In de huidige studie hebben we onderzoek gedaan naar de invloed van Intolerantie voor Onzekerheid (IU; nervositeit voor het onbekende) op processen zoals (1) zekerheid in het geven van een antwoord...Show moreIn de huidige studie hebben we onderzoek gedaan naar de invloed van Intolerantie voor Onzekerheid (IU; nervositeit voor het onbekende) op processen zoals (1) zekerheid in het geven van een antwoord en (2) reactietijd. Met kennis over mechanismen van IU kunnen we symptomen begrijpen en dagelijkse negatieve gevolgen verminderen. Gedurende het experiment kregen 54 gezonde participanten (37 vrouwen, 17 mannen) tussen de 18-40 jaar neutrale en negatieve afbeeldingen met bijhorende beschrijvingen te zien op twee verschillende dagen met 24 uur ertussen. Specifiek is gekeken naar dag twee, waarbij de participanten bij 75 neutrale en 75 negatieve afbeeldingen moesten aangeven of ze de afbeeldingen hadden gezien op de dag ervoor (oud) of niet (nieuw). Ze gaven aan hoe zeker ze waren over hun antwoord (betrouwbaarheidsbeoordeling; VAS 1-100; oud-nieuw). De reactietijd (ms) van deze respons werd voor beide condities gemeten. Daarna vulden participanten de Intolerance for Uncertainty Scale (IUS) in, bestaande uit 27 stellingen waarbij ze aangaven in welke mate de stelling hen typeert. De data zijn geanalyseerd middels niet-parametrische Friedmantoetsen, RMANCOVA en twee regressieanalyses met verschilscores. Daaruit kwamen de volgende bevindingen. Participanten met meer IU vertoonden minder spreiding in zekerheid van hun antwoord en waren gemiddeld langzamer in beide condities. Los van IU, vertoonden participanten meer spreiding in antwoordzekerheid en waren ze gemiddeld langzamer bij de negatieve dan bij de neutrale afbeeldingen. We concluderen dat IU effect heeft op de antwoordzekerheid en op de reactietijd. Of de getoonde afbeeldingen neutraal of negatief zijn blijkt hierbij niet van invloed.Show less
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: 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
Adolescence is characterized by a prominent increase in peer orientation and high sensitivity to peer evaluations. To date, explanations for individual differences in peer evaluation sensitivity...Show moreAdolescence is characterized by a prominent increase in peer orientation and high sensitivity to peer evaluations. To date, explanations for individual differences in peer evaluation sensitivity have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study examined whether a catastrophizing emotion regulation tendency and overprotective parenting could explain why some adolescents are more sensitive to negative peer evaluation than others. Sixty-four adolescents (mean age = 14.66; 49 females) took part in a Social Evaluative Learning through Feedback (SELF-) Profile task. Participants had to predict the valence of peer feedback in a 240-trial paradigm with four fictitious peers that differed in their probability of giving positive feedback. We hypothesized that through the mediating effect of catastrophizing, parental overprotection could predict the ratio of negative predictions of peer evaluations. We also expected that adolescents scoring higher on these self-reported concepts would have a higher ratio of negative predictions for the most negative vs. the most positive peer. Similarly, it was hypothesized that adolescents with higher catastrophizing and overprotection scores would expect more negative feedback in the SELF-Profile task beforehand and also estimate them to have been high afterward. Our results showed that total parental and paternal overprotection, but not maternal, predicted catastrophizing in adolescents. However, we did not find evidence for the hypothesized mediation models or associations between the self-reported concepts and the SELF-Profile pre- and post-ratings. Together, these findings suggest that parental overprotection and catastrophizing are related concepts but they are not sufficient in explaining negative biases in social reinforcement learning in adolescence.Show less
In 2021 is de wet voor burgerschapsonderwijs op basisscholen aangescherpt, met het doel de burgerschapscompetenties van leerlingen te verbeteren. Een factor die van invloed is op de prestaties van...Show moreIn 2021 is de wet voor burgerschapsonderwijs op basisscholen aangescherpt, met het doel de burgerschapscompetenties van leerlingen te verbeteren. Een factor die van invloed is op de prestaties van leerlingen is de self-efficacy van de leerkracht. De mate van self-efficacy van een leerkracht hangt samen met het sociaal welbevinden van leerkrachten. In dit onderzoek werd het verband tussen sociaal welbevinden in werkrelaties en de mate van self-efficacy van leerkrachten in burgerschapsonderwijs bestudeerd. Dit werd gedaan door middel van vragenlijstonderzoek onder 59 leerkrachten. Leerkrachten rapporteerden in hoeverre zij zich in staat voelden verschillende burgerschapsonderwerpen te onderwijzen en in hoeverre zij sociaal welbevinden in werkrelaties ervaarden. Uit de analyses van het verband kwamen geen significante resultaten. Daarom kon niet geconcludeerd worden dat er een verband bestaat tussen sociaal welbevinden in werkrelaties en de mate van self-efficacy die leerkrachten ervaren bij burgerschapsonderwijs. Voor de praktijk betekent deze conclusie dat wellicht andere factoren, zoals kennis of motivatie, bekeken moeten worden om de self-efficacy van leerkrachten op het gebied van burgerschapsonderwijs en de burgerschapscompetenties van leerlingen te stimuleren. Meer onderzoek naar factoren die de kwaliteit van burgerschapsonderwijs kunnen bevorderen is nodig.Show less
