Individual Differences and Susceptibility to Burnout Syndrome: Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Its Relation to Exhaustion and Disengagement

The aim of the study is to analyze the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and occupational burnout. This analysis makes it possible to explore the problem of sensitivity as a predictor of burnout syndrome and to discuss adequate coping strategies in the work environment to improve employee well-being. The sample consists of 516 employees (236 women; Mage = 28.97, SD = 6.62 years). The Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS; 27 items) was used to measure sensory processing sensitivity; the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI; 16 items) was used to measure exhaustion and disengagement from work. The analysis of sensitivity is based on the ‘DOES’ model of a highly sensitive person, which includes depth of processing (D), overstimulation (O), emotional reactivity and empathy (E), and sensing the subtle (S). Burnout due to exhaustion and disengagement is analyzed. The factor analysis of the HSPS confirms its three-factor structure. The results indicate significant relationships between sensory processing sensitivity and burnout symptoms. However, the influence of specific aspects of sensitivity on the burnout problem varies: the results indicate that higher emotional reactivity is linked to worse burnout symptoms, but sensing the subtle shows the opposite effect and may be a protective factor against exhaustion. Significant gender differences were observed [F(511,1) = 136.63, p < 0.001; η2 = 0.21]; women revealed a significantly higher level of general sensitivity (Mwomen = 4.66, SD = 0.62) as compared to men (Mmen = 4.01; SD = 0.64). Awareness of one’s high sensory-processing sensitivity and its potential outcomes in the work environment may be essential in order to implement appropriate regulatory strategies. Proactive strategies aimed at reducing prolonged emotional overload may be critical for highly sensitive employees. Recognizing high sensitivity may reduce burnout symptoms and improve well-being at work.

Normierung der deutschen Fassung der Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-G) – Selbstbeurteilungsskala an einer deutschsprachigen Stichprobe

Zusammenfassung Problem Die deutsche Fassung der Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-G) ist ein Verfahren zur Feststellung der Ausprägung des Merkmals Feinfühligkeit. Diese Skala wurde bisher in der deutschen Fassung validiert (Konrad & Herzberg, 2017), eine Normierung für die deutschsprachige Allgemeinbevölkerung steht allerdings noch aus. Methode Zur Erstellung von Normwerten der Skala für die Allgemeinbevölkerung wurden N=7458 Personen (n=6251 Frauen, n=1207 Männer) im Alter von 14–80 Jahren (MW=37.80, SD=11.75) im deutschsprachigen Raum (Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz) online befragt. Ergebnisse Die Varianzanalyse zeigte höhere Werte für Frauen, so dass geschlechtsspezifische Normen notwendig sind. Daher werden geschlechtsspezifische Normwerte für die Subskalen der HSPS-G als auch für den HSPS-G-Gesamtscore bereitgestellt. Mit diesen Prozenträngen und T-Werten stehen erstmals Vergleichsdaten für das im deutschen Sprachraum etablierte Instrument zur Verfügung, die die Interpretation interindividueller und intraindividueller Unterschiede vor dem Hintergrund von Bevölkerungsangaben erlauben.

Biosociality in Online Interactions: Youths’ Positioning of the Highly Sensitive Person Category

This article examines how young people in a Swedish online forum and in blogs engage in discussions of one popularized psychological personality trait, the highly sensitive person (HSP), and how they draw on different positionings in discursive struggles around this category. The material is analysed with concepts from discursive psychology and post-structuralist theory in order to investigate youths’ interactions. The first is a nuanced positioning, from which youths disclose the weaknesses and strengths of being highly sensitive. Some youths become deeply invested in this kind of positioning, hence forming a HSP subjectivity. This can be opposed using contrasting positionings, which objects to norms of biosociality connected to the HSP. Lastly, there are rather distanced and investigative approaches to the HSP category. We conclude that while young people are negotiating the HSP category, they are establishing an epistemological community.

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

Environmental Sensitivity, which explains individual differences in sensitivity to positive and negative environmental influences, can be measured by the self-reported Highly Sensitive Person scale. This paper introduced the reliability and validity of a brief Japanese version of a 10-item measure of sensitivity (HSP-J10) developed by four studies involving 2,388 adults. The results showed that (1) the newly created HSP-J10 supported the bifactor structure (i.e., Ease of Excitation, Low Sensory Threshold, Aesthetic Sensitivity, plus General Sensitivity factor), (2) the HSP-J10 correlated with but discriminated against other personality traits and affects, (3) it had high test-retest reliability, and (4) participants who scored higher on the HSP-J10 showed significant increases in positive emotion from before watching a video with positive content to after, while those who scored low showed no significant change in positive emotion. In summary, our study provided evidence to support that the newly created HSP-J10 is psychometrically robust.

PERSONAS ALTAMENTE SENSIBLES

“Personas altamente sensibles” (PAS) es un libro que se lee fácilmente con una descripción científica de lo que es una High Sensitive Person (HSP). Este libro, basado en investigaciones psicológicas precendentes, busca alertar a la comunidad científica de cómo la alta sensibilidad se ha confundido con la introversión, la inhibición y el neurotismo, entre otros. Lo cierto es que trabajos previos, sobre los cuales se apoya este libro, han permitido a los PAS a comprenderse mejor. Entre los principales rasgos de estas personas están: el procesamiento de la información de manera profunda, la alta sensibilidad, la alta frecuencia con la que se sobresestimulan y la gran capacidad para captar detalles y sutilezas.