Sensitive parenting is important for promoting the parent-child relationship and children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental factors related to sensitive parenting are...Show moreSensitive parenting is important for promoting the parent-child relationship and children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental factors related to sensitive parenting are depression and parental self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between depression and sensitive parenting, and whether parental self-efficacy mediates this association. Participants were 17 Dutch mothers and 4 Dutch fathers of children aged 3-5 years. Parents played 5-10 minutes with their child during two measurement moments, while the researcher was present through a Microsoft Teams connection. A video of the playing was recorded. In between the two measurement moments, parents completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-questionnaire (CES-D) and the Me as a Parent-questionnaire (MaaP). Afterwards, the video recordings were encoded according to the Ainsworth sensitivity scale. Only the relation between depression and sensitivity was significant, where depression was positively related to sensitivity. There was no indication found for a mediational role of parental self-efficacy in the relation between depression and sensitivity. Explanatory theories, limitations and practical implications were discussed. Future research will have to show which other factors can explain these unexpected findings.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
closed access
Both youth with a substance use disorder (SUD) and youth who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show heightened vulnerability to psychopathology. We aimed to quantify the risk of...Show moreBoth youth with a substance use disorder (SUD) and youth who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show heightened vulnerability to psychopathology. We aimed to quantify the risk of comorbid disorders in SUD youth with ACE-history. Additionally, we aimed to examine relations between ACEs, overall household experience, and general distress. We used cross-sectional YIT-study data from interviews with Dutch youth (aged 16-22) upon SUD treatment entry for cannabis, alcohol, or stimulant use. We measured ACE-types experienced up until 15 years of age, past-year DSM-5 disorders, general distress (DASS-21), and overall household experience rating. Logistic regressions quantified relations between ACE sum score and anxiety, depressive, behavior, and any disorder. Higher ACE sum scores related to increased risks for a(n) anxiety (OR = 1.12, highest odds = 2.84; χ2(1) = 6.71, p < .010; Nagelkerke R2 = 0.2), depressive (OR = 1.21, highest odds = 5.43; χ2(1) = 18.11, p < .001; Nagelkerke R2 = 0.6), behavior (OR = 1.20, highest odds = 5.24; χ2(1) = 17.41, p < .001; Nagelkerke R2 = 0.6), and any (OR = 1.25, highest odds = 7.58; χ2(1) = 17.26, p < .001; Nagelkerke R2 = 0.7) disorder. Exploratory analyses revealed that frequency of parental fighting, being hit/abused, getting belittled, emotional neglect, physical neglect, insufficient household income, long parental sickness, and overall household experience positively related to DASS-21. In a hierarchical regression analysis with all ACEs and overall household experience, only emotional neglect related to DASS-21 (B = 3.68, t(373) = 2.41, p = .017). Overall household experience did not improve the model (F(12) = 3.51, p < .001; R2change < .001). In hierarchical regression analyses containing ACE sum score and overall household experience, overall household experience was not uniquely related to DASS-21 (t = -0.22, p = .824; R2change < .01). In conclusion, ACEs relate to comorbid disorders in SUD youth. Our exploratory research suggests that ACE frequency might influence this relation, while overall household experience does not further explain this relation. Further research should investigate which ACE measures (a.o., type, frequency) strongly relate to SUDs and psychopathology and examine improved treatment options.Show less
Research shows that many students don’t have enough reading comprehension to understand texts. One way of improving students’ reading comprehension could be by providing feedback to students while...Show moreResearch shows that many students don’t have enough reading comprehension to understand texts. One way of improving students’ reading comprehension could be by providing feedback to students while they answer questions about a text. To use feedback efficiently in the future, it’s important to know how elaborate effective feedback should be. Considering this, the current study examined the relation between feedback and the use of reading strategies in general, and for the use of reading strategies while reading a text. Moreover, the relation between the amount of information provided in the feedback and the use of reading strategies was examined. Experimental data of 97 participants aged 10 and 11 years (52.6% boys, M = 10.45, SD = 0.52) was collected using questionnaires, namely the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory and the Task-Specific Strategy Self-Report. Participants were pre- and post-tested and had three intervention sessions. They were randomly assigned to a condition, namely no feedback, short feedback, or elaborate feedback. During the intervention sessions, participants had to read a text, and answer questions about the text. Depending on their condition, they either received feedback or not. If they did, the amount of information in the feedback differed. Every session ended with a questionnaire. Using SPSS, two repeated measures ANOVA were completed. According to the results, there was no relation between feedback and the use of reading strategies. Furthermore, no differences were found for the different amounts of information in feedback and the use of reading strategies. The biggest limitation of the current study was the lack of a motivational component in the used intervention. Therefore, future research should use motivation as part of the intervention to investigate if feedback could help in improving the use of reading strategies for youth aged 10 to 11.Show less
Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression among young people are a growing public health problem worldwide. To address this effectively, it’s important to understand to what extend...Show moreMental health problems such as anxiety and depression among young people are a growing public health problem worldwide. To address this effectively, it’s important to understand to what extend factors such as academic stress, parental expectations and family well-being influence the development of anxiety and mood disorders. Relatively little is known about the anxiety and worry experienced by early adolescent children and the extent to which this is culture dependent. The present study sought insight in the worries of children aged 10-12 years from Western and non-Western cultural backgrounds. In addition, the extent to which internalizing symptoms are related to achievement anxiety, parental expectations and family well-being was examined. This was done by interviewing 74 Indian children (M = 10.92 ; SD = 0.75) and 69 Dutch (M = 11.17 ; SD = 0.92) children using the Cultural Formulation Interview. In addition, the amount of internalizing complaints and family welfare were determined using RCADS and FASIII. Results showed that children from India more often experienced achievement-oriented anxiety than Dutch children, and that this was associated with a greater amount of internalizing symptoms. The parental expectations that Indian children experienced were often achievement-oriented expectations regarding school or future profession, whereas the parental expectations of Dutch children were more often focused on being able to show responsibility for tasks. This might be explained by the values transmitted from parent to child within individualistic and collectivistic culture. Evidence exists that cultural values remain present when families from collectivist cultures move to a country with a more individualistic culture. It is therefore extremely important to be aware of these cross-cultural differences within mental health care, as well as education, when dealing with adolescents with anxiety and mood problems.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
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This thesis explores the relationship between humans and non-humans within a sea turtle conservation organization in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Through eleven weeks of in-depth visual ethnographic...Show moreThis thesis explores the relationship between humans and non-humans within a sea turtle conservation organization in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Through eleven weeks of in-depth visual ethnographic fieldwork, I investigate the influence these human/non-human relationships have on scientific knowledge production. The output of this research consists of an ethnographic film ‘The Turtle Team’ and this article. This research underscores the necessity of adopting transdisciplinary methodologies in which non-humans are integrated, which is crucial in the era of the Anthropocene. It provides a nuanced understanding of how human/non-human relationships shape the production of scientific knowledge in this team of conservationists and emphasizes the interwovenness of humans and non-humans. This research contributes to the existing literature on the Anthropocene and the nature-culture debate and I argue that the interwovenness of humans and non-humans should be discussed more within scientific research, especially in conservation biology.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
closed access
Doven en slechthorenden worden door de maatschappij op een bepaalde manier geclassificeerd en dit heeft gevolgen voor de mogelijkheden die zij hebben in de maatschappij. Deze scriptie gaat in op de...Show moreDoven en slechthorenden worden door de maatschappij op een bepaalde manier geclassificeerd en dit heeft gevolgen voor de mogelijkheden die zij hebben in de maatschappij. Deze scriptie gaat in op de manier waarop doven en slechthorenden worden gezien. Hierbij zal vanuit verschillende perspectieven worden gekeken wat het inhoudt om doof te zijn. De perspectieven van de horende maatschappij zullen tegenover die van de doven en slechthorenden worden gezet. Het perspectief van de horende maatschappij is op dit moment dominant. Om te analyseren waarom dit het geval is zal worden gekeken hoe de horende maatschappij het zintuig horen waardeert. Vervolgens zal worden gekeken hoe doven en slechthorenden in het dagelijks leven functioneren zonder het zintuig horen. Zij bewijzen dat het zintuig horen niet nodig is om goed te kunnen functioneren in de maatschappij. Op dit moment leven doven en slechthorenden in een wereld die niet altijd toegankelijk is. Er worden wel veranderingen gedaan om de maatschappij toegankelijker te maken, maar zijn dit wel de veranderingen die doven en slechthorenden zelf graag zien? Er is sprake van een spanningsveld tussen doven en slechthorenden en de horende maatschappij en dit spanningsveld zal in deze scriptie worden geanalyseerd.Show less
Dutch law mandates that every secondary special education school develops post-secondary transition plans for their students. Currently, there are no established guidelines for creating these...Show moreDutch law mandates that every secondary special education school develops post-secondary transition plans for their students. Currently, there are no established guidelines for creating these transition plans. This study aimed to investigate two potential factors that could be considered, specifically for students with autism: IQ and social-emotional functioning. To examine the relationship between IQ, social-emotional functioning, and transition plans, this research assessed the correlation between IQ and transition plans, the correlation between social-emotional functioning and transition plans, and whether IQ or social-emotional functioning more strongly predicted transition plans. Recruitment resulted in a sample of n= 14 participants: with n= 13 boys and n= 1 girl. N= 7 was assigned the transition profile Labor and n= 7 was assigned the transition profile Post-Secondary Education, none of the participants were assigned the transition profile Daytime Occupation. This study utilized the developmental prospect plans of the students. Upon data analysis, it was found that there was no significant correlation between IQ and transition planning (p = .428), no significant correlation between social-emotional functioning and transition planning (p = .855), and neither IQ nor social-emotional functioning emerged as a stronger predictor for transition planning. The limitations of the current research were a small sample size, the variability of entries in the developmental prospect plans and the multidimensionality of the variables IQ and social-emotional functioning. Future research should be done to investigate the replicability of the current findings within a bigger sample and the potential of alternative variables that may be associated. Teachers working with students with autism may need additional training to understand the complexities of transition planning beyond the intellectual or social-emotional functioning. Considering these findings, it is concluded that neither IQ nor social-emotional functioning should be used as sole criteria for transition plans for autistic students in secondary special education.Show less
Onderzoek naar de classificatieaccuratesse van Alzheimer is belangrijk om de ziekte in de toekomst beter te kunnen behandelen. In deze scriptie werden twee structurele MRI-maten geëvalueerd: grijze...Show moreOnderzoek naar de classificatieaccuratesse van Alzheimer is belangrijk om de ziekte in de toekomst beter te kunnen behandelen. In deze scriptie werden twee structurele MRI-maten geëvalueerd: grijze stofdichtheid (48 predictoren) en subcorticale volumes (14 predictoren). Deze scriptie onderzocht wat de toegevoegde waarde van subcorticale volumes bovenop grijze stofdichtheid is. Hierbij werd verwacht dat I) grijze stofdichtheid accurater was voor de classificatie van Alzheimer dan subcorticale volumes, maar dat II) subcorticale volumes nog wel iets zouden toevoegen aan grijze stofdichtheid. Om dit te onderzoeken, is data gebruikt van 249 participanten afkomstig uit twee verschillende studies. 76 participanten hadden de diagnose Alzheimer en de overige 173 participanten waren cognitief gezonde ouderen. Er zijn drie modellen gebruikt: een model van grijze stofdichtheid (48 predictoren), een model van subcorticale volumes (14 predictoren) en een combinatiemodel van grijze stofdichtheid en subcorticale volumes (62 predictoren). Voor alle modellen is een logistische regressieanalyse met geneste kruisvalidatie uitgevoerd. Het model van grijze stofdichtheid had een AUC-waarde van 0.897 en een MGA-waarde van 0.822. Het model van subcorticale volumes had een AUC-waarde van 0.807 en een MGA-waarde van 0.769. Het gecombineerde model had een AUCwaarde van 0.897 en een MGA-waarde van 0.841. De eerste hypothese werd bevestigd, aangezien grijze stofdichtheid belangrijker was voor de classificatieaccuratesse dan subcorticale volumes. De tweede hypothese kon niet worden bevestigd, aangezien subcorticale volumes weinig tot niets lijken toe te voegen aan grijze stofdichtheid voor de classificatieaccuratesse van Alzheimer. Deze kennis kan gebruikt worden om toekomstige classificatiemodellen van Alzheimer te verbeteren.Show less
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many activities and platforms have shifted to the virtual realm, including rituals and ceremonies. When it comes to psychedelic rituals, there are several important...Show moreDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, many activities and platforms have shifted to the virtual realm, including rituals and ceremonies. When it comes to psychedelic rituals, there are several important factors to take into account, such as the setting, dosage, and type of substance consumed. This paper examines the effects of virtual ceremonies on psychedelic experiences. The study utilized an online self-report questionnaire that was sent 1-2 days after the ceremony conducted by retreat company Spinoza. The gathered data were analyzed using thematic qualitative analysis. The categorization and themes were agreed upon by two independent researchers. The themes presented relate to the improvement of mental health and physical comfort along with insightful personal journeys. Further evaluation of the research suggested that the findings provide a general idea about the effects of digital format on the psychedelic experience. It has been found that with digital platforms on psychedelic experiences, individuals can experience clarity of unsolved issues, improved self-regulation, as well as improved emotional and mental states.Show less
Inaction inertia occurs when one is less likely to take an attractive opportunity, after refusing an even more attractive opportunity. In their experiment, van Putten and colleagues (2007) tried to...Show moreInaction inertia occurs when one is less likely to take an attractive opportunity, after refusing an even more attractive opportunity. In their experiment, van Putten and colleagues (2007) tried to decouple the inaction inertia effect by using ambiguous information. Their results yielded that ambiguous information did in fact decouple. However, the authors came to these conclusions by using optional stopping and p-hacking. This influenced the reliability of the results, so we decided to replicate this study, for good research practices and because it can give us valuable insight into how decoupling works when given an attractive offer. We made use of the replication recipe of Brandt and colleagues (2014) to conduct the replication.Show less
