Abstract:

Introduction:
High sensitivity reflects individual differences in the depth of processing and responsiveness to environmental and contextual stimuli. Individuals with higher sensitivity tend to exhibit stronger emotional and physiological reactions to environmental demands. Previous research has linked high sensitivity to increased emotional reactivity and vulnerability to psychological difficulties, including anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as poorer perceived health. In higher education, social-evaluative situations such as oral presentations and classroom participation represent particularly salient stressors, often involving fear of negative evaluation. Understanding how sensitivity shapes students’ responses to these interpersonal academic demands is essential for fostering supportive learning environments. The present study aimed to identify sensitivity-based profiles and examine their differential responses to public speaking-related academic stress.​

Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 801 students from the University of Alicante (Spain) (77.4% women; mean age = 19.2), primarily enrolled in Social Sciences degrees. Participants were recruited using a non-probabilistic snowball sampling strategy and completed a self-administered digital assessment. Environmental Sensitivity (ES) was assessed with the 27-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-27), and academic stress was measured using the Public Speaking subscale of the Stress Academic Scale (SAS-54). Participation was voluntary and anonymous, informed consent was obtained, and the study received ethical approval in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. A cluster analysis was conducted to identify naturally occurring sensitivity profiles based on ES scores. Subsequently, between-profile differences in public speaking-related academic stress were examined using one-way ANOVA. Post hoc comparisons were performed to determine specific differences between profiles, and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated to assess the magnitude of these differences. All procedures complied with ethical standards, and informed consent was obtained from all participants.​

Results:
Significant differences in public speaking-related academic stress were found across ES levels (all p < .001, except medium–high comparison p = .036). Highly sensitive students reported the highest levels of public speaking stress, followed by the medium sensitivity group, whereas the low sensitivity group showed the lowest scores. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) indicated medium differences between low and medium sensitivity students (d = −0.604), large differences between low and high sensitivity students (d = −0.816), and small differences between medium and high sensitivity students (d = −0.211).​

Conclusions:
These findings highlight the role of environmental sensitivity in students’ responses to social-evaluative academic demands. Sensitivity appears to be particularly relevant in contexts involving public exposure, such as oral presentations, where differences between sensitivity profiles become evident. These findings highlight the role of environmental sensitivity in students’ responses to social-evaluative academic demands. Sensitivity appears to be particularly relevant in contexts involving public exposure, such as oral presentations, where differences between sensitivity profiles become evident.

Keywords:

Environmental sensitivity, high sensitivity, academic stress, public speaking, university students.