Environmental Sensitivity and Temperament: Associations and Patterns of Differential Susceptibility from Infancy to Middle Childhood
Chair(s): Francesca Lionetti (University of Pavia, Italy)
Discussant(s): Michael Pluess (University of Surrey, UK)
This symposium aims to bring together contributions exploring the intersection of Environmental Sensitivity (ES) and temperament across developmental stages, examining how individual differences in sensitivity shape children’s responses to their environments across three Countries and distinct developmental periods. The three contributions address distinct aspects of this relationship, from early childhood to interventions in school-age children. The first contribution investigates the link between Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) and effortful control across childhood. Using a sample of over 2,000 children resident in Italy, this study reveals developmental shifts in how SPS relates to attentional focusing and inhibitory control, suggesting that the relationship between sensitivity and effortful control evolves, particularly during early primary school. The second contribution presents an observational measure of Environmental Sensitivity in preschoolers and examines sensitivity at behavioural, genetic, and physiological levels. It identifies three sensitivity groups (low, medium, and high) and explores their links with temperament factors such as fear, inhibition, and constraint. The study suggest that sensitivity is observationally distinct from temperament, and it highlights that sensitive children benefit from more positive environments. The third contribution tests children’s differential susceptibility to parenting interventions using pooled data from seven randomized trials across European Countries, using as a sensitivity marker difficult temperament. This study hypothesizes that more irritable children will exhibit greater susceptibility to changes in parenting, both positive and negative, with irritability as a susceptibility marker of responses to the environment. Together, these studies offer valuable insights into how environmental sensitivity and temperament interact across development, shaping children’s responses to their environments and informing targeted interventions.
Presentations of the Symposium
Environmental Sensitivity and associations with temperamental regulatory aspects: empirical data from infancy to middle childhood
Francesca Lionetti1, Tatiana Marci2, Ughetta Moscardino2, Annalaura Nocentini3, Alessandra Sperati4, Maria Spinelli4, Mirco Fasolo4, Michael Pluess5
1University of Pavia, 2University of Padova, 3University of Florence, 4University of Chieti, 5University of Surrey
Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is a key phenotypic marker of Environmental Sensitivity in children. While distinct from other temperamental traits, theoretical models (Aron & Aron, 1997) and empirical studies (Lionetti et al., 2019; Jagiellowicz et al., 2011; Acevedo et al., 2014) suggest a link between SPS and effortful control—the ability to suppress a dominant response in favor of a subdominant one. However, evidence remains limited and largely focused on adults, with few exceptions (Pluess et al., 2018). This study examines the relationship between SPS and effortful control components across childhood, using a large sample of over 2,000 Italian children from infancy to school age. SPS was assessed via a newly developed observational method in infants (N = 78, Mage = 3.09 months, 51% F). In preschoolers (N = 328, Mage = 4.26 years, 49% F) and school-aged children (N = 1,737, Mage = 10.59 years, 50% F across two independent samples), SPS was measured using the Highly Sensitive Child Scale (Pluess et al., 2018) via parent and self-reports. Temperament was assessed with Rothbart’s measures. Preliminary analyses revealed that in infancy, SPS correlated positively with orienting regulatory capacity (r = .31). In preschoolers, SPS showed moderate positive associations with attentional focusing (r = .24) and inhibitory control (r = .22). However, in school-aged children, the association with attentional focusing became negative (r = –.10, r = –.16), while the link with inhibitory control varied (ranging from .08 to .22 across samples). These findings suggest developmental shifts in the SPS–effortful control relationship, particularly in early primary school, with implications for learning and social interactions. Findings will be discussed in relation to developmental pathways and measurement considerations both for sensitivity and orienting and inhibitory aspects.
Observer-Rated Environmental Sensitivity and its Characterisation at Behavioural, Genetic, and Physiological Levels
Sofie Weyn1, Francesca Lionetti2, Daniel N. Klein3, Ealine N. Aron3, Arthur Aron3, Elizabeth P. Hayden4, Lea R. Dougherty5, Shiva Singh4, Monika Waszczuk6, Roman Kotov3, Anna Docherty7, Andrey Shabalin8, Michael Pluess9
1University of Bern, Swtizerland, 2University of Pavia, Italy, 3Stony Brook University, USA, 4Western University, Canada, 5University of Maryland, USA, 6Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, USA, 7Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, 8University of Utah School of Medicine, USA, 9University of Surrey, UK
This study investigated the psychometric properties of an observation method measuring individual differences in Environmental Sensitivity in preschoolers (Highly Sensitive Child-Rating System (HSC-RS)), the existence of sensitivity groups, and the characterisation of sensitivity at behavioural, genetic, and physiological levels in 541 preschoolers (M(SD)age= 3.56(0.27); 45%male; 87%Caucasian). Temperament, genetic, cortisol, and electroencephalography (EEG) asymmetry data were collected in subsamples (n = 94-476). Results showed a reliable observational measure of sensitivity. Latent profile analysis supported three sensitivity groups, that are a group of low (23.3%), medium (54.2%), and a high (22.5%) sensitivity children. Hierarchical regression analyses showed evidence for established temperament factors as significant, but non-overlapping, correlates of observer-rated ES (i.e., behavioural level). More sensitive children showed higher fear/inhibition, more constraint, less sociability/assertiveness, and less dysphoria than less sensitive children. No association between HSC-RS and the temperament trait exuberance was found. At the genetic level, a small negative association between HSC-RS and a genome-wide association study polygenic risk score (GWAS PGS) for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was found. No relations with candidate genes, other GWAS PGS phenotypes, and physiological measures were found. Our study showed that the HSC-RS is a promising tool as an objective measure of sensitivity in preschoolers, including the assessment of depth of processing. However, we are more cautious about assessing individual differences in sensitivity across multiple levels, given that there was no evidence that sensitivity at the behavioural level was associated with physiological markers. Based on the results of the behavioural markers, we found that highly sensitive children might benefit from calm and independent environments, whereas low sensitive children might benefit more from social and exuberant activities. Aligning the school and home environment to the preschoolers’ needs based on their sensitivity levels might lead to better learning outcomes and an increased wellbeing of the preschoolers.
Testing Children’s Differential Susceptibility to Parenting in Interventions Using Pooled Data From Seven Randomized Trials
Danni Liu1, G.J. Melendez-Torres2, Liina Laas Sigurðardóttir3, Frances Gardner3, Sophia Backhaus1, Patty Leijten1
1University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2University of Exeter, UK, 3University of Oxford, UK
Background: Parenting programs are widely used to reduce children’s conduct problems, yet findings are inconsistent regarding whether children with certain characteristics benefit more than others. According to differential susceptibility theory, children with certain temperament traits, such as high irritability, not only exhibit poorer functioning under adverse conditions but also exhibit better outcomes under favorable conditions. Objective: Leveraging the statistical power of pooled data from seven randomized trials, we examine whether more irritable children show greater susceptibility to changes in parenting. Specifically, we hypothesize that compared to less irritable children, more irritable children will show (1) greater decreases in conduct problems when positive parenting increases or negative parenting decreases, and (2) greater increases in conduct problems when positive parenting decreases or negative parenting increases. Method: We will use data from a European individual participant data meta-analysis (PROSPERO: CRD42022262594), based on a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of social learning-based parenting programs (CRD42019141844) with families of children aged 2–10 years. Eligible trials must: (1) have pretest, posttest, follow-up data on both parenting and Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) items and (2) measure at least one supportive and high-quality parenting behavior (e.g., warmth, praise, or tangible rewards) or one harsh and low-quality parenting behavior (e.g., physical discipline, harsh verbal discipline, or inconsistent discipline). We will unpack the ECBI item-level data to extract measures of temperamental irritability and conduct problems. We will use parallel process latent growth curve modeling and moderated structural equation modelling, accounting for clustering, to test our hypotheses and explore potential age differences in results. Results: We identified seven eligible trials involving 1712 families. Data analyses are ongoing and will be completed before July 2025. Conclusion: Findings will advance understanding of differential susceptibility and may inform parenting interventions by identifying children who are most responsive to changes in parenting.
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