Since the Law for Tailored Education (Wet Passend Onderwijs) was implemented in Dutch schools in 2014, teachers have begun to struggle to manage and meet the growing complexity of needs in their...Show moreSince the Law for Tailored Education (Wet Passend Onderwijs) was implemented in Dutch schools in 2014, teachers have begun to struggle to manage and meet the growing complexity of needs in their students. Therefore, it is important to aid teachers in identifying the needs of students, so teachers can focus on meeting their students’ needs instead. This study attempts to find evidence for the usability of dynamic forms of testing for identifying the needs of children with autism or autism traits. Because the main aim was to identify differences in change of strategy-use after training in children with different levels of autism traits, a process-oriented approach was chosen. Using a dynamic version of the Rey Osterieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT) with graduated prompts as training method, the change in strategy-use was measured in a randomized blocking experimental-control group design. The sample consisted of 87 children from third and fourth grade. Children who received training showed more change than children in the control condition. Additionally, there was no difference in strategy-use or change in strategy-use for children with different levels of autism traits and no relation was found between strategy-use and type of autism traits. The findings suggest that the usability of dynamic testing with graduated prompts holds for children with and without autism traits.Show less
According to PISA-results, a substantial number of Dutch 15-year-olds are functionally illiterate. Is it therefore of importance to prioritize literacy in Dutch education. In this study an attempt...Show moreAccording to PISA-results, a substantial number of Dutch 15-year-olds are functionally illiterate. Is it therefore of importance to prioritize literacy in Dutch education. In this study an attempt was made to find a time efficient way to stimulate the development of three basic aspects of early literacy. The aim of this study was to answer the question whether vocabulary, phonological awareness and print knowledge could be increased simultaneously by using e-Prent&ABC and whether the effects of this intervention were related to working memory. 89 participants between 4.5 and 6 years old from 8 kindergarten classes took part in four conditions in a mixed factorial experimental design. After semantic consolidation, print knowledge consolidation, phonological consolidation and no consolidation (being shown e-books with interactive components as part of the control condition), their progress in vocabulary, phonological awareness and print knowledge was assessed. The results showed that print knowledge consolidation could be administered to increase the three aspects of early literacy simultaneously and that all methods of consolidation could be administered to increase vocabulary. The effects of the intervention on print knowledge and phonological awareness respectively were not influenced by the level of working memory but relationships between print knowledge and visual working memory, and between phonological awareness and verbal working memory, were found independent of the intervention. Therefore, this study showed that the use of print knowledge consolidation of e-Prent&ABC in the classroom can be time efficient for teachers as it increases three aspects of early literacy simultaneously and teachers do not have to differentiate between students with lower and higher verbal and visual working memory skills when administering it. Further research should determine whether semantic and phonological consolidation of e-Prent&ABC can also contribute to early literacy in a time efficient way to aid Dutch students to become functionally literate.Show less
In de jaren tachtig en negentig veranderde Wenzhou van een geografisch geïsoleerd en verarmd gebied, in een economisch dynamische, welvarende en verstedelijkte regio. Uitgaande van het...Show moreIn de jaren tachtig en negentig veranderde Wenzhou van een geografisch geïsoleerd en verarmd gebied, in een economisch dynamische, welvarende en verstedelijkte regio. Uitgaande van het secularisatieparadigma binnen de sociologie van religie, zouden deze economische ontwikkelingen en hiermee samenhangende moderniteit gepaard moeten gaan met een afname van religieuze vitaliteit. In Wenzhou is echter niets minder waar gebleken. Deze stad wordt beschouwd als de stad met de grootste christelijke bevolking in China en is in de afgelopen decennia door verschillende sociologen, antropologen en journalisten bestempeld als ‘China’s Jeruzalem’. Inmiddels zijn er talloze onderzoeken en nieuwsartikelen die deze religieuze opleving, met name de protestantste, bevestigen. De verklaring van deze opleving is echter nog steeds een onderwerp van discussie. Verscheidene antropologen en sociologen hebben een poging gedaan om de werking van religie in China in het algemeen te doorgronden en lokale oplevingen van verschillende religieuze gemeenschappen te verklaren. Hoewel er relatief veel etnografisch veldwerk is gedaan in Wenzhou, wordt er in deze onderzoeken vaak ingezoomd en ligt de focus op de data zelf, in plaats van op een sociologische verklaring van de uitzonderlijke religieuze vitaliteit. Mijn onderzoeksvraag luidt daarom: ‘Hoe kunnen we de christelijke opleving in Wenzhou tijdens de hervormingsperiode verklaren?’Show less
Background: Bipolar disorder is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent mood episodes alternated with periods of remission. Major life events appear to have an important role in...Show moreBackground: Bipolar disorder is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent mood episodes alternated with periods of remission. Major life events appear to have an important role in the course of the disorder. However, little is known about the influence of daily perceived stress. In the few studies that did focus on this, a positive association has been found between perceived stress and depression severity and number of mood episodes. Aim: To investigate whether perceived stress is associated with the course of bipolar disorder in patients recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder type I or II. Methods: Data was obtained from the longitudinal naturalistic Bipolar Netherlands Cohort (BINCO) Study (N = 64). Measurements included the Quick Inventory Depressive Symptomatology, Young Mania Rating Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and the WHO-Composite International Diagnostic Interview- Bipolar Disorder. Analyses included linear regression analyses and ANOVA’s. Results: The amount of perceived stress at baseline was found to be associated with an increase in depression severity at baseline. However, perceived stress was not found to be associated with the severity nor the number of episodes of depression or mania six months after baseline. Conclusions: The study’s findings could imply the effectiveness of stress-management in treating patients with bipolar disorder. Future research should be done using a bigger sample, to make results more generalizable. Also, more research may clarify the difference between perceived stress and life events, and the role of the kindling hypothesis.Show less
The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is growing worldwide, and experiencing violent victimization, especially during childhood, worsens its symptoms and raises the likelihood of being...Show moreThe prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is growing worldwide, and experiencing violent victimization, especially during childhood, worsens its symptoms and raises the likelihood of being victimized again. This study assessed the impact of different forms of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) on depressive symptoms in patients with MDD and a recent history of victimization, and whether gender moderates this relationship. Additionally, it investigates whether Internet Emotion Regulation Training (iERT) as an addition to Treatment as Usual (TAU) can reduce emotion regulation difficulties and depressive symptoms in the same population. 153 patients filled in questionnaires and the hypotheses were tested by a hierarchical regression analysis and two repeated measure ANOVAs. Regarding the first research question, a significant association was found between depression and physical- and emotional child abuse, but not sexual abuse. This effect was not moderated by gender. Regarding the second research question, no significant effect was found of adding iERT to TAU on either emotion regulation difficulties or depressive symptoms.Show less
Parental sensitivity focuses on the ability of a parent to recognize the signals of a child and interpret them and respond to them adequately. This sensitivity is connected to various aspects of...Show moreParental sensitivity focuses on the ability of a parent to recognize the signals of a child and interpret them and respond to them adequately. This sensitivity is connected to various aspects of the child’s development, like attachment and emotion regulation. The aim of the current study was to find out if there is a relationship between sensitive parenting and challenging child behavior, and if the confidence of the parent works as a moderator in this possible relationship. Correlational research was used, where 32 mothers were recruited through posters which were shared across several social media platforms. These mothers each participated with either a son or a daughter in the ages of 3 to 5 years old, for a total of 16 boys and 16 girls. Every pair of mother and child joined a recorded video session through MS Teams with one of the researchers. During the session the mother and child had to make a puzzle together for 10 minutes. After the session, the mother had to fill in a questionnaire about her own parenting behavior and the behavior of her child. Furthermore, she had to use a Q-sort version to measure her sensitivity during the session. The researchers also measured the parental sensitivity with the Ainsworth scale. The results show no significant correlation between sensitive parenting and challenging child behavior and no significant moderator effect from the parent’s confidence. These results are both the same for the sensitivity measured by the parent and for the sensitivity measured by the researcher. Further research is needed to learn more about the correlation between sensitivity and child behavior and possible other variables, where the focus must be on adjusting the Q-sort version, as well as the recruitment of more fathers.Show less
