Background: A frequent occurring trait among children with autism is a lack of social attention. Aim: The aim of present study is to investigate whether stress can be an underlying mechanism for...Show moreBackground: A frequent occurring trait among children with autism is a lack of social attention. Aim: The aim of present study is to investigate whether stress can be an underlying mechanism for social attention. In addition to investigating the relationship between stress and social attention, it is also studied whether there is a difference between children with and without autism, with regard to the total amount of perceived stress, the perceived stress of eight different sources of stress and the degree of social attention. Method: This study included 21 children with autism and 35 non-clinical controls, aged three and a half to six years. Perceived stress was measured with the Stress Survey Schedule and the degree of social attention was determined by the, designed for current research, Paradigm of Social Attention. Results: The results showed that children with autism, compared to their typically developing peers, experience more stress, regardless of the source of stress, and have less social attention. No significant relationship was found between the total amount of perceived stress and the degree of social attention. However, negative correlations were found between the degree of social attention and the sources of stress Changes, Anticipation, Sensory/Personal and Social/Environmental. The more stress children experience of these sources, the less social attention they have. Discussion: The most important finding is that stress related to social situations seems to be related to less social attention. Findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.Show less
Achtergrond: Nieuwsgierigheid is de drijfveer van de cognitieve ontwikkeling en het leren (Engel, 2009). Om kinderen te helpen bij hun cognitieve ontwikkeling is het stimuleren van nieuwsgierigheid...Show moreAchtergrond: Nieuwsgierigheid is de drijfveer van de cognitieve ontwikkeling en het leren (Engel, 2009). Om kinderen te helpen bij hun cognitieve ontwikkeling is het stimuleren van nieuwsgierigheid dus van belang, maar tot op heden is er nog vrij weinig kennis over de nieuwsgierigheid van kinderen (Chak, 2007; Jirout & Klahr, 2012; Gibson, 2014). Doel: In dit onderzoek werd onderzocht wat de associatie is van nieuwsgierigheid met de achtergrondvariabelen leeftijd, geslacht en sociaal economische status (SES). Methode: Van de 212 participanten van een basisschool in Maassluis en één in s-Gravenzande, was de gemiddelde leeftijd 6,08. Er waren 97 meisjes en 115 jongens; De laag/midden SES groep bestond uit 111 participanten, de hoge SES groep bevatte 101 kinderen. Om de mate van nieuwsgierigheid te meten is de Underwater Exploration taak (Jirout & Klahr, 2012) gebruikt. Resultaten: Er is geen associatie gevonden tussen nieuwsgierigheid en SES en nieuwsgierigheid en leeftijd. Voor de variabele sekse is er wel een significant effect gevonden (t(210) = 2.39, p = .018). Jongens (M = 10.98, SD = 2.93) waren gemiddeld nieuwsgieriger dan meisjes (M = 10.05, SD = 2.71). Conclusie: De resultaten van geslacht en leeftijd worden ondersteund door eerder onderzoek, maar het onderzoek naar nieuwsgierigheid van kinderen is niet eenduidig. Er is dus ook literatuur die het gevonden resultaat tegenspreekt. De uitkomst dat SES geen relatie heeft met nieuwsgierigheid wordt niet ondersteund door de literatuur. De relatie tussen nieuwsgierigheid van jongens en meisjes moet verder worden onderzocht. Op deze wijze kan wellicht een manier worden ontwikkeld, bijvoorbeeld door het verschillend stimuleren van jongens en meisjes op het gebied van nieuwsgierigheid, die de sekseverschillen doen verdwijnen.Show less
Klinefelter Syndrome (KS; 47, XXY) is a sex chromosome aneuploidy that affects male physical, cognitive and psychological development. KS has been related to difficulties in social interactions and...Show moreKlinefelter Syndrome (KS; 47, XXY) is a sex chromosome aneuploidy that affects male physical, cognitive and psychological development. KS has been related to difficulties in social interactions and executive dysfunctions. This study investigates several executive functions (inhibition, cognitive flexibility, planning, working memory and sustained attention), social skills and the relationship between these two variables in men with KS. Eighteen men with KS and 29 controls between the age of 16 and 60 years old, participated in this study. Social skills were measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale rated by informants (SRS-A). Executive functions were assessed by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire and by tasks of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT) and by one task of the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS-NL). The clinical group rated poorer social skills than the controls. They also had weaker executive functions compared by controls (measured by the BRIEF). The ANT tasks revealed that from the executive functions, the Klinefelter group only had more difficulties in sustained attention compared by controls. Working memory was significantly (positively) correlated to social skills. The present findings suggest that KS is related to executive dysfunctions measured by the BRIEF and a weak working memory was related to poorer social skills. The results from this study provided insight in which cognitive structure is related to social skills in male with KS and could thereby contribute in the treatment and prevention of problems in social skills.Show less
