Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale to the Adult Spanish Population (HSPS-S)

Antonio Chacón, 1 Manuela Pérez-Chacón, 1 Mercedes Borda-Mas, 2 María Luisa Avargues-Navarro, 2 Ana María López-Jiménez 3 1International School of Doctoral Studies, University of Seville, Seville, 41013, Spain; 2Department of Personality, Assessment, and Psychological Treatment, University of Seville, Seville, 41018, Spain; 3Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Seville, Seville, SpainCorrespondence: María Luisa Avargues-NavarroDepartment of Personality, Assessment, and Psychological Treatment, Faculty of Psychology, University of Seville, C/Camilo José Cela s/n, Seville, 41018, SpainTel +34 954 557 806Email avargues@us.esManuela Pérez-ChacónInternational School of Doctoral Studies, University of Seville, México Pavillion, Paseo de las Delicias s/n, Seville, 41013, SpainTel +34 672 239 205Email manpercha@alum.us.esPurpose: This article describes a cross-cultural adaptation of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) to the adult Spanish population, and psychometric analysis of its validation and reliability.Methods: Convenience sampling by participant accessibility was used. The original version was adapted culturally and linguistically using the back-translation method, and a pilot study was done with 88 participants. Data processing and analysis was performed with the SPSS v.25 and LISREL v.9.2 statistical packages. The psychometric properties were studied in a sample of 8358 participants using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, and examining factorial invariance and internal consistency.Results: The results confirmed a Spanish version with 27 items in five-dimensions: sensitivity to overstimulation (SOS), aesthetic sensitivity (AES), low sensory threshold (LST), fine psychophysiological discrimination (FPD) and harm avoidance (HA). Invariance across gender of this factor structure was demonstrated and reliability indices were good.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the HSPS is an appropriate tool for evaluating high sensitivity in the adult Spanish population.Keywords: sensory processing sensitivity, sensitivity to overstimulation, aesthetic sensitivity, low sensory threshold, fine psychophysiological discrimination, harm avoidance