Attachment begins to form during pregnancy, as mothers establish relationships with their unborn child. There is still limited knowledge about prenatal attachment and its relationships with other...Show moreAttachment begins to form during pregnancy, as mothers establish relationships with their unborn child. There is still limited knowledge about prenatal attachment and its relationships with other maternal and child factors. For the present study, the following research question was formulated: How do maternal executive functioning, the prenatal attachment and the pregnancy that was/wasn’t planned influence child problem behavior at the age of 4? Data from the MINDS-Leiden research project (Smaling et al., 2015) were utilized. This study examined potential predictors of early behavioral problems in young children (0-4 years) through tests and questionnaires administered to 275 Dutch women. Using a demographic questionnaire, the mothers were asked if the pregnancy was planned. The BRIEF-A was used to measure the maternal executive functioning. The MAAS was used to measure the prenatal mother-child attachment. The CBCL was used to measure the internalizing and externalizing problem behavior of the child at 4 years old. Results showed that children whose pregnancies were not planned showed more (internalizing and externalizing) problem behavior at the age of 4 than children whose pregnancies were planned. Furthermore, better maternal executive functioning was related to lower (internalizing and externalizing) problem behavior. Maternal executive functioning was also positively related to prenatal mother-child attachment. Multiple regression analyses showed that maternal executive functioning was the only robust predictor of both internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. In conclusion, prenatal attachment is related to childhood behavior problems, but in predictive models including other factors associated with both prenatal attachment and problem behavior (in the present study: planned/unplanned pregnancy and, particularly, maternal executive function) it appears to lose its unique predictive value. Measurement of prenatal attachment could be improved or refined further to obtain the best possible representation of this construct.Show less
Reading comprehension is an essential skill in life that one needs to be able to participate in today’s society. The latest PISA results showed that 1 in 4 of the 15-year-old Dutch children has too...Show moreReading comprehension is an essential skill in life that one needs to be able to participate in today’s society. The latest PISA results showed that 1 in 4 of the 15-year-old Dutch children has too little reading comprehension to understand the written world around them. A meta-analysis of Swart et al. has clearly indicated that extensive feedback given after a reading task shows better understanding of the text than lesser feedback or feedback during the reading task. However, these studies were all conducted with students who study in University. In this thesis we investigated whether extensive feedback given after a reading task to children in Groep 7 (approximately 11 years old) in the Netherlands show a better understanding of the texts compared to children that were given no or less extensive feedback. No significant differences were found between any of the experimental conditions. However, due to low numbers in each experimental group, the outcome of this study should be interpreted with caution. It is also unclear at this moment if the texts that were used during the intervention were suited for these children. Furthermore, the motivation of the children to seriously participate in this study is questioned. It is suggested that further research should be done to investigate the best type and timing of providing feedback to students.Show less
Externalizing behavior problems are profoundly prevalent in school-aged children and are connected to various challenges, including aggression, academic struggles, defiance and theft. This has...Show moreExternalizing behavior problems are profoundly prevalent in school-aged children and are connected to various challenges, including aggression, academic struggles, defiance and theft. This has considerable implications for the broader society. The present study aims to examine the relationship between social cognitive skills, verbal intelligence and performance intelligence and the externalizing behavior problems. Moreover, this research explores the potential influence of verbal and performance intelligence on the relationship between social cognitive skills and externalizing behavior. The study examines 289 children, aged between 5 and 18 years. The children were selected through a program dedicated to reduce and prevent delinquency. Among them, 255 children had a (sub)clinical score on externalizing behavior problems, while an additional 34 children were recruited as a control group. The Teacher Report Form (TRF) was used to measure the externalizing behavior problems. To measure the social cognitive skills, the ‘sociaal-cognitieve vaardigheden test’ was used. The verbal and performance intelligence were measured with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. The initial analysis focused exclusively on children with (sub)clinical scores of externalizing behavior problems. The regression analyses show no relationship between social cognitive skills, verbal intelligence, performance intelligence and externalizing behavior. Both verbal and performance intelligence did not act as a moderator in the relationship between social cognitive skills and externalizing behavior either. The second analysis also included the control group. The regression analyses show a significant relationship between performance intelligence and externalizing behavior problems. Neither verbal intelligence or social cognitive skills had a unique contribution to externalizing behavior problems. Performance intelligence did not moderate the relationship between social cognitive skills and externalizing behavior problems. A significant moderation effect was found for verbal intelligence, suggesting that optimal assistance for children is achieved through interventions targeting both verbal skills and social cognitive skills.Show less
