The role of sensory processing sensitivity in the longitudinal associations between relationship qualities with parents and peers and externalizing behavior in adolescence

Some adolescents may be more likely to be influenced by parents and peers in their development of externalizing behavior than others. Recent research indicates that sensory processing sensitivity may underlie such differences in sensitivity to environmental influences, and specifically that individuals with higher sensory processing sensitivity may be similarly highly reactive to both negative and positive social contexts. Data from a two-wave, two-year longitudinal questionnaire study with 177 adolescents (M_age = 13.34 years, SD_age = 1.05) were used to test the hypothesis that the associations between negative relationship quality with parents and best friend and later increased adolescents’ externalizing behavior and between support from parents and best friend and later decreased adolescents’ externalizing behavior would be stronger for adolescents with higher sensory processing sensitivity. Our hypothesis was partly confirmed, with results showing that a stronger negative relationship quality with best friend was only predictive of a subsequent increase in externalizing behavior for adolescents who scored higher on sensory processing sensitivity. More research is needed to investigate whether sensory processing sensitivity functions as a trait that is associated with increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli regardless of valence, especially in the context of negative and positive social exposures such as peer and parent environments.