We would like to express our gratitude to all the participating children and adolescents from the primary and secondary schools in Belgium and the UK as well as their parents and teachers.

The current paper presents an examination of the associations between Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality facets and Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) to understand which personality facets are especially relevant for SPS. Associations between SPS and the FFM personality domains and facets were examined in older adolescents and young adults (Study 1) as well as older children and young adolescents (Study 2). The most relevant facets were within the Neuroticism and Openness domains, although not all facets were equally important. Especially facets regarding internalizing tendencies andin older adolescents and young adultsopenness to aesthetics showed highest association with SPS. Facets of Extraversion were less associated to SPS. Facets of domains Agreeableness and Conscientiousness showed almost no relevance to SPS.

Children differ in their sensitivity to positive and negative environmental influences, which can be measured with the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale. The present study introduces the HSC-21, an adaptation of the original 12 item scale with new items and factor structure that are meant to be more informative than the original ones. The psychometric properties of the HSC-21 were investigated in 1,088 children across Belgium and the Netherlands, including child and mother reports. Results showed evidence for (a) bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and two specific factors (i.e., Ease of Excitation–Low Sensory Threshold and Aesthetic Sensitivity); (b) (partial) measurement invariance across gender, developmental stage, country, and informants; (c) moderate child–mother agreement; (d) good reliability; (e) normally distributed item scores; and (f) meaningful associations with personality and temperament across both samples. No evidence was found for HSC-21 as a moderator in the relationship between parenting and problem behaviors.

Abstract. The current paper presents a detailed examination of a lay theory perspective on the Sensory-Processing-Sensitivity (SPS) personality profile within the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality. The lay SPS personality profile was assessed by asking self-identified highly sensitive people to rate themselves on a Five-Factor Model questionnaire (NEO-PI-3). We applied the NEO-PI-3 norms (domains and facets) and examined the inter-rater agreement of the facets. The sample consisted of 560 (female: 86.43%, Mage = 37.36 years, SDage = 6.64 years, 18.17–47.42 years) self-identified highly sensitive adults. Six facets, in particular, stood out with good and very good inter-rater agreement: participants fell within the highest 23% of the population on facets Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings (Openness to Experience); Anxiety, Depression (Neuroticism); and the lowest 23% of the population on the facet Gregariousness (Extraversion).

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor, involved in the maintenance of a variety of emotional problems. Recently, the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire -Child version (PTQ-C) was developed as a content-independent measure of RNT in children and adolescents. The current study investigated the reliability and predictive validity of the PTQ-C and examined temperament as a developmental predictor of RNT. For this end, 701 early adolescents completed measures of RNT, depressive symptoms, stressors, and temperament, both at baseline and after three months. First, the factor structure of the PTQ-C was investigated by comparing a one-factor model and a three-factor higher-order model using confirmatory factor analyses. Both models showed good fit to the data, but the more parsimonious one-factor model was retained. Internal consistency, as measured by cronbach's alpha and (hierarchical) omega, was found to be excellent for the total scale. Second, associations with depressive symptom levels were examined. RNT predicted both concurrent and prospective symptom levels, even when taking into account baseline depressive symptoms. RNT was further shown to act as a moderator strengthening the link between stress and levels of depressive symptoms, both concurrently and prospectively. Finally, associations with temperament were explored by investigating the mediating role of RNT in the association between temperament dimensions and depressive symptoms. One indirect effect was found, with low effortful control predicting increases in depressive symptoms through heightened levels of RNT. The current study supports the PTQ-C as a useful and psychometrically sound measure of dysfunctional RNT that may facilitate research on emotional problems in child and adolescent samples.