Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: Theoretical models propose that parenting practices play a role in the development and maintenance of child depression. However, previous meta-analytic findings indicated that parenting...Show moreBackground: Theoretical models propose that parenting practices play a role in the development and maintenance of child depression. However, previous meta-analytic findings indicated that parenting accounted for only 5-11% of the variance in childhood depression, with varying effects for different types of parenting behaviors. Research Question: The current study aimed to investigate the association between observed negative/positive parenting behavior, childhood depression, and child gender, while controlling for the confounding effects of type of informant and assessment approach for childhood depression. Method: Two meta-analysis were conducted for the negative parenting – childhood depression and positive parenting – childhood depression association, while including moderating and confounding variables. The current study included thirty articles in total, with nineteen examining negative parenting behaviors and twenty-three examining positive parenting behaviors. Results: Observed negative parenting behavior was positively and observed positive parenting behavior was negatively related to childhood depression, with overall small effect sizes. Type of parenting behavior, child gender, and assessment approach for childhood depression did not moderate the associations. Type of informant for childhood depression explained some variance in the positive parenting – childhood depression association. Conclusions: Parenting interventions for childhood depression might aim to improve a broader range of parental behaviors. Future research is advised to compare actual to perceived parenting behaviors and investigate the direction of the parenting – childhood depression association, while adopting a multiple levels of analysis perspective. This could possibly contribute towards developing most effective personalized interventions for childhood depression, while lowering the high burden of depression.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
Having an extra sex chromosome is known as sex chromosome trisomy (SCT). This may result in 47,XXY, 47,XXX, or 47,XYY. Previous research suggested that social attention to the eyes is reduced in ...Show moreHaving an extra sex chromosome is known as sex chromosome trisomy (SCT). This may result in 47,XXY, 47,XXX, or 47,XYY. Previous research suggested that social attention to the eyes is reduced in (young) adults with SCT and that individuals with SCT have more autistic characteristics compared to typically developing (TD) controls. It was unknown whether the group differences were also present in early childhood. The current study aimed to explore social attention, autistic traits, and their relation in three subgroups of children with SCT (47,XXY, 47,XXX, and 47,XYY; N = 70), aged 3 to 7 years, in comparison to TD peers (N = 62). Social attention to the eyes was measured using three eye-tracking video paradigms: A single-face condition, a multiple-face condition and a social interaction condition. Autistic traits were measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition. Results showed a difference in social attention between children with SCT and TD children during the social interaction condition. There was no difference in social attention between the SCT subgroups. The SCT group showed more autistic traits than the TD group and the 47,XXX subgroup had more autistic traits than the 47,XXY subgroup. There was a significant relation between social attention during the single-face condition and autistic traits in the 47,XYY subgroup only. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the importance of monitoring socio-cognitive challenges related to SCT in early childhood.Show less
Cooperation and interpersonal synchronization are two diagnostic features of the human species. The relationship between these inherently social behaviours is interesting with regards to the...Show moreCooperation and interpersonal synchronization are two diagnostic features of the human species. The relationship between these inherently social behaviours is interesting with regards to the mechanisms that are able to explain how and why the relationship arose during our evolutionary history. Interpersonal synchrony increases the ease of prediction of the movements of the other person, creating a rewarding experience that can reduce the psychological distance between the interaction partners. The current thesis studied the influence of interpersonal orchestral synchronization (in the form of an online musical dyadic tapping task) on cooperative attitude change. This was done by examining the relationships between the mode of tapping, the objective and subjective measures of synchrony and the changes in the attitudes towards the interaction partner. The findings suggest that, when it comes to increasing cooperative attitude, the way the participants experience synchrony is more influential than the actual quality of synchronization. The perception of synchrony, enabled to a different extent by the mode of tapping, gave rise to differences in the attitudes of the interaction partner, which appear to be important in predicting cooperative attitude change as well. All in all, the perceptive cues of synchrony seem to be the ones to guide the person’s cooperative attitude to be influenced by the interaction. Beyond the improvement of cooperative attitude, the observed decline brings new considerations of the importance of the evaluation of the synchronization experience as a whole and should encourage synchronization research with higher ecological validity.Show less
People had to adjust their daily lives as a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which emerged in December 2019, and was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Uncertainty about the future...Show morePeople had to adjust their daily lives as a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which emerged in December 2019, and was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Uncertainty about the future and social distancing rules had a significant influence on individual’s mental wellbeing. Previous research suggests that the pandemic is expected to have a consequential impact on mental health. This research looks at the complex relationship between the subjective feeling of loneliness and mental health variables among university bachelor students at Leiden University during the third wave of Covid-19 infections and its associated restrictions. The research began in late March 2021and started with a baseline assessment to acquire basic information of the participants. Over the course of 15 days an Ecological Momentary Assessment was used to measure the mental health of 66 students, four times a day. The surveys included questions from the DASS-21 and UCLA Loneliness scale. Through the use of a network analysis a vicious loop between mental health variables and isolation was discovered, as well as loneliness being a potential predictor for mental health problems. The study points out that loneliness is an important component when tackling mental health issues in students.Show less
Research findings on the interrelationships between stress and sleep, stress and optimism, optimism and sleep have been found in the literature. However, a possible relationship between all three...Show moreResearch findings on the interrelationships between stress and sleep, stress and optimism, optimism and sleep have been found in the literature. However, a possible relationship between all three of these variables together remains unstudied. Understanding this relationship and whether these relationships are interdependent, may provide new prevention and intervention opportunities for sleep- or stress-related health problems. The current study aimed to investigate whether the relationship between perceived stress and sleep quality depends on the level of optimism. The study employed a quantitative and quasi experimental design, with data collected cross-sectionally via online self-report questionnaires. The Life Orientation Test Revised was administered to measure the level of optimism, the Perceived Stress Scale was administered to measure the level of stress, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was administered to assess sleep quality. To examine the hypothesis that the level of optimism will moderate the relationship between level of perceived stress and sleep quality, a moderated hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was conducted on data from 250 respondents. The results revealed that the level of perceived stress was able to predict sleep quality (b = .14, p < .001), but the level of optimism failed to predict sleep quality (b = -.05, p > .05) and no evidence was found for the moderating role of optimism in the relationship between perceived stress and sleep quality (b = .002, p > .05). It is possible that the baseline sleep quality was not poor enough, and there were not enough people with low levels of optimism to detect whether the level of optimism could interfere with the relationship between perceived stress and sleep quality. However, the role of optimism within this relationship can be studied more in the future, with better-informed research designs.Show less
Different studies have researched the effect of optimism on health-related quality of life in various patient groups. The relationship between these two constructs in a healthy population has not...Show moreDifferent studies have researched the effect of optimism on health-related quality of life in various patient groups. The relationship between these two constructs in a healthy population has not been studied yet and thus the aim of this study was to look at the potential effects of optimism on different aspects of health-related quality of life in a healthy population. This was tested with an independent samples t-test using data from online self-administered questionnaires. These were the Life Orientation Test-Revised, which measures optimism, and the 12 Item Short Form Survey (SF-12), which measures health-related quality of life. The main finding was that higher scores on optimism were associated with significantly better ratings of health-related quality of life. This significant association was found for both components of health-related quality of life assessed in the SF-12. Those with higher optimism scores had both a significantly higher physical component score (p < .05) and a significantly higher mental component score (p < .001) than those with lower optimism scores. A possible explanation for this finding is argued to be that the relation between optimism and health-related quality of life is mediated by engagement in health-enhancing behaviors. A limitation was that the research design of the study was cross-sectional, limiting the interpretations that could be made about the directionality of the established association. A longitudinal and experimental design would be beneficial in future research to examine whether optimism has a direct effect on health-related quality of life.Show less
Research on optimism has increased in the past years. Optimism is known to have a positive relationship with several health outcomes. Additionally, optimism has also been established as a predictor...Show moreResearch on optimism has increased in the past years. Optimism is known to have a positive relationship with several health outcomes. Additionally, optimism has also been established as a predictor of various mental and physical health outcomes. Whilst the relationship between optimism and executive functioning has been discussed, little is known about optimism as a predictor of success in executive functioning. In this study, data from 250 respondents was collected through online questionnaires to study whether optimism is a significant predictor of success in executive functioning in general, as well as in separate aspects of attention, self-control and self-monitoring, and planning. The measuring instruments that were used were the Life-Orientation Test-Revised for optimism and the Amsterdam Executive Function Inventory for executive functioning and its aspects. Four simple linear regression analyses were conducted to analyze the data. The results showed that optimism is a significant predictor of executive functioning in general (b = .22, p < .001), as well as of attention (b = .13, p < .001) and planning (b = .06, p < .05), but not of self-control and self-monitoring (p > .05). The main limitation in this study was that data were collected cross-sectionally instead of longitudinal. For self-control and self-monitoring, further research could be beneficial to understand what made this outcome differ from the others. These outcomes could be helpful to further investigate possible implications for the treatment of neuropsychological problems.Show less
Coronavirus disease 2019 has negatively affected the general population, and especially university undergraduates. Attending to and being aware of the present moment in an open, accepting and...Show moreCoronavirus disease 2019 has negatively affected the general population, and especially university undergraduates. Attending to and being aware of the present moment in an open, accepting and compassionate manner (i.e. mindfulness) has been shown to decrease depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and increase positive affect. In our present study, we used network analysis to examine the associations between anxiety, depression, stress, mindfulness and joy. An observational research design was used with a convenience sample of 66 undergraduate students aged 18 to 34 years who completed an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) on their phones. They were asked eight questionsーtwo psychological constructs and six subclinical psychopathology symptomsーfour times a day for two weeks. Network analysis resulted in temporal and contemporaneous network models, indicating that mindfulness at time t does not significantly predict any variable at later time t+1 on the temporal level. At the contemporaneous level, mindfulness is associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and joy. Given the limitations of the present study and the hypothesis generating nature of network analysis, we conclude that the significant partial correlations between mindfulness, psychological well-being and joy in the contemporaneous network may indicate potential causal relations worth following up on in future research.Show less
De Europese Unie heeft als doel om in 2050 klimaatneutraal te zijn. Om dit doel te bereiken is het noodzakelijk dat de EU-lidstaten overstappen op hernieuwbare energiebronnen zoals windenergie....Show moreDe Europese Unie heeft als doel om in 2050 klimaatneutraal te zijn. Om dit doel te bereiken is het noodzakelijk dat de EU-lidstaten overstappen op hernieuwbare energiebronnen zoals windenergie. Windmolens stuiten echter op verzet in verschillende lidstaten. Het is daarom belangrijk dat er inzicht gekregen wordt in de factoren die de mate van acceptatie van de bouw van windparken bepalen. Het huidige onderzoek had tot doel om te achterhalen wat het effect is van inspraak door lokale belanghebbenden in de besluitvorming op de acceptatie van de bouw van de windparken, vergeleken met pseudo-inspraak en geen inspraak. Dit werd gedaan door middel van een experimenteel onderzoek, dat voorgelegd werd aan 199 participanten die wonen in het Verenigd Koninkrijk. In het onderzoek werd ook een sequentieel mediatie model getest, dat beschrijft hoe inspraak een positief effect zal hebben op acceptatie, doordat de inspraakmogelijkheid de waargenomen procedurele rechtvaardigheid vergroot, wat vervolgens het vertrouwen in de autoriteit vergroot. Dit verhoogde vertrouwen zorgt vervolgens voor een grotere mate van acceptatie van de bouw van het windpark. De resultaten lieten zoals verwacht zien dat inspraak, vergeleken met pseudo-inspraak en geen inspraak, een positief effect heeft op acceptatie, via de mediatoren. In tegenstelling tot wat voorspeld werd bleek pseudo-inspraak, ten opzichte van geen inspraak, geen significant effect te hebben op zowel de mediatoren als de mate van acceptatie. Ook werd gevonden dat risicopercepties over horizonvervuiling, geluidsoverlast en gezondheidsschade een significante negatieve relatie hebben met acceptatie van het windpark. Theoretische en praktische implicaties van het onderzoek worden besproken.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
The optimal strategy in a semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task is to focus on one semantic subcategory at a time and adaptively switch from one subcategory to another. This task has therefore been...Show moreThe optimal strategy in a semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task is to focus on one semantic subcategory at a time and adaptively switch from one subcategory to another. This task has therefore been used as a measure of self-directed executive functioning. Previous studies have found that SVF performance improves through childhood and adolescence. This developmentalimprovement has been observed both in the total number of words produced during the task and in switching between subcategories. The present online study tested the hypothesis that the agerelated improvement in SVF performance is partly driven by an improved ability to select between competing word representations. The study included three age groups: 8–10-year-olds (n=26), 12–14-year-olds (n=17), and young adults (n=31). The semantic blocking effect in the blocked cycling naming task was used as a measure of selection abilities. Measures of vocabulary and general processing speed were included as control variables. Age-related differences in SVF performance were only partly replicated: there were signs of age-related differences in the total word count but not in switching. The semantic blocking effect was replicated across age groups. However, there were no signs of age-related differences in the magnitude of this effect, suggesting that word selection abilities did not differ between age groups. Moreover, the magnitude of the semantic blocking effect did not predict SVF performance. Thus, although further research is needed, the present study does not support the hypothesis that the age-related improvement in SVF would be driven by an improvement in selection abilities.Show less
Social rejection is conceptualized as a threat to survival, yet the physiological mechanisms at work during social rejection have not received much attention. Prior research has shown a link...Show moreSocial rejection is conceptualized as a threat to survival, yet the physiological mechanisms at work during social rejection have not received much attention. Prior research has shown a link between heart rate changes and social rejection and the possible correlation of self-esteem levels to heart rate changes. Here we examined the effect of positive and negative peer feedback on heart rate changes of participants. Fifty participants (mean age = 20.4) took part in the newly developed social evaluation through feedback (SELF)- paradigm where they predicted, then received social evaluative feedback from four peers who differed in their probability of giving social acceptance versus rejection feedback. We hypothesized that social rejection would result in a transient slowing of heart rate and that this effect would be more prominent with unexpected social rejection. We also expected to find a significant difference in heart rate changes towards each different peer. Moreover, we expected self-esteem to influence heart rate reactions to feedback. As predicted, results revealed a more pronounced deceleration of heart rate during unexpected rejection, though this effect was also found with unexpected social acceptance. Difference in heart rate in response to feedback from each different peers was found, namely a transient slowing of heart rate for negative feedback from Peer 1 and positive feedback from Peer 4. Moreover, levels of self-esteem did not explain a significant amount of variance in heart rate changes. Future research should focus on a larger and more diverse sample size in order to confirm the current findings. This study added to current literature by again confirming a brake in heart rate during unexpected social rejection and by finding new results in heart rate during unexpected social acceptance from a more negative peer.Show less
Cut-off scores can be useful guides for researchers, clinicians or respondents in interpretating responses on psychometric instruments. Statistical methods involved in the development of cut-off...Show moreCut-off scores can be useful guides for researchers, clinicians or respondents in interpretating responses on psychometric instruments. Statistical methods involved in the development of cut-off scores are predominantly based on univariate analysis and in the presence of an observable criterion variable or normative sample data. To date, little is known about statistical procedures in defining multiple cutting scores for several latent variables within a multidimensional construct (i.e., subscales of a questionnaire). This study aims to evaluate the discriminatory power of various univariate and multivariate methods in cutting score development, and to explore a model-based clustering approach in setting cut-off scores for (sub)scales of multidimensional questionnaires. The investigated approach aims to cluster the responses on multidimensional constructs by using model-based clustering to classify respondents into ordered groups. Subsequently, cut-off points were identified as the intersection points of kernel density curves between the clusters or as (sub)scale split-rules in predicting cluster membership by the use of classification trees. A simulation study was conducted to compare the methods under medium and large sample sizes, various psychometric circumstances (the magnitude of factor correlations and item loadings), and across simulated homogenous and heterogeneous populations. Results of a simulation study show this model-based cluster approach is often preferred over percentile norms and linear standard scores in terms of discriminatory power, especially in defining two cut-off points. Recommendations for model selection and strategies to obtain cut-off points are given. Future research should focus to integrate the presented methodology into a case study using existing questionnaires to examine substantive implications of the calculated cutting scores. This study gives an overview the commonly known statistical techniques involved in cut-off score attainment, provides a multivariate framework to evaluate the discriminatory power in setting cutting scores, and lays out a promising novel application of model-based clustering in developing cut-off points for multidimensional questionnaires.Show less
