How do highly sensitive persons parent their adolescent children? The role of sensory processing sensitivity in parenting practices

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1825-1842
Author(s):  
Alon Goldberg ◽  
Miri Scharf
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Positive Parenting ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Harsh Parenting ◽  
Parenting Interventions ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Sensory Processing Sensitivity

This research examines whether sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) in parents is associated with their parenting practices toward their adolescent children and whether attachment insecurity mediates the associations between SPS and parenting practices. One hundred twenty-one parent–adolescent dyads completed self-report questionnaires assessing parents’ SPS, parents’ adult attachment, and parenting practices. Results showed that SPS was positively associated with inconsistency, psychological intrusiveness, and attachment anxiety. Further, attachment anxiety mediated the association between parents’ SPS and harsh parenting and partially mediated the association between parents’ SPS and parental psychological intrusiveness. There is very little research on how highly sensitive individuals parent their children in general and none regarding the parenting of high-SPS individuals during challenging developmental periods such as their children’s adolescence. Findings suggest that parents high in SPS may experience this period as especially stressful and high SPS might contribute to the use of negative parenting. Interventions focused on regulating high-SPS parents’ stress and on facilitating parents in practicing separating their own and their children’s emotions could promote their use of more positive parenting practices.

Examining The Link Between Harsh Parenting And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury In Adolescence: The Role of The COMT Val158Met Polymorphism And Depressive Symptoms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinmeng Liu ◽  
Xia Liu ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Yemiao Gao
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Harsh Parenting ◽  
Comt Val158met ◽  
Val158met Polymorphism ◽  
Self Injury

Abstract Background: Previous studies have suggested negative parenting environments, especially harsh parenting, is a specific risk factor for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, the potential mechanism between harsh parenting and NSSI has not been explored. Based on the experiential avoidance model and empirical researches, we aimed to examine if depressive symptoms are a mediator between harsh parenting and NSSI. Moreover, the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism related to depressive symptoms may also exert a moderating effect on NSSI, thus, the interaction between harsh parenting and COMT were also considered in our study.Method：373 junior high school students were recruited for the study by using a longitudinal design. Adolescents answered self-report questionnaires and provided Saliva samples for DNA genotyping.Result：The results revealed that harsh parenting was positively associated with NSSI after 18 months, and this association was mediated by depressive symptoms. Moreover, the moderating role of COMT in the direct and indirect effect of harsh parenting on NSSI only among adolescents with two Val alleles. However, the relationship was not significant for Met carriers.Conclusion: Genetic variations of COMT Val158Met may be a critical candidate in understanding the development of depression and NSSI. We conclude that the Val homozygotes of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism play a susceptible role both in depressive symptoms and NSSI.

scholarly journals Relationship Between the Temperament Trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Emotional Reactivity

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jadzia Jagiellowicz ◽  
Arthur Aron ◽  
Elaine N. Aron
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Sensory Processing Sensitivity ◽  
Quality Of Parenting ◽  
First Time ◽  
Temperament Trait

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a temperament trait found in around 20% of humans, which has been found to enhance responsiveness to diverse stimuli. In this study, we investigated for the first time the extent to which SPS, and its interaction with quality of parenting, predicts positive and negative experiences in response to emotional stimuli. Participants (N = 96) from the upper and lower quartiles on the standard SPS measure (the Highly Sensitive Person Scale) rated the valence and their arousal level when viewing emotionally evocative and neutral pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System. High (vs. low) SPS individuals rated pictures eliciting emotion, and especially positive ones, as significantly more valenced, and tended to respond faster to the positive pictures; also, high, vs. low, SPS individuals who had reported having high-quality parenting reported greater arousal in response to positive pictures. Overall, results suggest that high SPS individuals respond more strongly to emotional stimuli—especially positive—without being more aroused unless they had especially high-quality parenting.

scholarly journals Harsh discipline and readiness for interpersonal aggression in Poland and the USA: the mediating role of sensitivity to provocations and frustrations

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-554
Author(s):  
Monika Dominiak-Kochanek ◽  
Karolina Konopka ◽  
Mary Bower-Russa ◽  
Adam Frączek
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Physical Punishment ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Psychological Aggression ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Harsh Parenting ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of

Abstract This study examined the effect of history of harsh parenting on readiness for aggression in young adults testing the mediating effect of emotional reaction to frustration and provocation that is assumed to arise in the context of a history of physical punishment and psychological aggression. Data were collected from 402 participants including 187 Poles (Mage = 9.5; SD = 1.2) and 215 Americans (Mage = 19.16, SD = 1.15). Participants reported retrospectively on corporal punishment and psychological aggression experienced during childhood. Based on self-report instruments, sensitivity to provocation and frustration and three patterns of readiness for aggression in adulthood were assessed. Contrary to the US sample, sensitivity to provocation and frustration were mediators in the Polish sample alone. The important role of contextual factors that define harsh parenting circumstances, such as cultural context and sex of the parent, are discussed.

scholarly journals Higher sensory processing sensitivity, introversion and ectomorphism: New biomarkers for human creativity in developing rural areas

2012 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 159-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos V Rizzo-Sierra ◽  
Martha E Leon-S ◽  
Fidias E Leon-Sarmiento
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neural Connectivity ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Human Creativity ◽  
Sensory Processing Sensitivity ◽  
New Biomarkers

ABSTRACTThe highly sensitive trait present in animals, has also been proposed as a human neurobiological trait. People having such trait can process larger amounts of sensory information than usual, making it an excellent attribute that allows to pick up subtle environmental details and cues. Furthermore, this trait correlates to some sort of giftedness such as higher perception, inventiveness, imagination and creativity. We present evidences that support the existance of key neural connectivity between the mentioned trait, higher sensory processing sensitivity, introversion, ectomorphism and creativity. The neurobiological and behavioral implications that these biomarkers have in people living in developing rural areas are discussed as well.

scholarly journals Mediation role of alexithymia, sensory processing sensitivity and emotional-mental processes between childhood trauma and adult psychopathology: a self-report study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pelin Karaca Dinç ◽  
Seda Oktay ◽  
Ayşegül Durak Batıgün
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Brief Symptom Inventory ◽  
Mental Processes ◽  
Sensory Processing Sensitivity ◽  
Childhood Traumas ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Adult Psychopathology

Abstract Background There is overwhelming evidence for a strong association between childhood trauma and adult psychopathology. This study aimed to investigate the mediation roles of alexithymia, sensory processing sensitivity, and emotional-mental processes in the relationship between childhood traumas and adult psychopathology. Methods The sample consisted of 337 people (78.9% female, 21.1% male) aged between 20 and 64 years. Participants filled the scales online via a Google form. Reading Mind in the Eyes (EYES), Sensory Processing Sensitivity Scale (SPS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were used. PROCESS (Model 4) macro was used to examine the mediating role of sensory processing sensitivity, alexithymia, and the EYES test results in the relationship between childhood trauma and psychopathology. Results The results of mediation analysis demonstrated that sensory processing sensitivity and alexithymia mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and adult psychopathology. However, the EYES test (mentalization) did not mediate in this relationship. Conclusion This study shows that childhood traumas may relate to more psychological symptoms in individuals with high sensory processing sensitivity and alexithymia. Our study may contribute to the understanding of what may lead to a person’s vulnerability to experiencing psychological symptoms after childhood trauma. It may be crucial that future treatment and intervention programs should include sensory sensitivity and alexithymia. Sensory processing sensitivity and alexithymia can be examined in the treatment of psychological problems of individuals who have experienced childhood trauma.

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