Highly sensitive adolescent benefits in positive school transitions: Evidence for vantage sensitivity in Japanese high-schoolers.

Abstract

Some researchers indicate that the transition to high school deflects adolescent developmental trajectories. Others assert that it provides a new possibility for the promotion of adolescents' socioemotional well-being. One critical view missing in such claims is that individual variabilities interact with environmental influences. We employed the framework of Differential Susceptibility Theory, which postulates that individual susceptibilities moderate external influences for better and for worse. To clarify the mechanism of adolescents' differential adjustments, this article investigates the role of sensoryprocessing sensitivity using the Japanese version of Highly Sensitive Child Scale for Adolescence (J-HSCS) and tests whether the diathesis-stress model or the differential susceptibility model best describes students' socioemotional adjustment across their high school transition. The current article used the two-wave data collected from Japanese adolescents aged from 14 to 15 years (n ϭ 412, 50% girls).In Study 1, we investigated the replicability of psychometric properties of J-HSCS. The results supported previous findings, indicating its validity for the bifactor model. In Study 2, we utilized confirmatory competitive model testing, which maximizes statistical power by parameterizing the crossover point to allow a direct comparison of alternative models. The results indicate that neither the diathesis-stress nor the differential susceptibility models fitted the data. Rather, a strong vantage sensitivity model was revealed, suggesting that highly susceptible adolescents disproportionately benefitted from a positive school transition over their counterparts. This finding signified the role of adolescents' sensitivity to environmental influences and the importance of considering its moderation under Person ϫ Environment interactions.

Sensory processing sensitivity and culturally modified resilience education: Differential susceptibility in Japanese adolescents

“…As the literature on DST suggests, susceptible individuals are more responsive to both positive and negative external information [ 38 , 39 , 42 ]; thus, this moderation effect can function as a “hidden efficacy” of the interventions [ 59 ]. Importantly, few empirical studies have been conducted in non-western contexts [ 39 , 43 ]; nonetheless, these results replicated previous findings on the moderation effects of SPS on intervention efficacy reported from different cultural backgrounds [ 36 , 37 ]. This suggests that phenotypic SPS—underpinned by biophysiological substrates [ 32 , 34 , 35 ]—predicts the strength of individual responsiveness to the external information irrespective of the societal differences.…”

“…Then, to investigate the moderation effects of gender and individual sensitivity from a DST perspective, we hypothesized that highly sensitive youths, particularly girls, would report lower well-being and higher depression at baseline but would show greater positive outcomes than less sensitive students after intervention. Since few empirical studies on this subject have been reported in Japan, or more broadly, non-Western countries [ 43 ], this empirical study will provide a valuable contribution to adolescent intervention studies in different cultural contexts and will further our understanding of person x environmental interactions.…”

Environmental Sensitivity in Adults: Psychometric Properties of the Japanese Version of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale 10-Item Version

“…Given this theory, it is possible that positive emotions were induced by the positive video because highly sensitive people are more likely to process information more deeply and have heightened emotional reactivity to environmental stimuli. Conversely, as reported in several studies and in our results, individuals with low sensitivity are less likely to benefit from positive interventions HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSON (e.g., Nocentini et al, 2018) and supportive environment (e.g., Iimura & Kibe, 2020). In summary, Study 4 supported the validity of the newly developed HSP-J10.…”

“…More recently, it has been confirmed that Environmental Sensitivity also moderates the positive effects of a supportive environment (e.g., Iimura & Kibe, 2020;Kibe et al, 2020;Nocentini et al, 2018;Pluess & Boniwell, 2015). For example, highly sensitive children are more likely to benefit (e.g., lower depression and anxiety) from school-based positive psychological interventions (e.g., resilience training and bullying prevention interventions), which is called Vantage Sensitivity.…”

Developmental trajectories of event centrality and socio‐emotional well‐being after transition to high school

“…Although the Japanese government is currently promoting the 6‐6 system, which does not require major changes in the school environment and high school entrance examinations, to prevent students’ maladjustment (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology in Japan, 2013), it may not be an evidence‐based policy based on the findings of this study. Other covariates (e.g., improving the quality of the high school environment; Iimura & Kibe, 2020) may need to be investigated in future studies to consider desirable interventions and educational policies that support students’ socio‐emotional well‐being.…”