Objective: The period after successfully coming off treatment (SCOT) following a childhood cancer diagnosis is known to be a vulnerable time for parents in which increased levels of distress can...Show moreObjective: The period after successfully coming off treatment (SCOT) following a childhood cancer diagnosis is known to be a vulnerable time for parents in which increased levels of distress can play a significant role. It is important to know more about the distress experienced by parents during this period to determine whether an intervention should be used to help parents return to ‘normal life’. The aim of this study was therefore to gain better understanding of parental distress and factors related to their distress during the first year after their child has successfully completed treatment. Methods: A sample of 283 parents of children who had successfully completed cancer treatment in the previous year were included in this cross-sectional study. These parents, who were part of the SCOT group, were invited to complete the Distress Thermometer for Parents (DT-P) within one year after treatment completion. The DT-P consists of a thermometer score to measure experienced distress and problem domains (practical, social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and parenting). Parents in the SCOT group were compared with parents in the general population (NORM group) to see if their distress levels were higher. In addition, the association between distress and the problem domains and child- or parent-related factors (time since the end of treatment, cancer type, child’s age, parental disease, and perceived support) was examined. Results: Parents (73.9% mothers) in the SCOT group experienced higher levels of distress in the first year after SCOT compared to the general population (fathers SCOT: M=3.5, SD=2.6 vs. fathers NORM: M=2.8, SD=2.5; p=.032; mothers SCOT: M=4.1, SD=2.7 vs. mothers NORM: M=3.5, SD=2.7; p=.001). Emotional (p<.001), practical (p=.016), and physical (p=.005) problems were predictors of higher distress levels. Parents’ perceived support from their environment contributed also to their level of distress (p<.001). Conclusions: Parents of children who have successfully completed cancer treatment experience increased levels of distress in the first year after treatment compared to parents in the general population. There may be value in developing an intervention to ease this transition that specifically addresses their emotional well-being and highlights the importance of their social network during this vulnerable period.Show less
Abstract Introduction. Sickness Presenteeism (SP) describes the phenomenon of going to work despite being ill. As SP might be related to more burnout complaints and lower general health and is...Show moreAbstract Introduction. Sickness Presenteeism (SP) describes the phenomenon of going to work despite being ill. As SP might be related to more burnout complaints and lower general health and is associated with higher job demands and lower job resources, the influences of SP were investigated. The research contributed to previous research by targeting a general, diverse population and by exclusively focusing on health instead of motivational reasons for SP. Further, research that investigated the effects of SP as a moderator between working conditions and health factors was lacking. Thus, this study hypothesized, that higher job demands, and lower job resources increase burnout complaints and decrease general health and that this association is strengthened by SP. Methods. Altogether, 115 participants participated in this correlational study. Job resources and job demands were measured with the Demand-Control-Support questionnaire. A new SP variable was created for this research and tested for internal consistency. Burnout was measured with the Burnout-Assessment-Tool and general health with a one-item question. Two multiple regression analyses were conducted. The first analysis measured if higher job demands, and lower job resources were associated with (more) burnout complaints and how this association was moderated by SP. The second analysis measured the same association but with (lower) general health as an outcome variable. Results. SP did not moderate the relationship between job demands and burnout complaints (p=.20), job resources and burnout complaints (p=.70), job demands and general health (p=.49), and job resources and general health (p=.65). Consequently, all hypotheses were rejected. Job demands were directly related to more burnout complaints (p=.005). Discussion. This study found that high job demands were associated with higher burnout complaints in a general and diverse working population, highlighting the importance of reducing workloads. This study did not find significant SP interaction effects. Possible reasons could be sample size limitations and the statistical test choice. Network analyses might better measure a construct like SP, which includes many control factors and associations. According to this study, it seems that to increase general health and decrease burnout complaints, changing working conditions is more appropriate than addressing worker´s SP.Show less
Background: Individuals with psychotic disorders (PD) often experience cognitive challenges, particularly in executive functioning (EF), crucial for daily functioning. Sleep disruptions, notably...Show moreBackground: Individuals with psychotic disorders (PD) often experience cognitive challenges, particularly in executive functioning (EF), crucial for daily functioning. Sleep disruptions, notably insomnia, are prevalent in PD, worsening symptoms and affecting overall well-being and treatment outcomes. Moreover, individuals with PD frequently engage in cannabis use, which can further impact EF. Gender differences may also play a role in how cannabis affects EF, though findings are varied. This study aims to deepen our understanding of the interplay between insomnia, EF, and cannabis use in PD individuals, while considering gender influences. We hypothesize that higher insomnia rates correlate with poorer EF in PD, with cannabis mediating this relationship. Additionally, we expect gender disparities to influence how cannabis affects EF. This study sheds light on critical factors affecting cognitive function in PD, aiding in tailored intervention strategies. Method: Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of patients (N=262) undergoing treatment at a mental health care clinic in the South-western part of the Netherlands at time of inclusion. Participants, aged between 18 and 65 at inclusion, had a primary diagnosis of a psychotic disorder. The current study utilized data from the Lichamelijke Klachten Vragenlijst (LKV), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for Adults (BRIEF-A), and the Measurements in Addictions for Triage and Evaluation (MATE). Results: Significant correlations indicated a moderate positive association between insomnia and EF problems. However, mediation analysis did not support cannabis use as a mediator between insomnia and EF. Gender differences were explored through residual variances analysis, suggesting potential unaccounted factors impacting variability. Model fit indices revealed areas for improvement in explaining variance, warranting further examination and potential adjustments to refine the overall model fit. Conclusion: Higher rates of insomnia were related to higher rates of EF problems. There is no evidence for a mediating effect of cannabis use in this relationship. Gender differences did not seem to play a significant role in the effect of cannabis on EF. Future research should incorporate performance-based tasks alongside self-report measures to improve measurement precision. Future treatments could potentially benefit from incorporating interventions that address insomnia, as this may lead to potential enhancements in executive functioning.Show less
Background: Videogames have long been debated for their effects on adolescents and their development. While the media has mostly picked up on the potentially harmful effects, research has shown...Show moreBackground: Videogames have long been debated for their effects on adolescents and their development. While the media has mostly picked up on the potentially harmful effects, research has shown both negative and positive effects, observing social connection through gaming. As such, we should consider how the medium can be used to help individuals who struggle with depression. Method: This study investigates the relation between (1) gaming and depression, (2) gaming and social contact, and (3) the individual differences regarding the effects of gaming. This was achieved by using EMA data from the RE-PAIR project to estimate Gaussian graphical network models. The data was provided by 113 adolescents (Mage = 15.83, SDage = 1.41, Ndepr = 33) reporting on affect states (i.e., happy, sad, relaxed & irritated) and daily social contact. Results: For the healthy control group, a negative relation between social contact and gaming was found. Positive relations between gaming and the affect states relaxed and irritated could be observed. A positive relation between gaming and sad was also present. The analysis showed no relations between social contact, gaming, and affect states for the depressed group. Conclusion: While the main analysis provides little insight into the relations between affect states, gaming, and social contact, the sensitivity analysis shows all affect states to be related to gaming. Future studies should properly define what constitutes a “gamer” and sample from this population. This guarantees participants to be regularly engaging with the activity and be able to report on it, rectifying some of the limitations present in the study.Show less
Political extremity has been widely researched, yet the emotions experienced by extremists remain underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by examining whether extremism influences the...Show morePolitical extremity has been widely researched, yet the emotions experienced by extremists remain underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by examining whether extremism influences the emotions of curiosity and confusion when reading an article, and whether this effect depends on the congruence between one’s ideology and that of the source. Based on research that highlights the importance of ideological congruence in influencing trust and acceptance of a source and its content, which can evoke emotional responses, I hypothesized that individuals would be more curious and less confused when reading information from a source congruent with their ideology. Additionally, I expected political extremity to condition this relationship, with extremists (vs. moderates) experiencing higher levels of curiosity and lower levels of confusion when reading ideologically congruent information. Contrary to these expectations, the hypothesized moderating effects of extremism on the relationship between source congruence and levels of curiosity and confusion were not observed. The findings suggest a more complex interplay between extremity, source congruency, curiosity and confusion. The insights from this study offer potential avenues for targeting polarization and misinformation in today’s media climate. However, further research is necessary to deepen our understanding of this interplay.Show less
Understanding the social world around us is important to function in today’s society. Gaining understanding can be achieved through cognitive empathy. In the current study, the main question ‘Is...Show moreUnderstanding the social world around us is important to function in today’s society. Gaining understanding can be achieved through cognitive empathy. In the current study, the main question ‘Is the effect of acute stress on the level of cognitive empathy in female students moderated by experienced childhood trauma?’ has been examined in 119 female students between 18 and 25 years old (M = 21.19, SD = 1.66). The relationship between acute stress, cognitive empathy and experienced childhood trauma has been examined with three sub-questions that focus on 1. the effect of acute stress on cognitive empathy, 2. the effect of subjective acute stress on the level of cognitive empathy and 3. Is the effect of acute stress on cognitive empathy moderated by experienced childhood trauma? These questions have been answered with an experimental study with a between-subjects design and a sequentially assigned stress or no stress manipulation provided by the Trier Social Stress Test (Kirschbaum et al., 1993). Before and during the manipulation acute stress has been measured with the Visual Analogue Scale (Freyd, 1923). Cognitive empathy has been measured with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Thombs et al., 2009) was used for measuring experienced childhood trauma. The current study shows no significant results for the main question and its sub-questions. This contributes to other studies who used the RMET to measure cognitive empathy and didn’t find any significant results, meaning they should use a different instrument in future research. In addition, it is important to re-examine the main research question using physiological measures of acute stress. This study contributes to the scientific knowledge of this moderation effect, but more research is needed to get a better understanding and help for people who experienced childhood trauma.Show less
This thesis describes an experimental study with a between-subjects and within-subjects design on the possibility to train inferential skills by using expository video. Over the past years the...Show moreThis thesis describes an experimental study with a between-subjects and within-subjects design on the possibility to train inferential skills by using expository video. Over the past years the level of reading comprehension among Dutch students decreases. A low motivation may perhaps explain this downward trend. One way to increase the motivation of Dutch students could be by using digital resources. Inferential skills are crucial during reading to create a mental representation of the text. This is an important part of reading comprehension. This research focusses on the progression in inferential skills of students, when these skills are taught using expository video. The progression made is compared to the progression in inferential skills of students who were taught inferential skills using expository text, and students in the control condition. Furthermore, the relation between this progression and the level of reading fluency was studied. Participants were 105 Dutch student (age 8 to 11 years) in grade six from four different primary schools. They were randomly assigned to one of the conditions, namely video condition, text condition and control condition, where they received either eight trainings with expository video or text, or no training at all. The inferential skills of all participants were tested using a pretest and a posttest, before and after the training was given. Results show that the training, either with expository video or text, is not effective in teaching inferential skills to Dutch students in grade six. In addition was the level of reading fluency not related to the effectivity of the training with expository video or text.Show less
School-age children, especially those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often exhibit externalizing behaviour associated with a range of long-term negative consequences. Impairments in social...Show moreSchool-age children, especially those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often exhibit externalizing behaviour associated with a range of long-term negative consequences. Impairments in social cognition, and weaker expressive language level, are associated with these behavioural problems in children with ASD. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between social cognition, specifically Theory of Mind (ToM), expressive language and externalizing behaviour in children with ASD aged 9 to 18 years. Understanding these complex dynamics of externalizing behaviour can enhance scientific knowledge, theoretical models, prevention and interventions strategies. A cross-sectional research design was employed, involving 56 participants (19% girls, 81% boys) with a mean age of 12 years. Diagnosis was made using the structured parent interview Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R). Psychopathology, namely externalizing behaviour, was examined in participants using the Childhood Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). Social cognition was identified using the Social Cognitive Skills Test (SCST). The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) was used to evaluate expressive language skills with the subtest 'Formulated sentences'. The study offers valuable insights that may contribute to improved quality of life, mainly for boys with ASD aged 9 to 18 years seeking clinical help. One specific finding that may contribute to this is that expressive language skills can be improved indirectly by creating effective signalling, prevention, and intervention methods for social cognition (ToM), which in turn can enhance communication and interaction with others. Expressive language skills and ToM showed no association with externalising behaviour in this study. However, it is possible that these elements are indirectly related to other aspects of social cognition or to the broader group of people with ASD or gender. More research, especially longitudinal studies, are needed to better understand the complex dynamics to reduce externalising behaviour and prevent its associated adverse effects.Show less
Background: Childhood emotional maltreatment by a primary caregiver is a key predictor for PTSD symptoms, yet limited research explores connections with specific symptoms, especially in children....Show moreBackground: Childhood emotional maltreatment by a primary caregiver is a key predictor for PTSD symptoms, yet limited research explores connections with specific symptoms, especially in children. Literature reports gender differences on emotional maltreatment and the experience of PTSD, so it is worth investigating the existence of differences when looking at separate symptoms. Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between childhood emotional maltreatment and PTSD symptomatology and identify gender differences in children and adolescents. Method: A sample of 237 children (mean age 15.5) with PTSD symptoms from a Dutch mental health institution (2012-2015) underwent assessment using anonymous questionnaires. Network analysis examined partial correlations between emotional abuse, neglect, intrusions, avoidance, arousal, and negative mood. Results: The network analysis showed a high correlation between emotional abuse and most PTSD symptoms. However, emotional neglect only exhibited a strong association with emotional abuse. Gender differences in how emotional maltreatment and PTSD symptoms interacted were found. Girls reported higher PTSD symptoms and emotional maltreatment than boys. Conclusions: This study highlights the important role of childhood emotional maltreatment in the development of PTSD, among children and adolescents. These results emphasize the need for the customization of PTSD treatment based on the type of maltreatment and gender.Show less
There are many instruments available to measure parental sensitivity, however each has its own limitations. In search of a more efficient instrument, an adapted mini-MBQS is proposed, in which...Show moreThere are many instruments available to measure parental sensitivity, however each has its own limitations. In search of a more efficient instrument, an adapted mini-MBQS is proposed, in which parents sort the cards instead of professionals. In this study, parent’s accuracy to report about their own parental sensitivity with this adapted Q-sort was explored. Additionally, it has been explored whether sex of the parent and parental reflective functioning influence parent’s accuracy on the Q-sort. To answer these questions, two online home visits were conducted with twenty parent-child pairs. During the home visits parent and child played together. Afterwards, the parent sorted the Q-sort about how sensitive s/he thought s/he was to the child during the play task. The play task was recorded and later coded on parental sensitivity with the Ainsworth Maternal Sensitivity Scale by a professional. Furthermore, parents filled in a questionnaire between the two online home visits, which contained questions about the family’s background and parental reflective functioning. The results from parent-reported and observed sensitivity were compared, which showed a positive, but weak and non-significant correlation of .22, suggesting a mismatch between parent’s own judgement and that of a professional about the level of sensitive parenting. Next, two ANCOVAs were conducted and showed that sex of the parent (F (1,16) < .01; p = .95) and parental reflective functioning (F (1,16) = .06; p = .81) did not moderate the relationship between observed and parent-reported sensitivity. From these results, it can be concluded that parents are not accurate when reporting about their parental sensitivity with the Q-sort. In addition, the results showed that gender or self-reported level of parental reflective functioning do not influence this accuracy. Therefore, it is not recommended to use the current form of the adapted MBQS as an instrument to measure parental sensitivity.Show less
Parental sensitivity refers to the degree to which parents are aware of their child’s signals, and respond quickly and appropriately to those signals. This parental sensitivity plays an important...Show moreParental sensitivity refers to the degree to which parents are aware of their child’s signals, and respond quickly and appropriately to those signals. This parental sensitivity plays an important role in raising children. In this study, correlations between sensitive parenting, parental self-confidence in raising children, child temperament and child age were investigated. Twenty-one parents participated in an online meeting in which they played for eight minutes with their 3-5 year-old child. Two to four weeks after the first meeting, parents participated in a second online meeting in which they also played for eight minutes with their child. After the first meeting, parents filled in a questionnaire about their sensitivity, their self-confidence in raising their child, and child temperament. The following questions were investigated: ‘are parental self-confidence in raising children and parental sensitivity correlated?’; ‘is child temperament or parental self-confidence in raising children more closely correlated with parental sensitivity?’; and ‘to what extent does child temperament affect the correlation between child age and parental sensitivity?’. Using a correlation, multiple regression and moderator analysis, no correlations were found. Parental sensitivity was not correlated to parental self-confidence in raising children, child temperament or child age. These results indicate that interventions for increasing parental sensitivity must not focus on parental self-confidence or child temperament, but for example on how parents can practice sensitive parenting or how parents can react sensitively when their child is angry.Show less
Teenagers spend a lot of time online, which may cause worry to their parents as the internet can bring a lot of risks. To protect their children from these dangers, parents might implement rules or...Show moreTeenagers spend a lot of time online, which may cause worry to their parents as the internet can bring a lot of risks. To protect their children from these dangers, parents might implement rules or restrictions of phone use for their teenagers. These restrictions can keep them away from risky apps or reduce their time online. However, it is unknown if these restrictions result in less encounters of dangerous situations. This study focusses specifically on exposure to sexual content online. The aim of this study is to find out if there is a relation between phone restrictions someone might have had while growing up and exposure to sexual online content. Participants were asked to anonymously fill in an online questionnaire about their online experiences and possible phone restrictions. Using this data, an ordinal regression analysis was used to examine the relation between the presence of phone restrictions and the exposure to sexual content online. In addition, this study looks if there is a relation between what type of restriction someone might have had and the type of online exposure to sexual content: unwanted exposure and wanted exposure for the participant. The results of this study have found no significant effect, implying there is no relationship between the presence of phone restrictions and exposure to online sexual content. Furthermore, no evidence was found to indicate a relationship between the type of restrictions and wanted exposure to online sexual content. Only a significant, positive relationship was found between a limited screen time and wanted exposure to online sexual content.Show less
During this study, the decision-making process of ‘de Jeugdbeschermingstafel’ in complex divorce was examined. ‘De Jeugdbeschermingstafel’ from the Netherlands is a multidisciplinary meeting there...Show moreDuring this study, the decision-making process of ‘de Jeugdbeschermingstafel’ in complex divorce was examined. ‘De Jeugdbeschermingstafel’ from the Netherlands is a multidisciplinary meeting there professionals from various fields and parents come together to assess and discuss the well-being and safety of a child or young person who may be at risk. At ‘de Jeugdbeschermingstafel’, an assessment is conducted to determine the necessity of conducting a counsil investigation (‘raadsonderzoek’). It was examined whether this decision-making differs between families with a high or low socioeconomic status who are going through a complex divorce. The main question of study was: ‘To what extent is a complex divorce related to a custody investigation, and is this relationship moderated by the socioeconomic status of parents?’ To investigate this question a correlational research design was used. For this study, various research requests from ‘de Jeugdbeschermingstafel’ across the Netherlands were investigated. These research requests had been anonymized, read and coded. Seventy-one requests of investigations have been utilized. The distribution between complex divorce and non-complex divorce cases, as well as between socio-economic disadvantage and no socio-economic disadvantage could be improved. It was expected that a counseling investigation would be chosen more often for families going through complex divorce than for families without complex divorces, particularly in cases of high socioeconomic status, as these divorces tend to be more prolonged. Results showed that ‘de Jeugdbeschermingstafel’ does not indicate custody investigation more often for families with complex divorces, than it does in families without complex divorces. Furthermore, this relationship is not moderated by the socioeconomic status of families. However, due to the use of a small sample, this conclusion may be challenging to generalize to the broader population.Show less
Background. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common forms of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), and has a high incidence rate across the world. Following TBI, many patients experience...Show moreBackground. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common forms of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), and has a high incidence rate across the world. Following TBI, many patients experience cognitive complaints, as well as physical complaints about their health. Their general wellbeing can also be an issue. Fortunately, for most patients these complaints typically improve over time. This study investigates patients’ memory, concentration, energy, as well as general wellbeing, over time. Methods. Patients received questionnaires about their health and wellbeing every three months following hospital release, with the main goal to track their health and wellbeing after TBI. That data was used for this research. Energy, concentration, and memory were all measured by one question in the questionnaire. General wellbeing was measured by taking the average ratings of all questions on the questionnaire. Analyses were done with three and six questionnaires over time, using repeated measures ANOVAs. Descriptive statistics were used from the first questionnaire. Results. This study found that while patients rated all these measures on average positively, they still did not feel the same as before the injury, and most experienced hindrances in daily life. When looking at the ANOVAs with three questionnaires, there was a significant improvement on concentration, energy, as well as general wellbeing over time. For all of these, most improvement took place between the first and the second questionnaires. Memory did not change significantly over time. None of the ANOVAs with six questionnaires had any significant changes over time. Conclusion. This study shows that patients may suffer from long-lasting effects of TBI. It questions whether more should be done for these patients following hospital release, to alleviate symptoms. This study has limitations concerning selection bias and drop out.Show less
Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in young children, underscoring the need for early prevention. To prevent anxiety disorders in young behaviourally inhibited children a parent-focused...Show moreAnxiety disorders are highly prevalent in young children, underscoring the need for early prevention. To prevent anxiety disorders in young behaviourally inhibited children a parent-focused prevention program called ‘Cool Little Kids’ has been developed. Previous research indicated that both parental engagement and parental anxiety can influence the effectiveness of such programs. Yet, research on the interplay between these factors is limited. Therefore, we investigated the mediating effect of engagement on the relationship between parental anxiety and the effectiveness of ‘Cool Little Kids’. The current study is part of the CLK research project performed by Leiden University. Participants were parents of behaviourally inhibited children between the ages of two and six (N = 42). Parents were interviewed before and after the training about the anxiety of the child, completed a questionnaire about their own anxiety, and were observed during the training to assess parental engagement. Mediation analyses were performed to investigate our hypotheses. No significant meditating effects between parental anxiety, parental engagement and the reduction of the child’s anxiety were found. However, results indicated that parental anxiety had a negative effect on the reduction of the child’s social anxiety. This suggests that CLK should possibly be adapted towards anxious parents of socially anxious children. Furthermore, parental engagement positively influenced the reduction of the child’s separation anxiety. This could be explained by the more central role of parents in separation anxiety but can also suggest that CLK is more suitable for reducing separation anxiety symptoms compared to symptoms of specific phobias and social anxiety and therefore needs adaptation. These results should be handled with care because the current study had several limitations, like a small sample, no control group and many analyses were performed without correction. So, extensive research is necessary to confirm our findings. In conclusion, our findings suggest that in general, parental anxiety and parental engagement do not influence the reduction of the child’s anxiety after CLK. Prevention programs such as CLK are essential to prevent anxiety disorders from occurring and therefore research is needed to improve the effectiveness of these programs.Show less
