Development and validation of a parent-report environmental sensitivity scale for chinese preschool children

Reliable assessment of environmental sensitivity in children aged 3–6 years is essential for understanding why children exposed to similar environmental conditions may show different developmental outcomes. However, existing parent-report measures may not fully capture the broader theoretical manifestations of environmental sensitivity in developmentally appropriate and behaviorally observable terms. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate a parent-report environmental sensitivity scale for Chinese children aged 3–6 years and, as an initial application, to examine whether the association between family socioeconomic status and school readiness differed as a function of children’s environmental sensitivity. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, a parent-report measure of environmental sensitivity was developed through theory-driven item generation and developmental review. Three independent and non-overlapping samples, comprising 1727 parents in total, were used for item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability analysis, model-based convergent and discriminant validity analyses, and external convergent validity analyses. Study 2 analyzed mother-report data from 419 children using regression interaction models and simple-slope analyses. Study 1 yielded a 15-item parent-report scale comprising four dimensions: Depth of Information Processing, Sensitivity to Subtle Stimuli, Emotional and Physiological Reactivity, and Overstimulation. The scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, satisfactory structural validity, overall adequate convergent validity, good discriminant validity, and satisfactory external convergent validity. In Study 2, significant SES × environmental sensitivity interactions were observed for externalizing problems, internalizing problems, academic difficulties, and emotion regulation. Among children with higher environmental sensitivity, higher SES was associated with fewer behavioral and emotional problems, fewer academic difficulties, and better emotion regulation, whereas SES was not significantly associated with these outcomes among children with lower environmental sensitivity. Regions of significance analyses further indicated that environmental sensitivity was significantly associated with each school readiness domain in both relatively lower and higher SES regions, with opposite directions across the two sides of the crossover points. The crossover points and their confidence intervals fell within the observed SES range, and the overall interaction patterns were broadly compatible with differential susceptibility. The newly developed 15-item scale provides initial psychometric support for the theory-based and developmentally appropriate assessment of environmental sensitivity in Chinese preschool children. Its initial cross-sectional application suggests that the concurrent associations between family SES and school readiness domains may differ according to children’s environmental sensitivity. Longitudinal research is needed to examine the temporal and developmental implications of these interaction patterns.