The prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is growing worldwide, and experiencing violent victimization, especially during childhood, worsens its symptoms and raises the likelihood of being...Show moreThe prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) is growing worldwide, and experiencing violent victimization, especially during childhood, worsens its symptoms and raises the likelihood of being victimized again. This study assessed the impact of different forms of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) on depressive symptoms in patients with MDD and a recent history of victimization, and whether gender moderates this relationship. Additionally, it investigates whether Internet Emotion Regulation Training (iERT) as an addition to Treatment as Usual (TAU) can reduce emotion regulation difficulties and depressive symptoms in the same population. 153 patients filled in questionnaires and the hypotheses were tested by a hierarchical regression analysis and two repeated measure ANOVAs. Regarding the first research question, a significant association was found between depression and physical- and emotional child abuse, but not sexual abuse. This effect was not moderated by gender. Regarding the second research question, no significant effect was found of adding iERT to TAU on either emotion regulation difficulties or depressive symptoms.Show less
Previous research into the relationship of conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability has yielded discrepant results. An analysis of past research seems to suggest a moderating effect...Show morePrevious research into the relationship of conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability has yielded discrepant results. An analysis of past research seems to suggest a moderating effect of age. Indeed, age seems to be positively correlated with conscientiousness and negatively with self-estimated cognitive ability, implying a negative effect of age on the relationship of conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability. The current study examines this moderating effect of age on the relationship between conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability. We hypothesized to find a correlation between conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability only in the young participant group (<=25). Conscientiousness (BFI-2), self-estimated cognitive ability and several demographic variables including age were established of 135 participants. The average age was 39.8 (SD = 16.7) and 63 percent of participants were female. We found that, in general, participant’s self-estimated their own abilities higher than that of their peers. A positive correlation between age and conscientiousness was present (r= 0.240, p= 0.005). No correlation between conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability was found in the older or younger participant group, and we were unable to demonstrate a moderating effect of age. Our findings suggest no correlation between conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability and no moderating effect of age. Future research should consider the possibility that there exists in fact no effect and further investigate the validity of our findings. More knowledge of the interaction between conscientiousness and self-estimated cognitive ability might help better understand the influence of conscientiousness in mental health and whether self-estimations of cognitive ability can play a role in understanding and predicting cognitive decline, especially as people grow older.Show less
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
Previous research has argued the importance of education for future gains (Palomino et al., 2019) and how inequality can negatively affect educational aspirations (Jia et al., 2021). Therefore,...Show morePrevious research has argued the importance of education for future gains (Palomino et al., 2019) and how inequality can negatively affect educational aspirations (Jia et al., 2021). Therefore, this study aimed to further demonstrate whether differences in perceptions of inequality of opportunity and outcome negatively affects students’ educational aspirations. Further, based on previous research demonstrating positive main effect of internal locus of control (Sagone & Caroli, 2014) and a moderating effect of internal locus of control (Jia et al., 2021) on educational outcomes, locus of control was added as a moderator to see if an internal locus of control offsets negative effects of inequality on educational aspirations. Our manipulation, videos explaining inequality of opportunity and outcome, failed to tease apart perceptions of inequality of opportunity and outcome and were consequently combined into one factor, inequality. We found no significant main effect of perception of inequality, but a significant positive main effect of locus of control on educational aspirations. An interaction effect between perceptions of inequality and locus of control on educational aspirations was found. However, unexpectedly, students perceiving inequality within the external locus of control group scored highest on educational aspirations. Implications, limitations, and avenues for further research are discussed.Show less
The exam period can be stressful for students, significantly impacting their lifestyle behaviours. Research indicates that students tend to have poorer diets during exam periods, with stress and...Show moreThe exam period can be stressful for students, significantly impacting their lifestyle behaviours. Research indicates that students tend to have poorer diets during exam periods, with stress and sleep quality potentially influencing this pattern. The decline in diet quality among university students during examinations is a significant social issue that needs to further understanding. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between exam stress and perceived changes in food choice -healthy or unhealthy eating- during an exam period among university students aged 18 to 25 and to assess to what extent this relationship is mediated by sleep quality during an exam period. Utilizing a cross-sectional design, data was collected from 200 Dutch university students who completed three questionnaires, the Examination Stress Scale, a questionnaire about changes in food choice during an exam period and the Regensburg Insomnia Scale. A mediation analysis was conducted using linear regressions in SPSS. The results indicated no significant relationship between exam stress and changes in food choice (β = .042 , p = .558). There was a significant positive relationship between exam stress and poor sleep quality (β = .44, p < .001). No significant association was found between sleep quality and changes in food choice (β = -.02, p < .770). When controlling for sleep quality, exam stress was still not associated with changes in food choices (β = .05, p < .514). Thus, the present study concluded that there is no relationship between exam stress and perceived changes in food choice -healthy or unhealthy eating- among university students ages 18 to 25 and that this relationship is not mediated by sleep quality during exams. However, there was a significant relationship between exam stress and poor sleep quality. Prevention strategies for exam stress and poor sleep should include stress management and education about the importance of sufficient sleep.Show less
Seeking to more profoundly understand the nexus between race and class in Brazil, and comprehend its implications for political consciousness, this thesis centres the question: “How is political...Show moreSeeking to more profoundly understand the nexus between race and class in Brazil, and comprehend its implications for political consciousness, this thesis centres the question: “How is political consciousness of Afro-Brazilian emancipation movements informed by class interests?” In this capacity, class interests are interpreted as racialised consciousness, derived from the neo- Marxist theory of racialisation, a lens that figures prominently in this study. Remaining open to alternative explanations, through exploring discourse of Afro-Brazilian movement Black Coalition for Rights, this study concludes that two forms of consciousness theoretically assumed to be different are both built on similar premises that recognise the role of capitalist structures in processes of racialisation.Show less
The stability of the country and maintaining public order and harmony have been among the top priorities of the government of the small city-state of Singapore, ever since its independence in 1965....Show moreThe stability of the country and maintaining public order and harmony have been among the top priorities of the government of the small city-state of Singapore, ever since its independence in 1965. The People’s Action Party (PAP), which has been in constant rule for over 65 years, has sought to maintain their hegemony and “protect the country” by actively limiting citizens' influence over politics and policies, mainly through the development of legal frameworks repressing dissent across different parts of society. By using theories on contentious politics, state repression, and the political opportunity structure, as well as a qualitative content analysis of Singapore’s laws on dissent, this thesis addresses the following research question: What are the strategies employed by the Singaporean government to repress and prevent dissent, and how do these strategies impact the political opportunity structure for contentious politics? Summarizing the findings, this thesis concludes that the state has built an extensive framework of restrictive laws covering all forms of society, rather than explicitly focusing on certain aspects, which has caused opportunities for dissenting citizens to employ methods of contentious political action to achieve their aims of influencing state policies to be exceptionally limited.Show less
Global temperatures are rising as policymakers aim to tackle the climate challenges our world faces today. The European Union plays a leading role in climate politics and the global reduction of...Show moreGlobal temperatures are rising as policymakers aim to tackle the climate challenges our world faces today. The European Union plays a leading role in climate politics and the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through one of its key tools, the Emissions Trading System. This thesis examines the impact of EU member states’ industrial composition on implementing the EU ETS in phase 2 through a comparative analysis of the Netherlands and Belgium. An examination of the correlation between national industries and the national implementation of the ETS has thus far remained absent in the existing literature and provides policy insights for future climate politics. An analysis of the relevant policy documents reveals how both countries varied in their implementation of the system. It demonstrates how the more pollutive industrial composition of the Netherlands caused the government to be more responsive to the affected industries’ interests in the allocation process. However, contrary to expectations, the Netherlands was not more lenient the monitoring of the system and was even more strict than Belgium in most areas.Show less
About 40% of Dutch employees engage in physically demanding work (PDW). PDW involves tasks during work that require prolonged standing, heavy lifting, repetitive movements, and taxing postures....Show moreAbout 40% of Dutch employees engage in physically demanding work (PDW). PDW involves tasks during work that require prolonged standing, heavy lifting, repetitive movements, and taxing postures. Recent research shows that PDW deteriorates health, but mechanisms and buffers or boosters for this relation have remained unclear. In the present study, lower leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and higher alcohol consumption are postulated as explanations and as moderators for the negative relation between PDW and health. Thus, this study investigates the relationship between PDW and health outcomes over one year, and further focusses on the potential mediating and moderating roles of the lifestyle behaviors, LTPA and alcohol consumption. The sample consisted of N = 1,259 Dutch employees and data was used from a longitudinal study (LISS-panel) conducted over two waves with a one-year interval (2021-2022). Using self-reported questionnaires, the participants reported about their health status (at both baseline and after one year), physical work demands, alcohol consumption and participation in LTPA. The statistical analysis involved a regression analysis (main effect), and the PROCESS Macro by Hayes model 1 (moderation) and 4 (mediation). There was controlled for gender, age, education level and health at baseline. The analyses showed that first, in line with the literature, PDW negatively affects health. Second, neither LTPA nor alcohol consumption significantly mediates or moderates the negative relationship between PDW and health outcome. These results suggest that the impact of PDW cannot be explained by the lifestyle factors studied. Also, the findings point at a need for investigating other mechanisms in the relation between PDW and health, such as other lifestyle behaviors or implementing tools to make jobs itself less physically demanding. We also recommend future research to follow up on these findings with objective measurements of health and physical activity (instead of self-reporting questionnaires), longer study periods, and the use of multiple item questions to fully understand the long-term health implications of PDW and lifestyle behavior.Show less
Objective Recent research has found conflicting interactions between health and different domains of physical activity (PA). Occupational physical activity (OPA) seems to negatively impact health,...Show moreObjective Recent research has found conflicting interactions between health and different domains of physical activity (PA). Occupational physical activity (OPA) seems to negatively impact health, whereas leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) positively impacts health, a phenomenon known as the physical activity paradox. What remains unclear is how these different domains of PA interact with each other and how their interaction influences health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the main and interactive effects of OPA and LTPA on physical and mental health. A better understanding of these relations can contribute to more accurate PA advice, indirectly contributing to the closure of socioeconomic health inequalities. Based on previous studies, it was expected that higher OPA would relate to higher physical and mental health problems, while higher LTPA would relate to lower physical and mental health problems. Additionally, this study aimed to answer the research question whether LTPA functions as a buffer for the negative effects of high OPA on health or as an accelerator. Methods To investigate the hypotheses and research question, data from a longitudinal panel study were used. Two data measurement points were used with a one-year time lag. The sample was heterogeneous and consisted of Dutch employees working ≥ 24-hours a week (N = 1578). Results It was found that OPA and LTPA independently did not affect physical or mental health outcomes differently. Additionally, different combinations of OPA and LTPA did not lead to an increase or decrease in both physical mobility or mental health problems one year later. However, the results did show that individuals who had high levels of both OPA and LTPA had the highest chance on developing physical health problems one year later (b = 0.393, p = <0.001). Conclusion This study shows that OPA and LTPA may have different effects on the development of physical health problems, like headache and sleeping problems. The findings suggest that the health benefits of LTPA are affected by the extent of OPA and that a combination of both high OPA and LTPA is the most unfavourable combination. This combination is associated with an increase in physical health problems. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Show less
Food waste is a global problem, which necessitates addressing. A pilot (N = 56) and main study (N = 124) used online survey research to explore the expected negative relationship between viewing a...Show moreFood waste is a global problem, which necessitates addressing. A pilot (N = 56) and main study (N = 124) used online survey research to explore the expected negative relationship between viewing a food waste reduction-poster and food waste intentions, the expected negative relationship between self-efficacy and food waste intentions and the expected moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between poster and food waste intentions. In the main study, participants were randomly allocated to a poster (N = 31) or control condition (N = 30) without a poster. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no differences between groups nor within participants when comparing food waste intentions between two measurement points. Regression analyses showed neither a main- nor a moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between seeing the poster and food waste intentions. Limitations, suggestions and implications were discussed and the importance of future research into this subject was highlighted.Show less
In Europe, more than half of adults are obese (WHO, 2022). Enhancing the self-regulation of energy intake, the ability to respond to one's own hunger or satiety signals, can reduce the risk of...Show moreIn Europe, more than half of adults are obese (WHO, 2022). Enhancing the self-regulation of energy intake, the ability to respond to one's own hunger or satiety signals, can reduce the risk of obesity (DiSantis et al., 2011). Promoting the self-regulation of energy intake as early as possible in development is therefore crucial. The present study examined the relation between maternal sensitivity in different contexts (during free play and during meals) at 18 months and the child's self-regulation of energy intake at 24 months. The sample consisted of 103 mother-child dyads (41.7% boys), obtained from the longitudinal study "Baby's first bites” (Van der Veek et al., 2019). Maternal sensitivity was measured using “the Ainsworth Maternal Sensitivity Scale” (Ainsworth et al., 1974). The self- regulation of energy intake was assessed using an “Eating in Absence of Hunger” paradigm (Schultink et al., 2021). First, no significant relation was found between maternal sensitivity during free play at 18 months and self-regulation of energy intake at 24 months. Second, maternal sensitivity during mealtime at 18 months was not related to self-regulation of energy intake at 24 months. Finally, maternal sensitivity during free play and during mealtime at 18 months did not make a unique contribution to the child's self-regulation of energy intake at 24 months. This study contributed to the emerging research area of parenting practices and the self-regulation of energy intake. Based on the current research, it cannot be stated that maternal sensitivity contributes to the child's self-regulation of energy intake. Therefore, it is not yet clear how parents can best contribute to good self-regulation of energy intake. Follow-up research is needed.Show less
This research aimed to comprehensively understand the demographics and characteristics of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals seeking mental health care upon initiating gender...Show moreThis research aimed to comprehensively understand the demographics and characteristics of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals seeking mental health care upon initiating gender-affirming care. Additionally, it focused on optimal integration of mental health care into gender-affirming care according to TGD individuals. Both were within the framework of an ongoing investigation at the Zaans Medical Centre. The quantitative data analysis consisted of intake questionnaire data of twenty-five TGD individuals, variables were derived from sections of the intake questionnaire. For the qualitative data analysis, seven semi-structured interviews were held with TGD individuals. The characteristics of TGD individuals consisted of self-reported psychological distress and well-being. Their relationship to requested mental health care intensity was studied through Spearman rank order correlations. The demographics included age, educational level, ethnicity, employment status, experienced income, and gender assigned at birth. Their association with requesting mental health care was explored through chi-square tests. A thematic analysis with semantic approach was performed to analyse the data. No significant correlations were found between demographic variables and mental health care requests at admission. The correlation between self-reported psychological distress and mental health care intensity was χ2 = -.003, p = .987, for self-reported psychological well-being and mental health care intensity χ2 = -.001, p = .997. Thematic analysis of interview data yielded three overarching themes: motives for seeking mental health care, recommendations for integrating mental health services into gender-affirming care, and desirable attributes of mental health care providers. Reasons for refraining from or seeking mental health care included experiencing psychological distress or good psychological well-being, experiences due to gender dysphoria, acceptance of themselves, and experienced lack of support. Suggestions for optimal mental health care integration were better and more provision of (mental) health care and travel distance to mental health care. Qualities of the ideal mental health care professional were having certain character traits such as being accepting and being specialized in TGD. Overall, this research emphasizes the importance of knowledgeability and empathetic and inclusive qualities in mental health care professionals in the treatment of TGD individuals suggesting its importance over mental health care professionals’ gender identity.Show less
