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Painfully Sensitive: How Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects Healthy Adolescents' Perception of Pain
Jana Hochreuter1,2,3, Susanne Wehrli1,2,3,4, Cosima Locher5,6
1Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, University Children's Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Journal of Pain Research
|February 20, 2025
Summary
Highly sensitive adolescents experience lower pain tolerance and thresholds. This study shows sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is linked to heightened pain perception in teens, impacting pain research.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Adolescent Health
Background:
- Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a trait with lower sensory thresholds and easier overstimulation.
- Low sensory threshold is relevant to pain perception.
- The link between SPS and pain perception, especially in adolescents, is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between SPS and pain threshold/tolerance in healthy adolescents.
- To examine how mood induction (positive, negative, neutral) affects pain perception in relation to SPS.
Main Methods:
- 100 adolescents (16-19 years) completed questionnaires and underwent mood induction.
- Heat pain paradigm assessed pain threshold and tolerance.
- Regression models and ANOVAs analyzed mood effects and group differences.
Main Results:
- Mood induction significantly altered self-reported pain ratings, with positive mood showing a significant interaction.
- Significant differences in baseline pain threshold and tolerance were found between sensitivity groups.
- Highly sensitive adolescents reported lower pain tolerance and thresholds.
Conclusions:
- Adolescents with higher sensory processing sensitivity exhibit heightened pain sensitivity.
- SPS is an important factor to consider in adolescent pain research.
- Findings underscore the need to incorporate SPS into pain perception studies for adolescents.
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