There is increasing evidence for the negative effect of external aid programs on public health. Accordingly, it is essential to research how donors could effectively allocate their aid. It is...Show moreThere is increasing evidence for the negative effect of external aid programs on public health. Accordingly, it is essential to research how donors could effectively allocate their aid. It is established that institution-building in the health sector is crucial for enhancing public health, for example by fostering accountability and transparency. Aid that is spent on institution-building is expected to have a positive effect on public health. However, there is no empirical evidence for that, and therefore, this research contributes to the existing literature by answering the following research question: What is the effect of aid targeting institution building in the health sector on public health outcomes? Several linear regressions are performed to test the effect of Official Development Assistance for institution-building in the health sector on infant mortality, life expectancy, and immunization rates. The overall research findings show a positive, but small and insignificant relationship between health institutional aid and public health.Show less
There is evidence to suggest that child post traumatic symptoms (PTSD) develop within the family system where psychopathology exist. Existing literature indicates that parent and child PTSD are...Show moreThere is evidence to suggest that child post traumatic symptoms (PTSD) develop within the family system where psychopathology exist. Existing literature indicates that parent and child PTSD are associated with each other. The present study aimed to examine the relation between PTSD-symptoms from parents and PTSD-symptoms from their children and whether boys or girls would experience more PTSD-symptoms with a sample of Dutch families (N = 1017). Additionally, it was examined whether quality of life (QoL) would influence this relationship. Mothers, fathers and children completed a questionnaire on trauma symptoms. The same children did also complete a questionnaire on QoL. The PTSD-symptoms from parents and their children were significant related. Furthermore, was there no significant difference between boys or girls in experiencing PTSD-symptoms. The addition of QoL to the relation between PTSD-symptoms from parents and children did not generate a significant result either, the relation became not stronger or weaker. It is possible that there were no significant results due the fact that PTSD is a complex disorder. The relation between PTSD-symptoms from parents and their children is influenced by multiple factors and this may have an impact on the results. It would be beneficial if future research would examine these factors.Show less
In deze scriptie wordt de relatie tussen het eeuwenoude Pyrronistisch Scepticisme en gemoedsrust onderzocht. Aan de hand van Sextus Empiricus worden we meegenomen in de zoektocht naar ataraxia....Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt de relatie tussen het eeuwenoude Pyrronistisch Scepticisme en gemoedsrust onderzocht. Aan de hand van Sextus Empiricus worden we meegenomen in de zoektocht naar ataraxia. Ataraxia oftewel gemoedsrust, is een staat waarin men vrij is van zorgen en angsten. Volgens Sextus is het bereiken van gemoedsrust niet alleen een therapeutische vaardigheid, maar ook een manier van leven. Deze Pyrronistische manier van leven houdt in dat overtuigingen ten aanzien van non-evidente zaken worden opgeschort om zo gemoedsrust te bereiken. In dit onderzoek is onderzocht of de filosofie van het Pyrronisme ons kan helpen in ons dagelijks leven met onze angsten en stress. Om Pyrronisme te meten is er een vragenlijst opgesteld met non-evidente stellingen (NE-Q). Voor het meten van angst is de GAD-7 gebruikt en voor het meten van stress is de PSS gebruikt. De eerste hypothese was dat sterkere overtuigingen een negatieve relatie hebben met gemoedsrust. De tweede hypothese was dat de relatie tussen sterkere overtuigingen en gemoedsrust verzwakt wanneer men aan mindfulness doet. De hoofdrelatie was niet significant met zowel de GAD-7 als de PSS als afhankelijke variabele. Ook was de moderatieanalyse in beider gevallen niet significant. Wel bleek bij verdere visuele inspectie dat het doen van mindfulness leidde tot meer angst en stress, in tegenstelling tot wanneer men niet aan mindfulness deed. Dit onderzoek wijst uit dat de filosofische stroming van het Pyrronisme als psychotherapie niet toepasbaar is voor de behandeling van angsten en stress in de hedendaagse tijd. Ook kan geconcludeerd worden dat mindfulness de relatie tussen het hebben van sterkere overtuigingen en gemoedsrust niet beïnvloedt.Show less
The International Monetary Fund has often been criticised on account of its tendency to be lenient in loan conditionality to certain countries that it considers important. This research seeks to...Show moreThe International Monetary Fund has often been criticised on account of its tendency to be lenient in loan conditionality to certain countries that it considers important. This research seeks to narrow in on the effect of economic importance from the perspective of western donor states on IMF loan efficacy. Apart from providing a gap in the research, this topic is deemed important because of its value for developmental economics and upcoming issues in that field. Moreover, the results allow concrete policy decisions to be made. Employing a bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis, this paper seeks to answer the question what is the effect of the perceived economic importance of states for western actors on the efficacy of loans by the IMF? In foreshadowing results, this paper finds that a higher economic importance, and high rates of accountability and corruption, lead to a lower efficacy of IMF loans. It is argued that this is the case because of the moral hazard issue, time-inconsistency problem, and the structure of the IMF. The model does however lack full robustness.Show less
This research focused on analysing the behaviour of ethnic leaders in autocratic ethnofederal regimes during changing economic situations of economic growth and contraction and in changing...Show moreThis research focused on analysing the behaviour of ethnic leaders in autocratic ethnofederal regimes during changing economic situations of economic growth and contraction and in changing political landscape of democratization and autocratization. More specifically, the focus was on the Russian Federation and its two ethnic republics: Republic Sakha and the Republic of Chuvashia. The cases were picked to represent a wealthy and a poor region of Russia. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of primary sourced speeches and secondary sourced interpretations of speeches given by ethnic elites such as heads of the republic, other political figures, or important business elites. The analysis was organized into two periods of democratization 1997-2000 and autocratization 2008-2011, and 4 sub-periods: 1997-1998 and 2008-2009 (economic contraction periods), and 1999-2000 and 2010-2011 (economic growth periods). The results found that Sakha as the wealthier republic is generally more secessionist during periods of economic contraction during both democratization and autocratization. Support was also found for the expectation that ethnic elites will prove more secessionist during democratization periods.Show less
Abstract The primary goal of this study was to investigate the effect of personal interest on reading comprehension. All eighteen participants received three texts that fit their personal interests...Show moreAbstract The primary goal of this study was to investigate the effect of personal interest on reading comprehension. All eighteen participants received three texts that fit their personal interests (high interest condition) and three texts that did not (low interest condition). After the participants read the texts, their reading comprehension was measured using two types of text questions. In addition, a measure of overall reading motivation was obtained. By differentiating between literal and bridging questions, the current study aimed to get insights into the underlying cognitive processes of reading comprehension. Repeated Measures ANOVA’ s did not show a significant effect of personal interest on reading comprehension, nor when using literal or bridging questions as outcome variables. There was neither an interaction-effect of overall reading motivation. The lack of significant results could be explained by a ceiling effect. An exploratory analysis showed significant chi-square relationship between personal interest and prior knowledge. Overall, we concluded that the study should be repeated with younger participants before final conclusions can be drawn. To get deeper understanding of the underlying cognitive processes, future research should also incorporate on-line measurements of reading comprehension. Abstract (Nederlands) Het voornaamste doel van de huidige studie was om de invloed van persoonlijke interesse op tekstbegrip te onderzoeken. Alle achttien participanten kregen drie teksten toegewezen over onderwerpen die bij hun persoonlijke voorkeur pasten (hoge interesse conditie) en drie onderwerpen die dat niet deden (lage interesse conditie). Na het lezen werd tekstbegrip met twee type tekstvragen gemeten en aanvullend werd een meting gedaan van de algemene leesmotivatie. Door onderscheid te maken tussen letterlijke en overbruggende tekstvragen werd voorzichtig beoogd inzicht te verkrijgen in onderliggende begripsprocessen. Repeated measures ANOVA ’s liet en geen significant effect zien van persoonlijke interesse op het tekstbegrip, ook niet met letterlijke- of overbruggende vragen als uitkomstvariabelen. Er was ook geen interactie-effect met algemene leesmotivatie. Het uitblijven van een effect zou verklaard kunnen worden door een plafondeffect. Met een exploratieve chi-kwadraattoets werd wel een significant resultaat gevonden wat suggereerde dat de mate van voorkennis samenhangt met persoonlijke interesse. Geconcludeerd werd dat de huidige studie zou moeten worden herhaald met jongere participanten voordat sluitende conclusies kunnen worden getrokken. Om dieper inzicht te verkrijgen in onderliggende begripsprocessen, zijn vervolgstudies nodig waarbij ook daadwerkelijk een meting tijdens het lezen wordt gedaan.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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This thesis is part of a multi-lab eye-tracking project investigating implicit Theory of Mind (ToM) in toddlers and adults (ManyBabies2). Given the recent number of unsuccessful replications in...Show moreThis thesis is part of a multi-lab eye-tracking project investigating implicit Theory of Mind (ToM) in toddlers and adults (ManyBabies2). Given the recent number of unsuccessful replications in this field, the focus of this thesis lies in investigating the impact of methodological considerations regarding data quality on the obtained results. Specifically, this thesis addresses differences in eye-tracking data quality (accuracy, precision, and data loss) between toddlers and adults. Further, it examines how differences in data quality (precision and data loss) affect the dependent variables in an anticipatory looking (AL) task to measure ToM, and whether the results of the AL task change by adjusting the parameters of a standard fixation classification algorithm (i.e., the Tobii I-VT filter) to account for low data quality. A total of 16 adults and 16 toddlers (N = 32) participated in the ManyBabies2 study at the Leiden University lab. The AL task included two test trials with an ignorance and knowledge condition, during which participants’ looking behavior (first look and proportion differential looking score [DLS]) was measured. The results showed a significant difference in average data quality between toddlers and adults, with toddlers having lower accuracy and precision and higher data loss than adults. Moreover, the results indicated that data loss significantly affects proportion DLS in the ignorance and knowledge condition. However, no differences in AL looking behavior were found between the Tobii I-VT default and adjusted parameters. The findings of this thesis emphasize the need for consistent reporting of data quality. Future research should conduct larger-scale studies to validate and expand upon the findings in this thesis, and focus on refining the fixation classification algorithm parameters of the Tobii I-VT filter to adjust for differences in data quality.Show less
This thesis examines how brain drain can be problematized in light of relational egalitarianism. This approach views the existing economy as that of joint production as it relies heavily on mutual...Show moreThis thesis examines how brain drain can be problematized in light of relational egalitarianism. This approach views the existing economy as that of joint production as it relies heavily on mutual dependency between citizens. Here, it aims to find whether the moral duty citizens hold towards one another can legitimately place restrictions on freedom of movement in the case of brain drain. Through taking relational egalitarianism to its normative furthests, it becomes clear that the right to exit can legitimately be constricted.Show less
This research focused on women and their children who have recently moved in to a women’s shelter after experiencing domestic violence. Women who have suffered domestic violence have a high chance...Show moreThis research focused on women and their children who have recently moved in to a women’s shelter after experiencing domestic violence. Women who have suffered domestic violence have a high chance of developing trauma-related symptoms, which can affect their mental health and parenting skills. Often, these women’s children are at risk of developing externalizing behaviour, which can lead to violent and criminal behaviour in the future. This research aimed to study the relationship between trauma-related symptoms in mothers and externalizing behaviour of their children. The age at which mothers had their first child was used as a moderator. Data was collected within the research project Samen Stap Voor Stap Vooruit, by visiting women in their shelter. There were three visits per participant, each consisting of a set of questionnaires being taken and video recordings being made of the interaction between mother and child. Data from questionnaires of the first visit were used for this paper. After performing regression analyses with trauma-related symptoms and age of first becoming a mother as independent variables and children’s externalizing behaviour as dependent variable, no relation was found between these variables for the total model. However, there was a positive relation between the age at which a mother had her first child and the externalizing behaviour of the participating child. Children of mothers who were older at first conception were more likely to score higher on externalizing behaviour. The idea of social timing can possibly explain this, with older mothers perhaps having a smaller social safety net, more health issues, less energy, or having stayed longer in the abusive relationship. Further research about the possible relation between being a relatively older mother and externalizing problems in the children is encouraged, as current literature about this topic is slim.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Poverty in the UK has increased, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic. To prevent people from falling into a poverty trap, it is important to understand how financial scarcity affects financial...Show morePoverty in the UK has increased, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic. To prevent people from falling into a poverty trap, it is important to understand how financial scarcity affects financial decisions involving risks. This topic lacks consensus in the literature with some authors arguing for a tendency towards more risk-taking, while others arguing for more risk aversion. This study posits that the risk tendency is influenced by frames of gains and losses. More specifically, financial scarcity leads to more risky choices in the domain of losses (H1), whereas it leads to less risky choices in the domain of gains (H2). People in financial scarcity tend to experience negative affect that impacts their cognitive systems, leading to more reliance on System 1 thinking, which exacerbates biases, such as the reflection effect. To test the hypotheses an online survey was conducted and 200 participants from the UK were recruited via Prolific Academic. The participants were divided into two groups for the manipulation of financial scarcity using the household task. Half of the participants were in the debts condition (financial scarcity), whereas the other half were not (control). Subsequently, all participants were presented with six risky choices, where they had to choose one of two options (one risky, the other conservative) framed in both gains and losses and three combinations of probabilities. Results from a Generalized Mixed Model showed that the cognitive bias associated with the reflection effect was found to be equally present in everyone and was more pronounced for more extreme probabilities (e.g., 10%/90% and 20%/80%), but not for moderate probabilities (e.g., 40%/60%). Thus, the expected interaction between debts and frames was not confirmed. It is suggested that future studies use an intuitive decision-making manipulation with more extreme probabilities (e.g., 1%/99%), consider a field risk manipulation, an incentivized lottery and the same expected value within and between probabilities at the lottery.Show less
Aim. The aim of this research was to contribute to the necessary knowledge for preventive action in reducing the development of aggressive behavior. Currently, many trainings and interventions...Show moreAim. The aim of this research was to contribute to the necessary knowledge for preventive action in reducing the development of aggressive behavior. Currently, many trainings and interventions focus on dealing with aggressive behavior reactively. The literature discusses the origin of aggressive behavior and how it can be influenced by both biological and environmental factors. Increased insight into these factors might also allow for more preventive action. However, little is known about the risk factors that can influence the development of aggressive behavior, even though this knowledge is crucial for recognizing these signs and taking. Design. The data for this quantitative study comes from the Mother-Infant Neurodevelopment Study (MINDS). For the current study, 253 mother-child pairs participated. The participants completed several questionnaires for this study: the Cardiff Infant Contentiousness Scale (CICS), the Self-efficacy in the Nurturing Role Scale (SENR), and the Physical Aggression Scale for Early Childhood (PASEC). The questionnaires were about the precursors of aggressive behavior in the child, the mother's sense of parental competence, and the expression of aggressive behavior. Findings. To examine these factors, a multiple regression with interaction effects was conducted. Both the interaction effect and the individual factors were analyzed. It was found that there is no significant interaction effect. However, both the early signs of aggression and the sense of parental competence proved to be significant predictors separately for the development of aggressive behavior in the child. This suggests that if a child exhibits more early signs of aggressive behavior at a younger age (6 months old), the child is more likely to develop aggressive behavior at a later age (12 months). Additionally, this means that if a mother experiences a lower sense of parental competence when the child is younger (6 months old), it can also be a predictor for the development of aggressive behavior in the child. Conclusion. This study confirms that there are already risk factors visible at a young age that increase the likelihood of developing aggressive behavior. For this reason, it is essential to conduct more research on additional possible risk factors and how professionals in practice can identify these factors. Subsequently, interventions for these risk factors can also be explored to take preventive action in combating the development of aggressive behaviorShow less
Introduction. Maternal depression is one of the most common mental disorders in The Netherlands. In earlier research, an association was found between maternal depression and disturbed development...Show moreIntroduction. Maternal depression is one of the most common mental disorders in The Netherlands. In earlier research, an association was found between maternal depression and disturbed development of empathy in their children. The main goal of this thesis is to examine the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and emotion regulation in mothers and infant empathy precursors. Methods. The current study is part of the longitudinal study 'Een Goed Begin’ by Leiden University. The sample consisted of 151 mother-child dyads, the mothers age varied between 17 and 27 years (M = 22.66 years, SD = 2.209). At 20 months post-partum, depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1996). Emotion regulation was measured with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). (Precursors of) empathy in children was measured by the Pain Task (Young et al., 1999; Zahn-Waxler et al., 1992) at 30 months. Results. A significant, positive correlation between emotion regulation and depressive symptoms was found, as expected. There is no main effect of maternal depressive symptoms on precursors of empathy, as well as no main effect of maternal emotion regulation on empathy and no interaction effect between the three variables. Conclusion. The results of this study suggest a significant and positive correlation between depression and empathy, where more symptoms of depression correlated with more empathy, contrary to what was expected. In addition, a trend is found between depression and empathy. Therefore, more research regarding this topic is recommended. Improving the understanding of this relationship can lead to the development of a risk profile when mothers suffer from depressive symptoms and targeted interventions for empathy development.Show less
Developments in applications of virtual reality (VR) in the field of children's education and healthcare have been increasing rapidly in recent years. Until today, little research has been done on...Show moreDevelopments in applications of virtual reality (VR) in the field of children's education and healthcare have been increasing rapidly in recent years. Until today, little research has been done on the negative physical effects that the use of VR can cause in children aged 8-12 years. The aim of the research reported in this paper is to determine whether the use of VR causes negative physical symptoms in children and to what extent gender, level of fun of the VR task and degree of media use are influencing factors regarding such symptoms. In this study, 64 children aged 8-12 years participated. Before and after playing a short VR game, the children completed a questionnaire (CSSQ) measuring cybersickness symptoms. The results showed that children suffered some degree of cybersickness symptoms after playing a short VR game. Nevertheless, the number of children in the study suffering from cybersickness was very small. The factors of gender, degree of media use and level of fun of the VR game did not seem to influence the development of cybersickness symptoms. In follow-up studies, larger subgroups could be examined to determine more accurately at what age cybersickness symptoms are most prevalent.Show less
