The Highly Sensitive Person: Stress and physical symptom reports Grant Benham * Department of Psychology and Anthropology, The University of Texas – Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78541, United States Received 9 August 2005; received in revised form 21 November 2005; accepted 21 November 2005 Available online 7 February 2006 Abstract The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) scale is a measure of sensory-processing sensitivity, which is concep- tualized as involving both high levels of sensitivity to subtle stimuli and being easily overaroused by exter- nal stimuli. The current study examines the relationship between an individual’s sensory-processing sensitivity, self-perceived stress, and physical symptom reports. Results indicated that sensory-processing sensitivity is positively correlated with levels of stress and symptoms of ill-health. After controlling for self-perceived stress and gender, the HSP scale added significantly to a hierarchical regression model pre- dicting self-reported health. The inclusion of an interaction term in the model proved to be non-significant, suggesting that the relationship between stress, sensory-processing sensitivity and health is best explained by an additive model. Future research examining personality factors in health and illness may benefit from the inclusion of the HSP measure. Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: Personality; Sensitivity; Stress; Health; Physical symptoms; Highly sensitive person; Sensory defensiveness; Sensory-processing sensitivity 0191-8869/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.021 * Tel.: +1 956 292 7342; fax: +1 956 381 3333. E-mail address: gbenham@utpa.edu www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Personality and Individual Differences 40 (2006) 1433–1440