Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Sensory Processing Sensitivity Scale

A sizable chunk of the population (~20-35% by various estimates) is known to score high on sensory processing sensitivity (SPS). This personality trait was first codified using a 27-item questionnaire known as the highly sensitive person scale (HSPS) by Aron and Aron in 1997. Despite the prevalence of this trait, the full version of HSPS with known validity and reliability in Persian is not yet available.

A total of 484 participants (70.86% female) participated in filling out the Persian HSPS (HSPS-P) questionnaire. Later, 168 participants (124 female) filled the HSPS-P a second time. Given the previous reports on the high correlation between SPS, depression, and anxiety, previously validated Persian questionnaires were also administered to all participants as well. Further analyses were performed to control the effect of depression and anxiety in the study population. Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlation, and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyze the findings using MATLAB, SPSS, and Excel software.

The final HSPS-P showed high validity and reliability (alpha Cronbach 0.81 and test-retest reliability r= 0.78, split-half reliability r=0.66) which was comparable to the original English version and previous reports on translated HSPS in other languages. As expected, SPS, anxiety, and depression scores showed high correlations consistent with values previously reported (0.42, and 0.39, respectively, with P<0.001 in both tests). Importantly, the exploratory factor analysis showed a three-component structure in SPS revealed by HSPS-P which was stable even when controlling for the effects of anxiety and depression.

This study lays the ground for further research into highly sensitive personality in Persian-speaking populations by providing the validated 27-item HSPS in Farsi.