(Cross-cultural adaptation of the "highly sensitive person scale" to the Spanish population between 12 and 19 years old)

Sensitivity is a personality trait that all people possess. We receive sensory information, process it and act according to our characteristics, environmental resources, and the quality of our relationship with the environment. However, sensitivity levels are not the same for everyone. People with high abilities often have high levels of sensitivity. Therefore, they are more vulnerable to external influences. In this sense, it is important to carry out an assessment of sensitivity, as it plays an important role in people's lives. For this reason, the aim of this study is to validate the "Highly Sensitive Person Scale" in the Spanish context. To reach this objective, a sample of 524 young people aged between 12 and 19 from several secondary schools was used. Different analyses were carried out to analyze the psychometric properties: CFA, multigroup analysis, statistical-descriptive analysis and consistency analysis through Cronbach's alpha, and data analysis with SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 19.0. Finally, a Manova was performed to determine the influence of gender and course on students' sensitivity. The results supported the validity and reliability of the questionnaire structure, showing invariance with respect to gender. With respect to the course, significant differences were seen, but without a clear tendency, however, in the gender, it is supported that women have higher levels of sensitivity in the three factors of the scale.