Introduction: Parental sensitivity has been shown to be important for a child’s healthy development. Most research on parenting has been conducted with mothers, with research on fathering lagging...Show moreIntroduction: Parental sensitivity has been shown to be important for a child’s healthy development. Most research on parenting has been conducted with mothers, with research on fathering lagging behind. In the present study, we, therefore, focused on fathers. It was examined whether the use of an intervention that stimulated physical contact, i.e., a baby carrier, would increase fathers’ sensitivity, and whether this association was mediated by testosterone. Method: Participants in this study were 38 men (Mean age = 34.60, SD = 5.02) who recently became fathers. Infant age ranged from 8 to 12 weeks old at the start of the intervention. Fathers were asked to use a baby carrier for 21 days. Sensitivity was observed before and after the intervention in a free play setting. Use of the baby carrier was measured with warmth sensors on the baby carrier. Testosterone levels are measured by taking saliva samples. Results: Men used the baby carrier on average 33 minutes per day. Results showed no relation between the use of the baby carrier (i.e. physical contact) and testosterone and no relation between testosterone and sensitivity. This means that the relationship between physical contact and sensitivity was therefore not mediated by testosterone. Conclusion: Low levels of baby carrier use may not be enough to increase sensitivity in fathers. In addition, future research could include a larger and more diverse sample to examine the relations between physical contact, testosterone and sensitivity.Show less
There is limited knowledge about the specific role of cognitive functions in the compliance of toddlers. The aim of this study was to provide an insight in the relation between compliance of...Show moreThere is limited knowledge about the specific role of cognitive functions in the compliance of toddlers. The aim of this study was to provide an insight in the relation between compliance of toddlers and their cognitive functions. The relationships between emotion recognition, executive functioning and compliance were measured in a population-based cohort study (n =280). Compliance was assessed with the ´don’t task´ when the toddlers were 36 months old. The behavior was coded using a system that differentiated between six dimensions. Emotion recognition was assessed at 36 months in a computerized emotion-labeling task. At 48 months the executive functioning of the toddlers was assessed by using the specific version of the ‘Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-P)’ for children between 3 and 5 years old. Parents have completed this questionnaire. It was expected that both emotion recognition and executive functioning were related to compliance. It was also hypothesized that emotion recognition moderated the relation between compliance and executive functioning. There was no significant relation between compliance and emotion recognition. In addition, there was no difference in the accuracy of recognition of positive and negative emotions. There was a significant relation between compliance and executive functioning. Not all subscales of executive functioning were related to compliance. The only subscales related to compliance were inhibition, working memory and planning and organization. Emotion recognition did not moderate the relationship between executive functioning and compliance. The findings of this study suggest that there are certain cognitive functions of toddlers that are related to their compliance. Future research should also focus on other cognitive functions, for example on ‘Theory of Mind’. In addition, there should be more research to validate the results of this study.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-10-10T00:00:00Z
We investigated the year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in residential and foster care and compared it with prevalence rates in the general population. We used two approaches to estimate...Show moreWe investigated the year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in residential and foster care and compared it with prevalence rates in the general population. We used two approaches to estimate the prevalence of CSA. First, 264 professionals working in residential or foster care (sentinels) reported CSA for the children they worked with (N = 6,281). Second, 329 adolescents staying in residential or foster care reported on their own experiences with CSA. Sentinels and adolescents were randomly selected from 82 Dutch youth care facilities. We found that 4.3 per 1000 children had been victims of CSA based on sentinel reports. In addition, 248 per 1000 adolescents reported having experienced CSA. Results based on both sentinel and self-report revealed higher prevalence rates in youth care than in the general population, with the highest prevalence in residential care. Prevalence rates in foster care did not differ from the general population. We conclude that residential placements should remain a last resort. Unfortunately foster care does not effectively protect children against sexual abuse either, and thus its quality needs to be further improved.Show less
Previous research found a broad range of postnatal parental risk factors for the development of internalizing problems in children, but much remained unclear about the influence of prenatal...Show morePrevious research found a broad range of postnatal parental risk factors for the development of internalizing problems in children, but much remained unclear about the influence of prenatal parental characteristics on child internalizing problems. In the current study it is proposed that prenatal maternal (family) stress is associated with postnatal maternal characteristics (i.e. maternal depressive symptoms and maternal parenting stress), thereby posing a risk for the development of internalizing problem scores in young children. First, gender differences on child internalizing problem scores were tested. Furthermore, the moderating role of child gender in the association between prenatal maternal family stress and child internalizing problem scores was examined. Finally, the mediating roles of maternal depressive symptoms and maternal parenting stress in the association between prenatal maternal family stress and child internalizing problem scores were examined in a multiple mediation model. The current study was conducted within the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort from fetal life onwards. Mothers reported on prenatal family stress at 20 weeks of gestation, depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum, parenting stress at 18 months postpartum, and child internalizing problem scores were measured when the child was 3 years of age. In the present study, 2,776 families participated. The proposed multiple mediation model was tested using bootstrapping analyses. No significant gender differences were found for child internalizing problem scores. In addition, results showed that child gender did not moderate the association between prenatal family stress and child internalizing problem scores. Furthermore, results supported the proposed multiple mediation model. The association between prenatal maternal family stress and child internalizing problem scores was partly mediated through maternal depressive symptoms and parenting stress. In conclusion, we found that lower levels of family functioning experienced by mothers prenatally placed children at risk of developing internalizing problem scores. In addition, we found that part of this association was explained by maternal postnatal depressive symptoms, and maternal postnatal parenting stress.Show less
