The mediating role of self-esteem in sensory processing sensitivity and affective dependence among adolescents and young adults

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is an innate personality trait that affects approximately 30% of the population. It is characterized by more intense, complex, and rapid cognitive processing of stimuli, along with heightened emotional reactivity. This study examines the influence of SPS on self-esteem and affective dependence in adolescents and emerging adults, a critical developmental period marked by significant physical, psychological, emotional, and social changes. Adolescence is a sensitive developmental period, and self-esteem is strongly correlated with SPS during this period, with low self-esteem acting as a trigger for affective dependence. Hence, we aim to explore the relationship between these three variables. Our hypotheses were tested on 100 adolescents and young adults aged 15 – 20 years who completed an online questionnaire assessing SPS, self-esteem, and affective dependence. The results confirmed the influence of gender on sensitivity and self-esteem (p<0.01) and the impact of romantic relationship experience on affective dependence scores (p<0.05). The variables were significantly correlated (p<0.001). Sensitivity and self-esteem influenced affective dependence (p<0.001), and self-esteem played a mediating role between sensitivity and affective dependence. Our findings support the hypothesis that higher SPS is a vulnerability factor in the development of affective dependence. However, this study has some limitations, such as a small sample size, which limits generalizability. Therefore, further studies on a larger cohort can be conducted to validate these findings.