The German version of the highly sensitive child scale: Psychometric properties and identification of sensitivity groups

TL;DR

This paper validates the German version of the Highly Sensitive Child scale for measuring child sensitivity and identifies distinct sensitivity groups.

Contribution

The study provides validation of the German HSC scale and identifies sensitivity groups using latent profile analysis.

Findings

The bifactorial model was found to be the best fit for the HSC scale.

Latent profile analysis identified two sensitivity classes in parent reports and four in self-reports.

Reliability was acceptable, but measurement invariance across age groups was not confirmed.

Abstract

Individuals differ in their sensitivity to external stimuli. The Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale can be used to measure sensitivity in children and adolescents. However, the German version has yet to be validated. We examined the psychometric properties of the German self- and the parent report version of the HSC. Measurement invariance (MI) across age groups was tested for the parent report version and latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify sensitivity groups. Pooled data from German-speaking countries (N= 250 self-reports; N= 3657 parent reports) was included. The factor structure was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability was quantified by Cronbach’s alpha (α) and MI was assessed by multigroup CFA using the optimal model. An exploratory analysis was carried out across age groups. CFA indicated the bifactorial model as the best fit for the HSC. Reliability of the total score across age groups was acceptable, but the MI was not. In the LPA, we found two sensitivity classes for early, middle childhood, and adolescent parent-reports, and four groups for self-report. The German version of the HSC seems to be a valid measurement of sensitivity. However, future research should examine age differences across childhood more closely.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-026-09244-w.

Figures