Restriction lift date: 2027-08-27
Psychological factors associated with sensory processing sensitivity in professional caregivers: A systematic review
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Date
2026-08-27
Authors
Connery, Tadgh
Doyle, Megan
Murphy, Mike
Setti, Annalisa
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Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
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Abstract
Individuals working in caregiving environments are more susceptible to experiencing poor mental health than other workers, with interest growing across the literature in identifying psychological factors that increase vulnerability and resilience for professional caregivers. Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is known to increase susceptibility to positive and negative environments. However, research about SPS and professional caregiving has yet to be summarised. After systematically searching eight academic databases and Google Scholar and reviewing 2,795 records for inclusion eligibility, six studies were included in the current systematic review. SPS was positively associated with negative mental health outcomes for professional caregivers, including stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion, and associated with occupational outcomes such as inappropriate caregiving strategies, higher compassion fatigue, more psychological demands and greater perceived social support. For professional caregivers high in SPS, social support reduced compassion fatigue through perceived stress, indicating the importance of integrating occupational supports within stressful working environments to enhance the well-being of high SPS caregivers. The current review indicates that SPS is a risk factor within professional caregiving, but highlights that areas of SPS-related strengths are under-investigated, with a need for future research in this area to support more sensitive caregivers to thrive at work.
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Keywords
Burnout , Caregiving , Professional caregivers , Sensory processing sensitivity , Stress , Systematic review , [Law] , [AppliedPsychology]
Citation
Connery, T, Doyle, M, Murphy, M & Setti, A 2026, 'Psychological factors associated with sensory processing sensitivity in professional caregivers: A systematic review', Current Psychology, vol. 45, no. 17, 1417, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-09935-4
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© 2026, the Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2026.