This study used a social identity approach to examine how non-profit organizations (NPOs) may motivate people that have different identity characteristics than their existing volunteers to become a...Show moreThis study used a social identity approach to examine how non-profit organizations (NPOs) may motivate people that have different identity characteristics than their existing volunteers to become a new volunteer for the organization. It was proposed that for this target group recruitment messages of NPOs that address positive social identity characteristics would instill feelings of anticipated respect and organizational trust, and via these mediators would increase willingness to become a volunteer, positive word of mouth, and organizational attractiveness. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a study with a 4-cell between-subjects experimental design (organizational morality, organizational warmth, communications about the social identity value vs. control condition). Our sample consisted of members of the general public, recruited through Academic Prolific, that were visibly different from the volunteers of the organization presented (N = 184). Analysis of variance first showed that the manipulations of organizational warmth and communications about social identity value were successful, while the manipulation of organizational morality didn’t work. Further, analysis of variance revealed that perceptions of organizational warmth lead to organizational trust and anticipated respect, while communications about social identity value only triggered feelings of anticipated respect. Mediation regression analysis showed that recruitment messages underlining organizational warmth lead to organizational attractiveness perceptions via both mediators, and lead to positive word of mouth through organizational trust. Communications about social identity value lead to positive word of mouth via anticipated respect. No indirect link between positive characteristics and willingness to become a volunteer was found. Theoretical and practical contributions, limitations, and suggestions for new research are discussed.Show less
This research addresses the willingness to join a nonprofit organization as a volunteer of people who perceive that their social identity is different from the social identity of the current...Show moreThis research addresses the willingness to join a nonprofit organization as a volunteer of people who perceive that their social identity is different from the social identity of the current volunteers of the organization. Specifically, a social identity approach was applied, and it was predicted that for non-volunteers who have atypical social identities the organizational warmth, organizational morality, and organizational communications about the value of social identity, would influence the motivation to join the non-profit organization through psychological safety and organizational trust as mediators. The online research, for which non-volunteers who have atypical social identities were recruited as research participants via the Academic Prolific Online Platform (n = 184), had a 4-cell between subjects’ experimental design (organizational warmth, organizational morality, communications of social identity value versus ‘Wikipedia information’ control condition). The participants were presented the US Fire Brigade as type of non-profit organization, were thereafter randomly allocated across the experimental conditions, and subsequently completed a questionnaire that recorded the variables of the research. The data was analyzed using one-way ANOVAs and multiple mediating regressions analyses. ANOVAs showed that the manipulations of organizational warmth and the organizational communications about the value of social identity were successful, but also that the manipulation of organizational morality was not successful. Subsequently, a one-way ANOVA showed that organizational warmth and the organizational communications about the value of social identity instilled trust in the organization and sense of psychological safety in the participants. Thereafter, mediation regression analyses showed that organizational warmth and organizational communications about social identity value related significantly and indirectly related to the motivation to join the non-profit organization as a volunteer through organizational trust and sense of psychological safety. The implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research, of the study are discussed.Show less
The current study aimed to investigate whether having been quarantined/ isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic is associated with perceived stress in students in the Netherlands, even after the...Show moreThe current study aimed to investigate whether having been quarantined/ isolated during the Covid-19 pandemic is associated with perceived stress in students in the Netherlands, even after the initial quarantine/ isolation period. Additionally, it was explored whether having a history of childhood maltreatment moderated this relationship. A sample consisting of 2475 participants, of whom 1881 were female and 594 were male, was recruited using convenience sampling. Participants were asked to fill in several questionnaires, among which a shortened version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS_10), a shortened version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF) and questions concerning the Covid-19 pandemic. Having been quarantined/ isolated and having experienced childhood maltreatment were hypothesized to be associated with a heightened perceived stress level. Further, having a history of childhood maltreatment was hypothesized to have an effect on the relation between quarantine/ isolation and perceived stress. Regression analyses revealed significant effects of both quarantine/ isolation and childhood maltreatment on perceived stress. A moderation analysis showed that this association was not moderated by childhood maltreatment. Thus, the findings confirmed the first as well as the second hypothesis. However, the third hypothesis could not be confirmed within this study. This study contributes to a growing body of research concerning mental health effects of Covid-19 measurements. It stresses potential long-term effects in students and the need for future research to explore underlying mechanisms of the findings.Show less
Various forms of disease-related anxiety (DRA) have shown to correlate with negative mental health outcomes in cardiovascular (CVD) patients. The aim of this article was to provide a systematic...Show moreVarious forms of disease-related anxiety (DRA) have shown to correlate with negative mental health outcomes in cardiovascular (CVD) patients. The aim of this article was to provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between DRA and psychological outcomes in patients with CVD. A systematic literature search was performed on the 16th of April, 2021. A random-effect model meta-analyses were conducted on cross-sectional data assessing the correlations between various DRA types and psychological outcomes. Study results which were eligible for inclusion but could not be analysed statistically were described in a summary of findings. We found 20 eligible studies of mostly cross-sectional design. Twelve of these studies were included in the meta-analysis. The performed meta-analyses showed that higher levels of cardiac anxiety (CAQ total) were correlated with higher levels of general anxiety (r= 0.47, p<.001) and depression (r= 0.34, p<.001) (HADS). The same relationship was found between the three susbcales of cardiac anxiety (CAQ fear, CAQ avoidance, CAQ attention) and general anxiety (rfear= 0.50, p <.001; ravoidance= 0.19, p <.001; rattention= 0.38,p<.001) and depression (rfear= 0.40, p <.001; ravoidance= 0.32, p <.001; rattention= .31,p <.001) (HADS). Fear of movement (FactS-HF 15) was significantly, positively correlated with state anxiety (r= 0.38, p<.001) and depression (r= 0.28, p<.001) (STADI) and trait anxiety (r= 0.51, p<.001) and depression (r= 0.45, p<.001) (STADI). Finally, correlation between kinesiophobia (TSK-Heart) and general anxiety (HADS-A) was non-significant (r= 0.36, p=.224). Our findings show a connection between various types of DRA and a higher risk of psychopathology in CVD patients. While the underlying pathway cannot be seen from our results, multiple processes have been proposed in previous studies. We believe that regular DRA screening and development of disease-specific treatment may be beneficial for this patient population. However, more research is needed in order to understand this relationship as well as to assess the effectiveness of a disease-specific approach.Show less
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) constitutes the single leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Although mortality rates have been declining in recent decades, CVD still represents a severe...Show moreCardiovascular Disease (CVD) constitutes the single leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Although mortality rates have been declining in recent decades, CVD still represents a severe threat to patients’ health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patients who develop comorbid disease-related anxiety are at increased risk for worse disease progression and impaired HRQoL. The purpose of this paper was to review the current scientific evidence and to perform a meta-analysis on the relationship between disease-related anxiety and clinical health outcomes in patients with CVD. Due to an insufficient number of studies, our analysis focused on the relationship between cardiac anxiety and HRQoL. The literature was searched for eligible articles published by September 2021 on eight online databases. Data extraction revealed 12 observational studies eligible for inclusion in the systematic review. Of those, 4 articles (including 985 patients) fulfilled the criteria to be included in the meta-analyses, which examined the association between cardiac anxiety and both physical and mental HRQoL, respectively. Under the random-effects model, we found a significant and negative correlation between cardiac anxiety and physical HRQoL (r = -0.53: 95% CI [-0.57, -0.48; p < .001]). Additionally, we found a significant and negative correlation of small-to-moderate strength between cardiac anxiety and mental HRQoL (r = -0.43: 95% CI [-0.50, -0.35; p < .001]). These results implicate that, on average, patients with CVD experience lower levels of both physical and mental HRQoL with increasing levels of cardiac anxiety. Our findings further suggest that routine screenings should be implemented in clinical practice to identify and potentially treat at-risk patients. Future research on the cause-and-effect of these relationships is warranted.Show less
Aligning one’s behavior with others with the goal of fitting in or gaining accurate information, often in contrast to one’s own beliefs, is called social conformity. Social conformity has been a...Show moreAligning one’s behavior with others with the goal of fitting in or gaining accurate information, often in contrast to one’s own beliefs, is called social conformity. Social conformity has been a topic of research in the literature, however conditions and factors which influence conformity are still under investigation. This study investigates the hormone Oxytocin and the trait empathic perspective-taking as potential influences on conformity- processes. Oxytocin may enhance conformity-processes based on the literature. A hallmark of the study is that we correct for regression-to-the-mean, to which paradigms measuring participants exactly twice may be vulnerable. As part of a larger project, 80 healthy male participants rated the trustworthiness of faces. After rating each face, participants were displayed an imaginary group-rating of the average European student. After a distraction-task and being administered either Oxytocin or a placebo, they had to re-rate the faces without being displayed the group-rating. Conformity was inferred when participants altered their ratings after being presented with the group-rating. To control for regression-to-the-mean, a control-group of 30 healthy males underwent the same experiment, without being presented with the group-rating or being administered Oxytocin. Results showed a statistically significant effect for group-rating, suggesting that participants altered their rating after seeing the group-rating. No interactions between group-ratings and either Oxytocin or empathic perspective-taking were found. After controlling for regression-to-the-mean, the effect-size of group-rating was substantially reduced, suggesting an influence of regression-to-the-mean on uncontrolled results. Further, the study makes recommendations for future research with regard to investigating conformity-processes in similar paradigms.Show less
This paper builds upon previous studies that have identified many factors that contribute to prejudice, including situational and personality factors. However, thus far there has been no...Show moreThis paper builds upon previous studies that have identified many factors that contribute to prejudice, including situational and personality factors. However, thus far there has been no investigation whether individual differences in threat sensitivity can interact with political ideology to predict a person’s degree of prejudice. This work seeks to fill in this gap by examining this relation. It was hypothesized that the relation between threat sensitivity and prejudice would be moderated by political ideology. Specifically, individuals would show greater prejudice against groups holding an opposing worldview, and this would be amplified for people with a higher (versus lower) threat sensitivity. This hypothesis was tested in an online survey, with British participants (N = 200). Contrary to our prediction, the results indicate no significant interaction effect of threat sensitivity and political ideology on prejudice. Further research on threat sensitivity and political ideology is needed to investigate whether and how it may affect prejudice.Show less
Interethnic prejudice in children is a widely researched topic when it comes to the perspective of the White majority group on ethnic minority groups. The perspective of ethnic minorities towards...Show moreInterethnic prejudice in children is a widely researched topic when it comes to the perspective of the White majority group on ethnic minority groups. The perspective of ethnic minorities towards the White majority group, however, has been studied less often. Especially in the Netherlands this research is rare. Inspired by social learning theory, the current study examines if there is a relationship between parental tolerance for interethnic contact and children’s ethnic prejudice towards the White majority group among families from two large ethnic minority groups (Afro-/Turkish-Dutch) in the Netherlands, and whether this relationship varies based on parents preparing children for bias. Here, we hypothesize that higher parental tolerance for interethnic contact is related to diminished prejudice of ethnic minority children towards children from the White majority group. In addition, preparation for bias is expected to weaken the relationship between parental tolerance and children’s prejudice among the ethnic minority group. This study uses data from the first wave of Leiden University's longitudinal research into the parenting origins of children’s ethnic prejudice. The study includes a subsample of 77 children aged 6 to 10 years (M = 7.8, SD = 0.99) and their mothers. The families have been recruited in the Western region of the Netherlands (Randstad) and are of Afro-Dutch and Turkish-Dutch descent. Parental attitudes were measured using questionnaires, whereas children’s ethnic prejudice was measured using an adapted version of the Preschool Racial Attitude Measure task. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis and controlling for children’s interethnic contact with White children, no significant relation was found (p = .22) between parental tolerance and children’s ethnic prejudice towards White children. Furthermore, this relation was not affected by high or low levels of preparation for bias (p = .25). The hypotheses were not confirmed. Relations between parental attitudes and children’s ethnic prejudice may operate differently in ethnic minority families than in White families. More research into this topic is required.Show less
Reducing the harmful effects of climate change on the planet is one of the most important, yet challenging issues countries across the world are currently facing. Doing so requires cooperation, but...Show moreReducing the harmful effects of climate change on the planet is one of the most important, yet challenging issues countries across the world are currently facing. Doing so requires cooperation, but collectively mitigating the effects of climate change results in a public goods dilemma in which everyone benefits, despite contributing to the costs accompanied. With this, questions regarding fairness on distributing these costs arise. This study adds to the small body of literature on solving public goods dilemmas related to climate change by examining how the six cultural dimensions defined by Hofstede (2001) correlate with the preference to pay more to reduce the effects of climate change. Doing so, the distribution preferences of 3771 participants in 51 countries were measures. The results show that long-term orientation correlates with the preference to pay more, especially for the richest set of countries. Individualism, power distance, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and indulgence do not significantly correlate to the preference to pay more to reduce the effects of climate change, contradicting previous research on public good dilemmas and pro-environmental behavior. Implications of these findings, alongside limitations of the study and further research directions are discussed.Show less
Despite the well-established association between over-controlling and rejecting parenting and offspring social anxiety, little research has examined parental effects on cognitive biases associated...Show moreDespite the well-established association between over-controlling and rejecting parenting and offspring social anxiety, little research has examined parental effects on cognitive biases associated with social anxiety. Social evaluation expectancy and learning biases can impede effective social interaction and contribute to the development and maintenance of social anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate how parental care and control, or the combination of maternal control and paternal care, as perceived retrospectively by young adults, affect pre-exposure social evaluation expectancy and sensitivity to learn from positive, ambiguous and negative feedback about the self. One hundred nine university students (mean age = 20.5 years) participated in a reinforcement learning task, in which they estimated pre-task social acceptance from four peer strangers and predicted if these peers would give them positive/negative feedback on their self-profile statements, based on previous feedback from each peer. A series of multiple regression analyses were employed. Results showed that neither perceived parental care and control, nor the combination of maternal control and paternal care, were predictive of social acceptance expectancy or the learning rate of positive, ambiguous and negative self-related feedback of young adults. There was only a tendency for maternal overprotection to be associated with a negative learning bias of ambiguous social feedback. These findings suggest that perceived low parental care and high parental control does not affect offspring social anxiety by making young adults less likely to hold a positive self-referential bias or more likely to hold a negative self-referential bias before and during a social interaction.Show less
Background: Childhood trauma (CT) has been associated with eating disorder symptoms (EDs) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Particularly, specific BPD features such as affective...Show moreBackground: Childhood trauma (CT) has been associated with eating disorder symptoms (EDs) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Particularly, specific BPD features such as affective instability, impulsivity, dissociation, self-harm, are a frequent consequence of childhood trauma and co-occur with eating disorders. Previous findings suggested that symptoms of BPD could mediate the relationship between CT and EDs. The aim of this self-report study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between childhood trauma and eating disorder symptoms and whether this relationship is partly explained by borderline personality features. Methods: Four hundred and fourteen individuals completed the self-report scales on CT, BPD symptoms and EDs. Using the PROCESS macro tool, it was investigated whether there was a direct effect of CT severity on overall scores of ED symptoms as well as an indirect effect via BPD symptoms. The role of specific features of BPD were analysed in an exploratory manner. Results: Severity of CT significantly predicted EDs symptoms, also after accounting for overall borderline personality symptoms. In addition, there was a significant indirect effect of CT via overall BPD symptoms on EDs. Except for affective instability, indirect effects were found for all BPD features. Conclusion: In the context of previous findings, our results suggested that symptoms of BPD might mediate the relationship between CT and EDs. Given the correlational design of this study that cannot allow causal conclusions, experimental, longitudinal designs should be used in future research to further and deeply understand these associations.Show less
The quality of early relationships is thought to form the basis of maintaining mental well-being later in life. The aim of this study was to examine the role of parental bonding, loneliness and...Show moreThe quality of early relationships is thought to form the basis of maintaining mental well-being later in life. The aim of this study was to examine the role of parental bonding, loneliness and hopelessness in the development of PTSD symptomatology in a young adult sample. Participants who study at Leiden University was asked to fill-out questionnaires about parental bonding, loneliness, hopelessness and PTSD. According to participants’ scores on parental bonding inventory (PBI), they were assigned either to secure or insecure attachment groups. A mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between parental bonding and PTSD symptomatology by coding hopelessness and loneliness as potential mediators in this relationship. The results revealed that insecure attachment was associated with higher levels of hopelessness, loneliness and PTSD symptomatology whereas secure attachment was associated with lower levels of hopelessness, loneliness and PTSD symptomatology. Furthermore, loneliness and hopelessness mediated the relationship between parental bonding and PTSD symptomatology. These findings could help in identifying individuals who are more or less vulnerable to develop trauma-related symptoms after a traumatic or an adverse situation.Show less
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) commonly co-occurs with other psychiatric conditions. In recent years, network analysis has been employed to investigate the relationship between OCD and some of...Show moreObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) commonly co-occurs with other psychiatric conditions. In recent years, network analysis has been employed to investigate the relationship between OCD and some of its comorbidities. The objective of the current thesis was to explore the comorbidity network of OCD in relation to seven other psychiatric conditions, some of whose interactions with OCD have not been investigated by the former network analysis papers. The thesis made use of an open-source data which was collected from patients who registered to the Behavioural Health Partial (BHP) hospital program at McLean Hospital, Massachusetts between 30 November 2018–16 October 2019. The final sample consisted of 532 people. Their responses to four measures, namely Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Dimensional Scales, Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Drug Alcohol Craving Scale were analysed using network analysis. In total, we estimated two regularized partial correlation networks. The first network consisted of eight nodes representing eight psychiatric conditions. Differing from the former network in one way, the second one represented OCD and depression at a symptom level. Network 1 showed that OCD was connected to all other obsessive-compulsive and related disorder (OCRD)’s and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) but not to depression and drug alcohol craving. In this network, OCD was only linked to depression through other OCRD’s and GAD. Further, our results highlighted the importance of fatigue as it was one of the most central nodes in Network 2.Show less
