The trait of environmental sensitivity is characterised by an increased sensitivity to different physical, emotional, and social stimuli, such as bright lights and other people’s moods. People with this trait thus also have a deeper cognitive processing of these sensory stimulations. One of the most common explanations of this relationship suggests that individuals with high emotional sensitivity are overstimulated, which results in certain negative mental health outcomes. Even though previous research has linked environmental sensitivity to mental health, the relationship has not been defined well enough. Thus, the purpose of this study was to systematically review the existing literature and then conduct a meta-analysis to establish a concrete relationship between emotional sensitivity and mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety.
Read More: The Psychology behind Emotional sensitivity
Literature Review
C.G. Jung first conceptualised sensitivity as a trait in 1913 as “innate sensitiveness”, which is the individual differences that exist in registering, processing, and responding to environmental stimuli. These differences are considered to exist in us since birth, and thus have been linked to genetic and prenatal and postnatal environmental factors. Studies have also shown that sensitivity is linked to increased brain activity in regions associated with empathy and social processing.
Sensitivity to environmental factors exists on a continuum, with individuals typically falling into low, medium, or high sensitivity groups. Environmental sensitivity involves heightened sensory awareness, typically measured using the Highly Sensitive Person Scale(HSPS). A large number of studies have found a correlation between sensitivity and mental health using this scale. The scale measures a person’s tendency to become overstimulated and process stimuli deeply, highlighting the link between sensitivity and mental health.
Read More: Understanding and Managing Overstimulation in Children
Methodology
This research was a meta-analysis of 33 studies on sensitivity to determine its effect size in relation to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. The study focused mainly on adults and adolescents to establish the relationships. It mainly included cross-sectional studies. The total sample size across all the included studies was 12,697, and the mean age of the participants was 25.35 years. “Common” mental health problems were defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the search was limited to the diagnostic criteria and disorders given in the tenth edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and not extended to subclinical outcomes such as stress or burnout.
Results
This meta-analysis included studies that primarily relied on self-report measures, which are commonly used in clinical practice. The meta-analysis revealed a positive correlation between sensitivity and a variety of mental-health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, social phobia, agoraphobia, PTSD, OCD, and avoidant personality disorder. The strength of these correlations ranged from weak (r = .05) to strong (r = .65). The meta-analysis found a moderate correlation between environmental sensitivity and depression (r = .36) and a similar correlation with anxiety (r = .39). Both of these correlations were highly significant (p < .001).
Read More: Research: Body Temperatures Linked to Depression
Discussion
The meta-analysis revealed a moderate and significant correlation between sensitivity and mental health outcomes (i.e., depression and anxiety). But the association between sensitivity and anxiety has a greater homogeneity, i.e., the relationship between sensitivity and anxiety is much more similar across samples or studies. This might be because responses to overstimulation align more closely with anxiety symptoms than with depression, independent of external factors.
Depression may rely more on environmental factors and their quality, explaining the more varied link between sensitivity and depression. Additionally, the meta-analysis also found moderate positive correlations with agoraphobia, avoidant personality disorder, and social introversion. These correlations raise questions about whether highly sensitive individuals develop agoraphobic withdrawal or social avoidance as maladaptive coping strategies.
The researchers highlight limitations like overrepresentation of women and homogeneous samples, which should be considered when applying findings to diverse populations. Additionally, the self-report measures in the studies make it difficult to avoid social desirability or participant subjectivity. Since most studies were correlational, researchers note it’s difficult to determine if sensitivity precedes mental health problems. The researchers thus suggest that future research should include a larger clinical sample, should involve controlled trials to explore the efficiency of specific therapeutic processes, should have a much more balanced and diverse sample, and should use alternative sensitivity measures not limited to self-reports.
Read More: Calm Your Nerves: Dietary Changes for Reducing Anxiety
Conclusion
This meta-analysis of 33 studies found a significant positive link between environmental sensitivity. Mental health outcomes like anxiety and depression. Yet, Researchers need to conduct more studies to investigate whether sensitivity plays a causal role. And to also understand the role it may play in therapeutic interventions.
References +
Falkenstein, T., Sartori, L., Malanchini, M., Hadfield, K., & Pluess, M. (2025). The Relationship Between Environmental Sensitivity and Common Mental-Health Problems in Adolescents and Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Clinical Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026251348428
Neuroscience News. (2025, August 16). Highly sensitive people face greater mental health risks. Neuroscience News.https://neurosciencenews.com/mental-health-sensitivity-29587/
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