Abstract:

Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is described as a temperamental trait characterized by deeper cognitive processing, heightened reactivity to environmental stimulation, and a propensity for sensory overload in demanding contexts. These characteristics may increase vulnerability to stress, particularly in academic environments where intense cognitive demands, sustained multitasking, and substantial emotional load converge. However, the relationships among the different components of SPS and academic stress remain insufficiently clarified. Network models offer a suitable methodological approach to examine how these subdimensions interact and which of them play a central role in the experience of academic stress. The present study examined the associations among the dimensions that constitute the construct of Sensory Processing Sensitivity, namely Sensitivity to Overstimulation (SOS), Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), Fine Psychophysiological Discrimination (FPD), and Harm Avoidance (HA), as well as Academic Stress (AE), using a network analysis estimated through EBICglasso. The sample consisted of 801 participants, and a nonparametric bootstrap procedure with 1000 iterations was applied. The resulting network exhibited a relatively dense structure (12/15 non-zero edges; sparsity = 0.20), with SOS emerging as the most central node across all centrality indices (strength, expected influence, closeness, and betweenness). The strongest partial associations were observed between SOS and LST (0.403), SOS and AE (0.352), and SOS and FPD (0.245), confirming that sensory overstimulation constitutes the structural core from which both the remaining sensory dimensions and the academic stress response are organized. The community analysis revealed two distinct clusters. The first encompassed the strictly sensory based subscales (SOS, LST, FPD, and AES), forming a cohesive perceptual–sensory block. The second cluster consisted of HA and AE. This grouping is consistent with the emotional and anticipatory nature of HA, which shares specific variance with AE rather than with sensory processing, thereby explaining its separation from the other sensory sensitivity subscales. These findings support the notion that vulnerability to academic stress may be mediated by sensory overload processes, in line with models that describe high sensitivity as a pattern of deep processing that tends toward overstimulation, particularly in academically demanding contexts. Overall, the results indicate that sensitivity to overstimulation serves as the principal organizing mechanism within the network and acts as a bridge between sensory traits and the emotional responses associated with academic stress. These results suggest that interventions aimed at reducing academic stress in highly sensitive individuals should prioritize strategies focused on managing sensory overload, including environmental adjustments, sensory regulation techniques, and psychoeducational approaches.

Keywords:

Sensory processing sensitivity, academic stress, students, university, network analysis.