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
Despite the known effectiveness of digital storybooks for young children's language development, their use in classrooms remains limited. Digital storybooks can lead to a child being read to more...Show moreDespite the known effectiveness of digital storybooks for young children's language development, their use in classrooms remains limited. Digital storybooks can lead to a child being read to more often since they don’t rely on an available adult to read aloud. This study investigated whether the teacher’s attitudes toward printed and digital storybooks correlated with their class's frequency of logging into Bereslim, an interactive digital storybook platform for children aged 3 to 7 years old. The study also examined whether the number of children in a class at risk of developing language problems correlates with the frequency of logins to Bereslim. Additionally, it investigated whether teacher’s attitude toward printed storybooks could predict the amount of Bereslim logins. Lastly, the study explored whether the teacher's age impacted their attitude toward reading digital storybooks and the frequency of logins. In this research 8 teachers from 6 schools and 1 daycare participated, completing an online questionnaire about their attitudes toward reading aloud with print and digital storybooks. Log data was also utilized, containing information about the frequency of logins into Bereslim in each class. No significant results were found regarding teachers' attitudes toward print and digital storybooks and the frequency of logging into Bereslim in their class. There was no significant correlation between the number of children in the class who are at-risk of developing a language problem and the teachers' attitude toward print storybooks. Neither teachers' age nor their attitudes toward digital storybooks significantly predicted login frequency. It's possible that the sample was too small to produce significant effects. To increase the usage of Bereslim in class, providing teachers with more information about the platform and opportunities to gain experience with digital storybooks could be beneficial. A lack of experience with digital storybooks prevents teachers from using them.Show less
Attentional bias (AB) is when certain stimuli catch attention quicker than others, which varies according to individual characteristics. The study investigated: (1) if there is an AB to or from...Show moreAttentional bias (AB) is when certain stimuli catch attention quicker than others, which varies according to individual characteristics. The study investigated: (1) if there is an AB to or from itch; (2) whether this differs between people with chronic itch and healthy controls; (3) and if there is a possible AB/stress association. This is because understanding ABs to/from itch further elucidates the experience of patients with chronic itch and possible future clinical applications. Furthermore, an explorative analysis compared two tasks measuring AB, namely the Posner cueing and dot-probe task. The two tasks, alongside a stress-questionnaire, were administered online to the participants (N=70). A (frequentist and Bayesian) RM ANOVA was done for the main analysis, and a within- subjects t-test for the explorative task-comparison. Given that the task-comparison found the two tasks differing significantly (p = 0.01 d = -0.31), the results of the two tasks were interpreted separately. Overall, indications of AB being biased away from itch stimuli was found. When the AB was contrasted between participant group (people with and without chronic itch), the Posner cueing task found no significant difference (p = 0.68, ηp 2 = 0.003) whereas the dot-probe task found an AB away from itch-stimuli in patients with chronic itch (p = 0.02, ηp 2 = 0.077). Similar pattern unfolded with the stress-association: the Posner cueing task finding that AB did not significantly differ with stress (p = 0.23, ηp 2 = 0.021). The dot-probe task did find that they significantly differed (p = 0.01, ηp 2 = 0.091) where with higher stress, the AB switched to being an AB towards itch stimuli. The discrepancy between the two tasks aligns with expectations considering that the tasks were found inequivalent - highlighting one of the strengths of this study being that the two tasks were compared. Altogether this points towards differences in what the two tasks tap into, and that the attention of people with chronic itch is biased as a function of stress. Summarizing, AB to itch differed between the two groups and was associated with stress when using dot-probe task, which did not apply to the Posner cueing task.Show less
This study investigates how perceptions of status and warmth of help-seekers affect the willingness of help-givers to offer help as well as the type of help they offer (autonomyoriented help...Show moreThis study investigates how perceptions of status and warmth of help-seekers affect the willingness of help-givers to offer help as well as the type of help they offer (autonomyoriented help/dependency-oriented help). Data were collected using a scenario approach (N = 205) in an experimental study, which simulated a debt assistance setting in a municipality. The variables Status (low/high) and Warmth (low/high) were investigated in a betweensubjects design. Participants completed an online survey on perceived warmth, status, and locus of attribution of a help-seeker and indicated their willingness to help as well as the type of help. It was hypothesized that warmth perceptions of help-seekers would influence the likeliness to help, that status perceptions would influence the locus of attributions as well as the type of help and that the effect between status and type of help would be mediated by the locus of attributions. The study did not find support for these hypotheses. However, exploratory analyses revealed a significant positive effect of both Status and Warmth on perceived competence, and significant correlations between locus of attributions and likeliness to help, autonomy and dependency-oriented help, and emotions (admiration/envy/pity) and type of help. These findings underline the role of stereotypes and biases in influencing helping behavior, emphasizing the need for further investigations of helping mechanisms.Show less
Despite the deleterious effects feelings of loneliness can have on mental and physical health, factors that may mitigate feelings of loneliness are understudied in youth with autism spectrum...Show moreDespite the deleterious effects feelings of loneliness can have on mental and physical health, factors that may mitigate feelings of loneliness are understudied in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study focused on the role of friendships in feelings of loneliness in autistic students and their allistic peers. We aimed to examine the extent to which autistic and allistic students differ in the number of perceived, received, and reciprocal friendships, how these three types of friendships are related to feelings of loneliness in school, and how autistic and allistic (without ASD) students differ in this relation. Forty-one autistic students (92,7% male, M age = 10.17, SD = 1.0) were compared with 44 allistic students (43,2% male, M age = 11.14, SD = 1.0), both from special education schools. Participants completed the Children’s Loneliness Scale and provided names of their best friends (up to five names). Results indicated that autistic students did not have fewer perceived, received, and reciprocated friendships than their allistic peers, and did not differ in feelings of loneliness with their allistic peers. Also, the number of received and reciprocal friendships did not contribute to feelings of loneliness, but having more perceived friendships was associated with less feelings of loneliness, to the same extent in the two groups. In conclusion, the findings showed that autistic students can form friendships that fulfill their social needs when in a suitable environment, and the perception of having friends could be the most important for both groups to feel a sense of connectedness in school. Thus, for regular schools, it may be helpful to learn from special education schools to facilitate the best environment for all students to form and maintain friendships.Show less
The current study investigated the role of early maladaptive schema (EMS), particularly the schemas subjugation and self-sacrifice in mediating the relationship between adverse childhood...Show moreThe current study investigated the role of early maladaptive schema (EMS), particularly the schemas subjugation and self-sacrifice in mediating the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and transdiagnostic somatic symptoms. Through convenience sampling, participants’ demographic data, EMS score (YSQ-3), ACE score (ACE questionnaire), and presence of transdiagnostic somatic symptoms (DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure) were measured. The total scores of subjugation and self-sacrifice, ACE, and transdiagnostic somatic symptoms were respectively summated, then analysed through mediation analysis. Participants were (N = 131) students of Leiden University from the age of 18 years old (M = 19, IQR = 2), comprising of 91.2% female and 8.8% male. Through the analysis, it was found that subjugation and self-sacrifice together significantly mediate the relationship between ACE and transdiagnostic somatic symptoms (b = .314, p = .003). The indirect effect was found to have mediated 55.6% (b = .175, p = .002) of the relationship. Moreover, exploratory analyses indicated that individually, subjugation and self-sacrifice also successfully mediated this relationship. This finding further strengthens the existing argument that following ACE, particular behavioral stress-response may lead to transdiagnostic somatic symptoms in later life. In this case, the schemas subjugation and self-sacrifice were found to be crucial in this relationship. Thus, providing a deeper look into the developmental trajectory of the ACE, EMS, and transdiagnostic domains and may aid clinicians in recognizing and targeting schemas related to transdiagnostic somatic symptoms.Show less
While amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are primarily defined by cognitive deficits, studies have demonstrated that motor impairments can precede cognitive...Show moreWhile amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are primarily defined by cognitive deficits, studies have demonstrated that motor impairments can precede cognitive symptoms by several years in these conditions. However, it is uncertain if the ability to learn sequences of movements is also impaired in this population. Therefore, this study investigated whether aMCI and AD affect motor sequence learning abilities, and how such abilities are related to AD biomarkers. The sample included 33 individuals with aMCI, 28 with AD, and 52 healthy controls (HCs). All groups completed a motor task consisting of performing a sequence of button presses, alternated with random blocks. Reaction time, coefficient of variation, and learning rates were obtained from the task. Participants also completed a series of cognitive tests to assess memory, visuospatial abilities, processing speed, language, and attention. Additionally, the following biomarkers for AD were assessed: amyloid beta via PET imaging, hippocampal volume via structural MRI, and number of e4 alleles via APOE genotyping. ANOVAs showed that AD participants had longer and more variable reaction times, followed by aMCI individuals, and with HCs having the shorter and more consistent reaction times. No significant differences in sequence learning rate were observed between groups. Exploratory analyses revealed that aMCI/AD had significantly slower initial learning rate than HCs. Linear regressions showed associations of slower reaction times with smaller hippocampal volume, and of higher coefficients with higher amyloid deposition. Poisson regressions revealed no significant correlations between motor sequence learning and APOEe4 allele count. Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) results indicated that combining cognitive test with motor measures improves the prediction of AD biomarkers. Overall, AD and aMCI individuals showed impairments in general motor performance but relatively preserved motor sequence learning abilities, with some deficits in initial rate of learning. Moreover, statistical model comparison suggested that adding motor sequence learning measures to neuropsychological assessment tools enhanced the prediction of AD biomarkers. As such, future studies should explore the value of integrating motor sequence learning measures in the assessment and tracking of AD/aMCI.Show less
People in debt often avoid contacting their creditors, a behaviour likely driven by feelings of shame. In the Netherlands, around one million households face significant debt, leading to stress and...Show morePeople in debt often avoid contacting their creditors, a behaviour likely driven by feelings of shame. In the Netherlands, around one million households face significant debt, leading to stress and shame, which exacerbates financial problems by hindering communication with creditors. This study investigates the impact of building shame resilience on reducing avoidance behaviours among debtors. Enhancing shame resilience means increasing individuals' sense of control over their situation and reducing feelings of being trapped. These factors can empower debtors to confront their financial problems rather than avoid them. Thus, an experiment involving 308 participants with financial distress evaluated the effectiveness of different versions of the same creditor letter. These messages were adjusted to either increase a sense of control, reduce feelings of being trapped, or serve as a baseline with no specific emotional content. The study hypothesised that these adjustments would lead to greater willingness to contact creditors and that gender might moderate the impact. Results showed that messages enhancing control or reducing feelings of being trapped significantly increased participants' willingness to engage with creditors. Although the hypothesis regarding gender moderation was not supported overall, women responded more positively to messages reducing feelings of being trapped. These findings suggest that supportive communication strategies addressing emotional barriers like shame can facilitate better debt management. The study's implications for policy and creditor practices emphasise prioritising psychological well-being to enhance financial stability.Show less
Introduction: The Locus Coeruleus (LC) is a small structure residing in the midbrain and is the primary source of Noradrenaline (NA) in the brain. The LC-NA system’s roles include focusing...Show moreIntroduction: The Locus Coeruleus (LC) is a small structure residing in the midbrain and is the primary source of Noradrenaline (NA) in the brain. The LC-NA system’s roles include focusing attention towards salient stimuli. Animal studies suggest that the LC-NA system plays a role in reward related functions, an aspect primarily attributed to the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) Dopamine (DA) system. Animal studies suggest that habituation of the LC to salient stimuli occurs rapidly. The Dorsal and Ventral attentional networks (DAN and VAN respectively) are other regions relevant in attentional focus. Thus, we hypothesise that the reward and salient stimuli will elicit higher responses in the LC compared to the control, the LC will habituate across trials, the DAN network will respond highest to reward, and the VAN highest to salience. Methods: Forty-five healthy participants were recruited to complete a reward-oddball task during fMRI scanning. Repeated Measures (RM)-ANOVAs assessed changes in BOLD levels in our regions of interest (LC, VTA, DAN, VAN) as participants responded to the different stimuli oddballs (reward, salient, no reward). Results: A main effect for stimulus type on LC activity was not found (p=.079). Activity in the LC did not significantly habituate (p=.469). The DAN had overall higher activation than the VAN and had higher activation to the reward oddball compared to the salient (p<.001). The VAN region also had higher activation to the reward compared to the salient condition (p<.001). Conclusion: Results suggest that the LC had a similar degree of activation to each stimulus. This may suggest that the LC responds to contextual saliency and may not account for how goal relevant a stimulus is. We did not find a statistically significant habituation across trials. This may suggest that habituation in humans happens at a slower/less extensive rate than rats. The DAN region had globally higher activation than the VAN, reflecting this region’s role in sustained and goal related attention. The lack of activation within the VAN may suggest an orientation response was not required during this task. Strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.Show less
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized primarily by motor symptoms due to the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. However, non-motor symptoms such as cognitive...Show moreParkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized primarily by motor symptoms due to the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. However, non-motor symptoms such as cognitive decline are prevelant in up to 80% of PD patients. Multi-system degeneration and neurotransmitter decifiences are likely the cause. One of the systems implicated in PD-related cognitive decline is the cholinergic system but it remains unclear to what extent the system is affected and how it links to different disease stages. This retrospective cohort study explores the integrity of the cholinergic system in PD through the measurement of alpha reactivity using electroencephalography (EEG). EEG data from 191 participants, including 46 early-stage PD patients, 17 late-stage PD patients, and 128 healthy controls was analyzed. Alpha reactivity, measured as the difference in alpha power between eyes closed and eyes open conditions, was assessed via EEG. Cognition was assessed via the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE). Results revealed significantly reduced alpha reactivity in PD patients compared to healthy controls. ANCOVA analyses demonstrated reductions in alpha reactivity in both early-stage and late-stage PD groups when compared to healthy controls. However, no significant reduction in alpha reactivity was found between early and late-stage PD patients. These findings provide neurophysiological evidence of a reduction in alpha reactivity in PD patients, which could indicate a cholinergic dysfunction in PD, irrespective of disease stage. This study also highlights the potential utility of alpha reactivity as a biomarker for assessing disease severity.Show less
Given the profound environmental impact of single-use plastic packaging, this study addresses the influence of moral appeals and environmental attitudes regarding plastic-free consumer choices in...Show moreGiven the profound environmental impact of single-use plastic packaging, this study addresses the influence of moral appeals and environmental attitudes regarding plastic-free consumer choices in the UK. Utilizing an experimental between-subject design (N = 263), moral appeals were expected to influence plastic-free choices. Stronger pro-environmental attitudes were expected to increase plastic-free choices following an individualizing moral appeal, whereas weaker pro-environmental attitudes were expected to increase plastic-free choices following a binding appeal. Results did not support the hypotheses, as plastic-free choices did not differ between the moral appeal conditions and the control condition, and pro-environmental attitudes did not moderate this relationship. Surprisingly, the individualizing appeal prompted more plastic-free choices than the binding appeal. The roles of price, culture, and self-construal, as well as the partially failed manipulations, are discussed as possible explanations for the findings. In conclusion, using an individualizing moral appeal effectively promotes plastic-free purchasing behaviour in the UK.Show less
