Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate psychometric properties of the Persian version of the 25-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) with a three-factor structure including ease of excitation (EOE), low sensory threshold (LST), and aesthetic sensitivity (AES) (study 1) and to assess the relations of the HSPS factors to obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by controlling for depression, anxiety, and OCD severity (study 2). Two hundred OCD outpatients and 100 healthy subjects were included in this study. Participants completed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). The results showed that the 20-item HSPS with three factors had an acceptable fit and good internal consistency, after removing five items. OCD patients scored higher on EOE and LST than healthy subjects. The results showed that LST significantly predicted responsibility for harm after controlling for OCD severity, depression, and anxiety. LST and AES were significant predictors of unacceptable thoughts. EOE significantly predicted symmetry. These findings suggest that the modified HSPS is a valid scale among Iranian OCD patients. In addition, the HSPS factors may be related to heterogeneous OC symptom dimensions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramowitz, J. S., Deacon, B. J., Olatunji, B. O., Wheaton, M. G., Berman, N. C., Losardo, D., Timpano, K. R., McGrath, P. B., Riemann, B. C., Adams, T., & Björgvinsson, T. (2010). Assessment of obsessive–compulsive symptom dimensions: Development and evaluation of the dimensional obsessive– compulsive scale. Psychological Assessment, 22(1), 180–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018260.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Aron, E. N., & Aron, A. (1997). Sensory-processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.73.2.345.
Aron, E. N., Aron, A., & Jagiellowicz, J. (2012). Sensory processing sensitivity: a review in the light of the evolution of biological responsivity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(3), 262–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868311434213.
Asghari, A., Saed, F., & Dibajnia, P. (2008). Psychometric properties of the depression anxiety stress scales-21 (DASS-21) in a non-clinical Iranian sample. International Journal of Psychological, 2(2), 82–102.
Bakker, K., & Moulding, R. (2012). Sensory-processing sensitivity, dispositional mindfulness and negative psychological symptoms. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(3), 341–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.04.006.
Ben-Sasson, A., Cermak, S. A., Orsmond, G. I., Tager-Flusberg, H., Kadlec, M. B., & Carter, A. S. (2008). Sensory clusters of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders: Differences in affective symptoms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(8), 817–825. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01899.x.
Ben-Sasson, A., Dickstein, N., Lazarovich, L., & Ayalon, N. (2017). Not just right experiences: Association with obsessive compulsive symptoms and sensory over-responsivity. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 33(3), 217–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/0164212x.2017.1303418.
Booth, C., Standage, H., & Fox, E. (2015). Sensory-processing sensitivity moderates the association between childhood experiences and adult life satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 87, 24–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.020.
Browne, M. W., Cudeck, R., Bollen, K. A., & Long, J. S. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sage Focus Editions, 154(136–136).
Conelea, C. A., Carter, A. C., & Freeman, J. B. (2014). Sensory over-responsivity in a sample of children seeking treatment for anxiety. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: JDBP, 35(8), 510–521. https://doi.org/10.1097/dbp.0000000000000092.
Dar, R., Kahn, D. T., & Carmeli, R. (2012). The relationship between sensory processing, childhood rituals and obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43(1), 679–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.09.008.
Dunn, W. (1999). The sensory profile: Examiner’s manual. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation.
Ershova, R. V., Yarmotz, E. V., Koryagina, T. M., Shlyakhta, D. A., & Tarnow, E. (2018). Operationalization of the Russian version of highly sensitive person scale. RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics, 15(1), 22–37. https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1683-2018-15-1-22-37.
Esfahani, R., Motaghipour, Y., Kamkari, K., Zahiredin, A., & Janbozorgi, M. (2012). Reliability and validity of the persian version of the yale-brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS). Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 17(4), 297–303 (In Persian). http://ijpcp.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-449&slc_lang=en&sid=1.
Evans, D. E., & Rothbart, M. K. (2008). Temperamental sensitivity: Two constructs or one? Personality and Individual Differences, 44(1), 108–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.07.016.
Evers, A., Rasche, J., & Schabracq, M. (2008). High sensory processing sensitivity at work. International Journal of Stress Management, 15(2), 189–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.15.2.189.
Falkenstein, M. J., Conelea, C. A., Garner, L. E., & Haaga, D. A. (2018). Sensory over-responsivity in trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder). Psychiatry Research, 260, 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.034.
Ferrão, Y. A., Shavitt, R. G., Prado, H., Fontenelle, L. F., Malavazzi, D. M., de Mathis, M. A., Hounie, A. G., Miguel, E. C., & do Rosário, M. C. (2012). Sensory phenomena associated with repetitive behaviors in obsessive-compulsive disorder: An exploratory study of 1001 patients. Psychiatry Research, 197(3), 253–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2011.09.017.
First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. W. (2002a). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR axis I disorders, research version, patient edition (SCID-I/P). New York: Biometrics Research Department, Psychiatric Institute.
First, M. B., Spitzer, R. L., Gibbon, M., & Williams, J. B. W. (2002b). Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV-TR axis I disorders, research version, non-patient edition (SCID-I/NP). New York: Biometrics Research Department, Psychiatric Institute.
Goodman, W. K., Price, L. H., Rasmussen, S. A., Mazure, C., Fleischmann, R. L., Hill, C. L., Heninger, G. R., & Charney, D. S. (1989). The Yale-Brown obsessive compulsive scale: I. Development, use, and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46(11), 1006–1011. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810110048007.
Hazen, E. P., Reichert, E. L., Piacentini, J. C., Miguel, E. C., Do Rosario, M. C., Pauls, D., & Geller, D. A. (2008). Case series: Sensory intolerance as a primary symptom of pediatric OCD. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 20(4), 199–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401230802437365.
Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1996). LISREL 8: User's reference guide. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
Khodaiarifard, M., Zardkhaneh, S. A., & Mamaghani, S. Z. (2014). Dimensional obsessive-compulsive scale: Adaptation of Farsi version (DOCS-F). Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 7(4), 379–388.
Khosravani, V., Ardestani, M. S., Bastan, F. S., & Kamali, Z. (2017a). The relationship between alexithymia and symptom dimensions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 14, 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2017.04.001.
Khosravani, V., Bastan, F. S., Ardestani, M. S., & Ardakani, R. J. (2017b). Early maladaptive schemas and suicidal risk in an Iranian sample of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 255, 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.06.080.
Khosravani, V., Kamali, Z., Jamaati Ardakani, R., & Samimi Ardestani, M. (2017c). The relation of childhood trauma to suicide ideation in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder with lifetime suicide attempts. Psychiatry Research, 255, 139–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.05.032.
Kinnealey, M., & Fuiek, M. (1999). The relationship between sensory defensiveness, anxiety, depression and perception of pain in adults. Occupational Therapy International, 6(3), 195–206. https://doi.org/10.1002/oti.97.
Konrad, S., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2017). Psychometric properties and validation of a German high sensitive person scale (HSPS-G). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000411.
Kulin, E., & Myhr, A. (2017). The relationship between sensory processing and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in treatment-seeking youth. http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8914727
Levit-Binnun, N., Davidovitch, M., & Golland, Y. (2013). Sensory and motor secondary symptoms as indicators of brain vulnerability. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 5(1), 26–47. https://doi.org/10.1186/1866-1955-5-26.
Lewin, A. B., Wu, M. S., Murphy, T. K., & Storch, E. A. (2015). Sensory over-responsivity in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37(1), 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9442-1.
Lionetti, F., Aron, A., Aron, E. N., Burns, G. L., Jagiellowicz, J., & Pluess, M. (2018). Dandelions, tulips and orchids: Evidence for the existence of low-sensitive, medium-sensitive and high-sensitive individuals. Translational Psychiatry, 8(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-017-0090-6.
Liss, M., Timmel, L., Baxley, K., & Killingsworth, P. (2005). Sensory processing sensitivity and its relation to parental bonding, anxiety, and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(8), 1429–1439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.05.007.
Liss, M., Mailloux, J., & Erchull, M. J. (2008). The relationships between sensory processing sensitivity, alexithymia, autism, depression, and anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(3), 255–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.009.
Listou Grimen, H., & Diseth, Å. (2016). Sensory processing sensitivity: Factors of the highly sensitive person scale and their relationships to personality and subjective health complaints. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 123(3), 637–653. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031512516666114.
Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the Beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-u.
McFall, M. E., & Wollersheim, J. P. (1979). Obsessiveecompulsive neurosis: A cognitive- behavioral formulation and approach to treatment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 3(4), 333–348. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01184447.
Miller, L. J., Anzalone, M., Lane, S., Cermak, S. A., & Osten, E. (2007). Concept evolution in sensory integration: A proposed nosology for diagnosis. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 135–140. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.61.2.135.
Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group. (2001). Development and initial validation of the obsessive beliefs questionnaire and the interpretation of intrusions inventory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(8), 987–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00085-1.
Pluess, M., Assary, E., Lionetti, F., Lester, K. J., Krapohl, E., Aron, E. N., & Aron, A. (2018). Environmental sensitivity in children: Development of the highly sensitive child scale and identification of sensitivity groups. Developmental Psychology, 54(1), 51–70. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000406.
Porth, R., & Geller, D. (2018). Atypical symptom presentations in children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 86, 25–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2018.07.006.
Ravid, A., Franklin, M. E., Khanna, M., Storch, E. A., & Coles, M. E. (2014). “Not just right experiences” in adolescents: Phenomenology and associated characteristics. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 45(2), 193–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0391-9.
Reuven-Magril, O., Dar, R., & Liberman, N. (2008). Illusion of control and behavioral control attempts in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117(2), 334–341. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x.117.2.334.
Rieke, E. F., & Anderson, D. (2009). Adolescent/adult sensory profile and obsessive–compulsive disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(2), 138–145. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.63.2.138.
Rinn, A. N., Mullet, D. R., Jett, N., & Nyikos, T. (2018). Sensory processing sensitivity among high-ability individuals: A psychometric evaluation of the highly sensitive person scale. Roeper Review, 40(3), 166–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2018.1466840.
Rossi, S., Bartalini, S., Ulivelli, M., Mantovani, A., Di Muro, A., Goracci, A., Castrogiovanni, P., Battistini, N., & Passero, S. (2005). Hypofunctioning of sensory gating mechanisms in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 57(1), 16–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.09.023.
Ruscio, A. M., Stein, D. J., Chiu, W. T., & Kessler, R. C. (2010). The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder in the national comorbidity survey replication. Molecular Psychiatry, 15(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2008.94.
Sadooghi, Z., Aguilar-Vafaie, M., & Rassoulzadeh Tabatabaei, S. K. (2008). Factor analysis of the individual with highly sensitive processing scale: The association of sensory processing sensitivity with depression and anxiety. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 14(1), 85–89.
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23–74.
Shapira, N. A., Liu, Y., He, A. G., Bradley, M. M., Lessig, M. C., James, G. A., Stein, D. J., Lang, P. J., & Goodman, W. K. (2003). Brain activation by disgust-inducing pictures in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 54(7), 751–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-3223(03)00003-9.
Smolewska, K. A., McCabe, S. B., & Woody, E. Z. (2006). A psychometric evaluation of the highly sensitive person scale: The components of sensory-processing sensitivity and their relation to the BIS/BAS and “big five”. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(6), 1269–1279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.09.022.
Sookman, D., Pinard, G., & Beck, A. T. (2001). Vulnerability schemas in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 15, 109–130.
Stein, D. J., Liu, Y., Shapira, N. A., & Goodman, W. K. (2001). The psychobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: How important is disgust? Current Psychiatry Report, 3(4), 281–287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-001-0020-3.
Steketee, G., Frost, R. O., & Cohen, I. (1998). Beliefs in obsessiveecompulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 12(6), 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0887-6185(98)00030-9.
Summerfeldt, L. J. (2004). Understanding and treating incompleteness in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(11), 1155–1168. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20080.
Summerfeldt, L. J., Gilbert, S. J., & Reynolds, M. (2015). Incompleteness, aesthetic sensitivity, and the obsessive-compulsive need for symmetry. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 49, 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.03.006.
Tsuji, H., Miyawaki, D., Kawaguchi, T., Matsushima, N., Horino, A., Takahashi, K., Suzuki, F., & Kiriike, N. (2009). Relationship of hypersensitivity to anxiety and depression in children with high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 63(2), 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2008.01916.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Author A declares that he/she has no conflict of interest. Author B declares that he/she has no conflict of interest. Author C declares that he/she has no conflict of interest. Author D declares that he/she has no conflict of interest. Author E declares that he/she has no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1989 revision of the Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khosravani, V., Ganji, Z., Sharifi Bastan, F. et al. Psychometric properties of the highly sensitive person scale and its relation to symptom dimensions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Curr Psychol 40, 2725–2734 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00212-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00212-1