Andrew K May, Demelza Smeeth, Fiona McEwen, Elie Karam, Michael Pluess
{"title":"叙利亚难民儿童环境敏感性的预测因子。","authors":"Andrew K May, Demelza Smeeth, Fiona McEwen, Elie Karam, Michael Pluess","doi":"10.1111/jcpp.14178","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although more prone to psychopathology on average, refugee children differ in their response to adversity. Growing evidence attributes some of these individual differences to varying levels of Environmental Sensitivity - the extent to which children perceive and process contextual influences. However, there is limited knowledge of how Environmental Sensitivity is developmentally influenced, particularly in the refugee setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Here, we investigated whether individual-, family- and community-level predictors (psychosocial and genetic) were associated with self-reported Environmental Sensitivity and its subscales (measured using the 12-item Highly Sensitive Child Scale). Participants were a subsample (n = 1,409) from a cohort of Syrian refugee children and their biological mothers, recruited from informal tented settlements in Lebanon. Multivariate adaptive regression spline models were fitted to identify the best selection from over 40 available predictors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twelve predictors of Environmental Sensitivity emerged, with the five most commonly selected being maternal behavioural control, human insecurity, positive home experiences, maternal anxiety and child-reported child abuse, the latter three of which were also suggested to predict changes in sensitivity over a 12-month period. Some predictors such as maternal PTSD, war exposure and bullying showed a non-linear, V-shape relationship with sensitivity. All effect sizes, however, were small.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that both highly supportive and highly adverse contextual factors associate with greater childhood Environmental Sensitivity, in line with current theorising. Despite previous suggestive evidence, we did not find that polygenic scores for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predicted sensitivity. Further research into predictors of Environmental Sensitivity is encouraged, as this may help with improved assessment of the trait in children.</p>","PeriodicalId":187,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Predictors of Environmental Sensitivity in Syrian refugee children.\",\"authors\":\"Andrew K May, Demelza Smeeth, Fiona McEwen, Elie Karam, Michael Pluess\",\"doi\":\"10.1111/jcpp.14178\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although more prone to psychopathology on average, refugee children differ in their response to adversity. Growing evidence attributes some of these individual differences to varying levels of Environmental Sensitivity - the extent to which children perceive and process contextual influences. However, there is limited knowledge of how Environmental Sensitivity is developmentally influenced, particularly in the refugee setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Here, we investigated whether individual-, family- and community-level predictors (psychosocial and genetic) were associated with self-reported Environmental Sensitivity and its subscales (measured using the 12-item Highly Sensitive Child Scale). Participants were a subsample (n = 1,409) from a cohort of Syrian refugee children and their biological mothers, recruited from informal tented settlements in Lebanon. Multivariate adaptive regression spline models were fitted to identify the best selection from over 40 available predictors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twelve predictors of Environmental Sensitivity emerged, with the five most commonly selected being maternal behavioural control, human insecurity, positive home experiences, maternal anxiety and child-reported child abuse, the latter three of which were also suggested to predict changes in sensitivity over a 12-month period. Some predictors such as maternal PTSD, war exposure and bullying showed a non-linear, V-shape relationship with sensitivity. All effect sizes, however, were small.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that both highly supportive and highly adverse contextual factors associate with greater childhood Environmental Sensitivity, in line with current theorising. Despite previous suggestive evidence, we did not find that polygenic scores for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predicted sensitivity. Further research into predictors of Environmental Sensitivity is encouraged, as this may help with improved assessment of the trait in children.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":187,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry\",\"volume\":\" \",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":6.5000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-06-10\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14178\",\"RegionNum\":1,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"PSYCHIATRY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14178","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Predictors of Environmental Sensitivity in Syrian refugee children.
Background: Although more prone to psychopathology on average, refugee children differ in their response to adversity. Growing evidence attributes some of these individual differences to varying levels of Environmental Sensitivity - the extent to which children perceive and process contextual influences. However, there is limited knowledge of how Environmental Sensitivity is developmentally influenced, particularly in the refugee setting.
Methods: Here, we investigated whether individual-, family- and community-level predictors (psychosocial and genetic) were associated with self-reported Environmental Sensitivity and its subscales (measured using the 12-item Highly Sensitive Child Scale). Participants were a subsample (n = 1,409) from a cohort of Syrian refugee children and their biological mothers, recruited from informal tented settlements in Lebanon. Multivariate adaptive regression spline models were fitted to identify the best selection from over 40 available predictors.
Results: Twelve predictors of Environmental Sensitivity emerged, with the five most commonly selected being maternal behavioural control, human insecurity, positive home experiences, maternal anxiety and child-reported child abuse, the latter three of which were also suggested to predict changes in sensitivity over a 12-month period. Some predictors such as maternal PTSD, war exposure and bullying showed a non-linear, V-shape relationship with sensitivity. All effect sizes, however, were small.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both highly supportive and highly adverse contextual factors associate with greater childhood Environmental Sensitivity, in line with current theorising. Despite previous suggestive evidence, we did not find that polygenic scores for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predicted sensitivity. Further research into predictors of Environmental Sensitivity is encouraged, as this may help with improved assessment of the trait in children.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) is a highly regarded international publication that focuses on the fields of child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry. It is recognized for publishing top-tier, clinically relevant research across various disciplines related to these areas. JCPP has a broad global readership and covers a diverse range of topics, including:
Epidemiology: Studies on the prevalence and distribution of mental health issues in children and adolescents.
Diagnosis: Research on the identification and classification of childhood disorders.
Treatments: Psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological interventions for child and adolescent mental health.
Behavior and Cognition: Studies on the behavioral and cognitive aspects of childhood disorders.
Neuroscience and Neurobiology: Research on the neural and biological underpinnings of child mental health.
Genetics: Genetic factors contributing to the development of childhood disorders.
JCPP serves as a platform for integrating empirical research, clinical studies, and high-quality reviews from diverse perspectives, theoretical viewpoints, and disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach is a key feature of the journal, as it fosters a comprehensive understanding of child and adolescent mental health.
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry is published 12 times a year and is affiliated with the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH), which supports the journal's mission to advance knowledge and practice in the field of child and adolescent mental health.