensitivity (referred to as trait sensitivity) by applying the 21-item Highly Sensitive Child scale to Japanese adolescents (Studies 1 and 2). Second, using three-wave longitudinal data, we examined how trait sensitivity interacts with various environmental contexts (i.e., negative/positive parenting and peer relationships) to predict adolescents’ socio-emotional and behavioral development (Study 3). Results showed that adolescent trait sensitivity was characterized by a general factor reflecting sensitivity to a broad range of negative and positive stimuli, as well as two specific domains: Ease of Excitation–Low Sensory Threshold and Aesthetic Sensitivity (i.e., bifactor model). Trait sensitivity was positively correlated with other temperament and personality traits, including negative emotionality, behavioral inhibition, neuroticism, and openness. Trait sensitivity and environmental factors independently predicted internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as prosocial behavior. Notably, trait sensitivity was a significant positive predictor of both internalizing problems and prosocial behavior. These findings suggest partial continuity in the structure and developmental functions of trait sensitivity from childhood to adolescence.