In the past decades, methylphenidate has gained widespread popularity onto the pharmacological market, directed toward individuals with a diagnosis of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD...Show moreIn the past decades, methylphenidate has gained widespread popularity onto the pharmacological market, directed toward individuals with a diagnosis of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and even human immunodeficiency virus infections. This cognitive enhancer exerts its effects by binding to the dopamine transporter, resulting in heightened extracellular dopamine levels. However, the psychophysiological side-effects associated with this medication are not yet fully understood. The present study delves deeper into erratic psychophysiological side-effects, including psychosis, mood changes, experiences of seizures, tics and the development of skin rashes. Our primary objectives were twofold. Firstly, we aimed at exploring the frequency of adverse symptom perception in individuals receiving methylphenidate as treatment. Secondly, we sought to investigate the potential impact of treatment duration on symptom perception, and examine any potential correlation between the two. To achieve this, we implemented an online version of ‘The Methylphenidate monitoring side effects scale’ (MMSES), with a total of 135 participants, 22 belonging to the experimental group, with prescribed medication, and 113 to the control group, not receiving medication. The results of our study revealed that adverse symptom perception did not significantly differ between the experimental and the control group, (t = 0.31, p = .852). However, psychotic symptoms were significantly lower in the control group in comparison to the experimental group (t = 0.56, p = .041). Additionally, the correlational analysis demonstrated a non-significant relationship between treatment duration and symptom perception (r(20) = .21, p = .353). These preliminary findings need to be followed up by future research and require to be interpreted with caution due to a possibly confounding effect of age differences and other limitations. Future directions may comprise the inclusion of neuroimaging techniques to identify the pathophysiological changes associated with methylphenidate administration, and a larger sample size.Show less
Childhood maltreatment is associated with dissociative symptoms in adulthood. However, there are only few empirical studies that differentiate between the different forms of childhood maltreatment...Show moreChildhood maltreatment is associated with dissociative symptoms in adulthood. However, there are only few empirical studies that differentiate between the different forms of childhood maltreatment which is why it continues to be unclear in what way they may have differing consequences. Moreover, the role of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms in this context is not yet fully understood. In this study, the relationship between the severity of different forms of childhood maltreatment and dissociative symptoms was investigated. Further, it was investigated whether symptoms of BPD account for a significant part of these associations. Deepening this understanding may be helpful in improving prevention and intervention of dissociative disorders. Two datasets were used in this study. The first dataset was collected in The Netherlands and comprised n = 761 individuals. The second dataset was collected in Germany and comprised n = 426 individuals. Linear regression analysis was used to predict the severity of dissociation symptoms based on the severity of childhood maltreatment when accounting for BPD symptoms. Childhood maltreatment predicted dissociation in both datasets. In the first sample, emotional and physical abuse significantly predicted dissociation, with emotional abuse positively predicting dissociation and physical abuse negatively predicting dissociation. In the second dataset, emotional and sexual abuse positively predicted dissociation. In both samples, adding BPD scores accounted for up to 30% of explained variance in the dissociation scores. This study underlines the importance of childhood maltreatment and BPD in the understanding and exploration of dissociation.Show less
Background: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is frequently understood as a condition associated with aggressive behavior, while the contributing factors are less understood. Based on the...Show moreBackground: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is frequently understood as a condition associated with aggressive behavior, while the contributing factors are less understood. Based on the existing literature, it was suggested that impulsivity and acute dissociation might be important factors promoting aggressive behavior in BPD. The main objective of the study was to experimentally test a mediation model, in which higher BPD symptomatology would be associated with increased behavioral aggression, mediated by impulsivity and dissociation. Methods: In an all-female sample (N = 87), 29 individuals diagnosed with BPD were compared against 28 clinical controls (CC, diagnosis of ADHD without comorbid BPD) and 30 healthy controls (HC). Participants were tested baseline and in an experimentally induced stress condition. Aggression was assessed with the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP), impulsivity with the GoStop impulsivity paradigm and the Immediate Memory Task (IMT), and dissociation was measured with the Dissociative Stress Scale (DSS-4). Results: Individuals with BPD did not display higher rates of provoked aggression than the CC and HC groups. Furthermore, aggression was not mediated by either impulsivity (GoStop task), dissociation, or both in a serial mediation. An additional exploratory analysis yielded a significant mediation effect via impulsivity when measured with the IMT. Conclusion: A current diagnosis with BPD was not associated with elevated levels of aggression compared to healthy and clinical controls. The fact that one indicator of impulsivity yielded a significant mediation effect informs future research and entails implications for the treatment of BPD.Show less
Adaptive emotion regulation is crucial in all aspects of life and includes processes through which individuals influence the occurrence, timing, nature, experience, and expression of their emotions...Show moreAdaptive emotion regulation is crucial in all aspects of life and includes processes through which individuals influence the occurrence, timing, nature, experience, and expression of their emotions. The family environment plays an important role in the development of emotion regulation strategies and can affect it through various routes. In this study, we aimed to test the association of parental psychological control (PC) and adolescent cognitive and behavioral emotion regulation strategies. In addition, we investigated if childhood emotional maltreatment (EM) moderated the proposed relationship. It was expected that parental psychological control and emotional maltreatment would both be negatively related to emotion regulation. Additionally, we expected less adaptive emotion regulation strategies in adolescents with high parental psychological control and experiences of childhood emotional maltreatment. The proposed relationships were expected to differ for cognitive and behavioral emotion regulation and for the two different interaction tasks between parents and adolescents. The current sample consisted of 80 healthy adolescents (64% girls) and 137 parents, with the majority having Caucasian heritage (91%). We used a cross-sectional online survey to assess emotional maltreatment and emotion regulation. Psychological control was observed and coded during two on-sight interaction tasks. We analyzed the data with multiple linear regression analyses. None of the proposed associations were found to be significant. Therefore, it remains unclear whether parental psychological control relates to maladaptive adolescent emotion regulation and the extent to which emotional maltreatment may moderate this relationship. However, using data from healthy adolescents might have biased our results. Differences with other studies and implications for future research are discussed.Show less
Objective: Loneliness has become an increasingly common phenomenon due to lockdowns put in place to minimize spread of COVID-19. The current body of literature suggests the relationship between...Show moreObjective: Loneliness has become an increasingly common phenomenon due to lockdowns put in place to minimize spread of COVID-19. The current body of literature suggests the relationship between loneliness and various Big-5 personality dimensions, except openness to experience. The current study aimed to fill this gap by investigating if there is a predictive effect of 1) openness to experience and 2) tolerance to uncertainty on loneliness during COVID-19 pandemic. It also aimed to investigate if this relation is influenced by gender. Methods: Responses from 349 participants were collected in anonymous online surveys at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim and at Leiden University. The survey was posted at online platforms and distributed amongst social media and the University Research Systems. Openness was assessed with the 10-Item Big Five Inventory (BFI10). Loneliness was measured with UCLA loneliness scale (ULS8). Intolerance of uncertainty was assessed with the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (UI18). Results: The results showed that higher BFI10 scores predicted higher ULS8 scores (loneliness) (B = .066, SE= .031, p =.036, 95% CI= [.004, .128]). Similarly, higher UI18 scores (intolerance of uncertainty) predicted higher scores on ULS8 (loneliness) (B = .298 , SE= .036, p =<.001, 95% CI= [.228, .369]). There was no significant effect of gender on loneliness. Conclusions: Our results show the importance of the personality trait openness and intolerance of uncertainty in predicting loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further investigation is is important to study this relationship using longitudinal designs and accounting for other personality characteristics.Show less
Objective: Research on loneliness suggests that loneliness increases physical and mental health concerns. This study aimed to investigate the predictor role of psychological distress, childhood...Show moreObjective: Research on loneliness suggests that loneliness increases physical and mental health concerns. This study aimed to investigate the predictor role of psychological distress, childhood trauma, mistrust, and the living situation on loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic to identify vulnerable groups. Methods: 349 participants took part in this cross-sectional study. They completed online selfquestionnaires assessing their level of loneliness, psychological distress, childhood trauma, mistrust, and living situation. The study was conducted online during September 2020 and April 2021 at the Universities of Leiden (the Netherlands) and Mannheim (Germany). Most of the respondents were 18-25 years old university students from 30 different nationalities. Results: The results indicated that childhood trauma (B =.074, SE =.012 t = 6.29, p < .05) and psychological distress (B = .007, SE = .003, t = 2.11, p < .05) predict loneliness while mistrust (B = -.074, SE =.044, t = -1.68, p = .092) does not. The effect of psychological distress became insignificant, when controlling for the other predictor variables (β = .003, SE =.003 t = 1.11, p =.26). No significant effect was found on loneliness score between two categories of living situation (F(1,347) =.64, p =.424, ηp 2 =.002). There was no significant interaction between childhood trauma and psychological distress. Conclusions: The current study highlights that experiencing childhood trauma is a risk factor for the feeling of loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prospective research is needed to fully understand the reasons and consequences of loneliness and its relationship with possible risk factors.Show less
Every year, around 800.000 people die from suicide. Previous studies suggest that having a history of childhood maltreatment is a key predictor of suicide attempts. One in ten children go through...Show moreEvery year, around 800.000 people die from suicide. Previous studies suggest that having a history of childhood maltreatment is a key predictor of suicide attempts. One in ten children go through psychological abuse, also known as emotional maltreatment. Emotional maltreatment is the most common form of childhood abuse, which often leads to difficulties in emotion regulation strategies (DERS). Moreover, a disorder that has been commonly associated with DERS is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Suicide rates are high amongst this disorder. Therapy has been shown to improve suicidality by a great level, specifically when it was targeted at thoughts and behavior. This study focusses on the effects of childhood emotional maltreatment, BPD symptoms, former treatment and DERS on suicide attempts. In 406 participants, multiple standardized questionnaires and structured clinical interviews have been taken to investigate the effects of abuse, emotion regulation and therapy on suicide attempts. Our results show that emotional abuse influences suicide attempts in all participants, regardless of BPD symptoms. Moreover, the participants who did not have therapy, the results showed a significant relationship with suicide attempts. These findings suggest that DERS may be an important treatment target for preventing suicidal events in those with child emotional abuse.Show less
Various forms of anxiety, including state and trait cognitive test anxiety, are associated with disruptions in an individual’s cognitive task performance via its detrimental effects on attentional...Show moreVarious forms of anxiety, including state and trait cognitive test anxiety, are associated with disruptions in an individual’s cognitive task performance via its detrimental effects on attentional control capacity of individuals. These disruptions become more evident when the individual is under stress. Frontal EEG theta/beta ratio (TBR) has been suggested to reflect individuals’ baseline attentional control capacity. Furthermore, caffeine has been associated with facilitating or impairing attentional control processes, depending on individuals’ baseline prefrontal cortex functioning. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effects of caffeine on an individual’s working memory (WM) task performance under stress, based on their baseline TBR and anxiety vulnerability. An n-back task was used to assess WM task performance after experimentally induced acute performance stress in a betweensubjects design where the caffeine (200mg) and placebo manipulation was double-blinded, and the sample composed of 120 simulated data. Results of this study are based on synthetic data because of the inability to collect data during covid-19 lockdown. Results showed a moderation of TBR on caffeine: for people with high TBR at baseline (i.e. low attentional control capacity) caffeine boosted WM performance efficiency; while for people with low TBR at baseline (i.e. high attentional control capacity) caffeine disrupted WM performance efficiency. Results provide further support for TBR to be an indicator of attentional control capacity as well as underlining the importance of taking baseline prefrontal functioning of individuals into account when investigating the effects of caffeine on cognitive task performance as previously reported.Show less
Background: Emotion regulation difficulties and impulsive aggression are common occurrences in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) patients,...Show moreBackground: Emotion regulation difficulties and impulsive aggression are common occurrences in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) patients, often leading to interpersonal problems. Traumatic childhood experiences may further negatively affect adaptive functioning and quality of life in these populations in various ways. The current study aimed to elucidate the relationships between these three factors, specifically investigating if emotion regulation difficulties predict impulsive aggression and if childhood trauma severity moderates this relationship. Methods: A total of 87 all-female participants aged 18-50, divided into healthy control (HC) (n = 30), BPD (n = 29), and ADHD (n = 28) groups, completed two self-report questionnaires; the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Additionally, the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) was applied, which assesses impulsive aggressive behaviors in response to provocation. Results: Neither patient group scored higher on measures of impulsive aggression than controls, and emotion regulation difficulties did not predict impulsive aggression. A model where childhood trauma severity moderates the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and impulsive aggression was also insignificant. Unexpectedly, childhood trauma severity did positively predict impulsive aggression on its own. Conclusions: The fact that these results partially contradict previous research calls for replications of this study with more representative samples and in-depth analyses of the factors involved (e.g. taking into account differences between various types of aggression, emotion regulation skills, or abuse/neglect). The finding that childhood trauma severity predicts impulsive aggression appears to be a relative novelty, and should be investigated further.Show less
Suicide attempts are highly prevalent in borderline personality disorder (BPD), whereas risk factors still remain to be discovered. There is empirical evidence that childhood trauma might predict...Show moreSuicide attempts are highly prevalent in borderline personality disorder (BPD), whereas risk factors still remain to be discovered. There is empirical evidence that childhood trauma might predict suicide attempts. The biosocial model by Linehan assumes that childhood abuse causes emotion dysregulation, which leads to dysfunctional behavior patterns, such as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts. Still, the mechanisms underlying these links are not entirely understood. Therefore, it was investigated whether the link between childhood trauma and suicide attempts is mediated by difficulties in emotion regulation as well as NSSI in BPD. The results showed that difficulties in emotion regulation and NSSI indeed mediate the link between childhood trauma and suicide attempts, whereas non-significant results were obtained for a serial mediation model. Overall, both difficulties in emotion regulation and NSSI seem to be significantly related to suicide attempts in individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment. To conclude, given the correlational design of this study, the causal interplay of these factors remains to be discovered.Show less
