Psychometric properties of the highly sensitive person scale and its relation to symptom dimensions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate psychometric properties of the Persian version of the 25-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) with a three-factor structure including ease of excitation (EOE), low sensory threshold (LST), and aesthetic sensitivity (AES) (study 1) and to assess the relations of the HSPS factors to obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by controlling for depression, anxiety, and OCD severity (study 2). Two hundred OCD outpatients and 100 healthy subjects were included in this study. Participants completed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). The results showed that the 20-item HSPS with three factors had an acceptable fit and good internal consistency, after removing five items. OCD patients scored higher on EOE and LST than healthy subjects. The results showed that LST significantly predicted responsibility for harm after controlling for OCD severity, depression, and anxiety. LST and AES were significant predictors of unacceptable thoughts. EOE significantly predicted symmetry. These findings suggest that the modified HSPS is a valid scale among Iranian OCD patients. In addition, the HSPS factors may be related to heterogeneous OC symptom dimensions.