In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. In response to the rapid and global spread of the disease, different countries instated different kinds of measures in...Show moreIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. In response to the rapid and global spread of the disease, different countries instated different kinds of measures in different degrees, that of course triggered different outcomes. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the first case of COVD-19 was reported on February 27th of 2020 in Nigeria, and it did not take long before it spread all across the region. Despite the general challenges that the region faces in context of containing public health emergencies – relating to lack of resources and state-capacity, low accessibility of health services, poverty and a large informal sector - national responses too differed vastly. Uganda, for example, is a country often praised for its response.This stands in stark contrast with the response of neighboring country Tanzania, whose approach was characterized by simplification, denialism and dismissal of the pandemic. This thesis yields an explanation for delayed national COVID-19 responses by first comparing the cases of Tanzania and Uganda, and then taking an in-depth look at Tanzania's delayed COVID-19 response. The argument holds that, in Tanzania, contemporary political and institutional factors should be taken into account together with the post-independence, historical legacy of the ruling CCM party. It makes use of critical juncture theory and the concept of medical populism to illustrate the opening up of political-space in light of the 2020 Tanzanian Presidential elections. Further research might focus on other enablers of populism in Sub-Saharan Africa, as manifestations of populism remain under-researched there. For example, (lack of) economic development has been identified as a global cause for populism. Although this was not the case for Tanzania specifically, it might play a role elsewhere in the region.Show less
In 2021, Japan's gender wage gap was among the highest of all OECD countries. A big factor of this economic gender inequality lies in the fact that female participation in regular-work is...Show moreIn 2021, Japan's gender wage gap was among the highest of all OECD countries. A big factor of this economic gender inequality lies in the fact that female participation in regular-work is comparatively low to the participation rate in the more insecure and lower-paying irregular work jobs. Previous research has shown that there are three main obstacles to increased female participation in regular work positions. Those being the long-working-hours culture, a lack of enforcement of policies by the government, and the societal expectation that women are supposed to focus on housework and child-rearing. This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced these obstacles and if there has been any positive change to the female participation rate in regular work. Using the concepts of exogenous shocks and critical junctures as a theoretical framework, this paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic might have set the stage for real change in the Japanese labour market through the promotion of telework as a legitimate business practice. However, the pandemic has also highlighted or reinforced the existing obstacles to increased female participations in regular work due to the closure of schools and businesses in the hospitality industry, disproportionally affecting women.Show less
Recent studies have found a strong correlation between covid-19 and higher conflict intensity. Yet, scant attention has been paid to the ways in which covid-19 increased the conflict intensity of...Show moreRecent studies have found a strong correlation between covid-19 and higher conflict intensity. Yet, scant attention has been paid to the ways in which covid-19 increased the conflict intensity of pre-existing conflicts. Therefore, this is the gap that this thesis aims to fill. From the disaster-conflict literature, and the covid-19-conflict literature more specifically, I derive three possible causal mechanisms concerning 1) state capacity 2) conflict mitigation, and 3) foreign backers. Consequently, I test these mechanisms with the use of process tracing in the context of the Libyan conflict. The evidence reveals that all three mechanisms were partly present, but did not exactly function as theorized. Indeed, in contrast to the hypothesized causal mechanism, no evidence is found for the suspension of military activities by the state, suggesting that the emergence of covid-19 did not weaken state capacity. Besides, the suspension of conflict mitigating activities and the involvement of foreign backers led to an intensification of violence, despite the continued attention for the conflict during the pandemic. More research, therefore, is necessary to further explore the mechanisms linking pandemics and conflict intensity in pre-existing conflicts.Show less
Background: The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing well-being and the choice of coping behaviors used to face this unique life adversity. Adverse childhood...Show moreBackground: The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing well-being and the choice of coping behaviors used to face this unique life adversity. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to specific choices of coping behaviors which could lead to poorer health outcomes, therefore worse well-being. Aim: Investigate whether adverse childhood experiences predict pandemic coping behaviors and if adverse childhood experiences moderate the relationship between pandemic coping behaviors and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This study was part of the CONNECT study within the Netherlands, which is part of a larger international longitudinal collaboration from eleven countries in Europe (ADJUST study). The participants were recruited through social media platforms from July to November 2020. Sociodemographic data were gathered, along with the following questionnaires: Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (ACE) to measure adverse childhood experiences, Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS) to measure pandemic coping behaviors, and WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) to measure well-being. Descriptive analysis as well as a MANOVA and moderation analyses were performed. Results: The responses of 2,022 individuals were analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 36, females (70.4%), males (29.1%), and others (0.5%). The mean for adverse childhood experiences was 1.3 and most of the population was considered low risk (86.9%). The mean score for well-being was 13.1 and 22.4 for PCS scores, which indicate high scores in well-being and coping behaviors. The MANOVA showed a significant model equation (p = .040) and non-significant individual relationships between ACEs and each pandemic coping style (preventative actions, p = .73; healthy lifestyle, p = .929; daily structure, p = .784; joyful activities, p = .162). The moderation effect of ACE in the relationship between coping and well-being was not significant (p = .150). Conclusions: This study shows the relation between well-being, pandemic coping behaviors, and adverse childhood experiences during the current coronavirus pandemic, as well as an insight into the Dutch population's experience of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Further research is advised.Show less
Norm compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic describes the adherence to health- protecting measures such as social distancing and hand hygiene practice. High norm compliance has been shown to...Show moreNorm compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic describes the adherence to health- protecting measures such as social distancing and hand hygiene practice. High norm compliance has been shown to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Norm compliance involves decision-making processes which are linked to working memory (WM), the ability to manipulate and maintain information. A recent study by Xie et al. (2020) found that high WM capacity predicted social distancing compliance as measured two weeks after the US COVID-19 emergency declaration. It remains unknown, however, if and to what extent the relationship between WM capacity and norm compliance changes over time. The goal of this study was to partially replicate Xie et al. 's (2020) research and investigate whether WM capacity can predict norm compliance two weeks (T1) as well as six weeks (T2) after the mandated COVID-19 lockdown in Germany. A sample of 67 participants (60 for T2) completed two self-report questionnaires for T1 and T2 respectively (within-subject design). WM capacity was measured with the digit span backwards (DSB) and a compliance scale assessing social distancing and hand washing behaviour was developed. The results indicate that WM neither significantly predicted social distancing compliance at two weeks nor at six weeks, thereby not replicating the study by Xie et al. (2020). These inconclusive findings can be explained by the complexity of measuring norm compliance, the differences to Xie et al. 's (2020) research and the limited representativity and size of the sample. As norm compliance is crucial for a functioning society, future research should continue investigating (cognitive) predictors of compliant behaviour, thereby identifying strategies for compliance-enhancing interventions.Show less
Observed globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a mental health decline. The pandemic has affected the general public, individuals that have been quarantined and individuals who have been...Show moreObserved globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a mental health decline. The pandemic has affected the general public, individuals that have been quarantined and individuals who have been infected with COVID-19. Currently, only a few available studies compare pandemic-onset depressive symptoms between these groups. Additionally, it is not yet known how a dominant position on the personality continuum of introversion/extraversion influences individuals’ experiences of depressive symptoms. Thus, the present study investigates differences between covid groups, as well as differences between individuals with dominant introverted versus extraverted traits. The findings will contribute to the construction of a global response in the observed mental health decline. The study is carried out through a cross-sectional online questionnaire (N = 150), in a group of adults between 18 and 30 years old. Individuals’ differences in positions on the introversion/extraversion continuum are measured using the HEXACO- PI-R. The mean PHQ-9 and HADS depression scores were observed to be 14.95/10.25 (healthy), 18.35/11.94 (quarantined), 15.64/10.25 (infected) and 15.76/11.55 (quarantined + infected) in the respective groups. No difference between covid status groups on the depression scores was found. Within the whole sample, in the healthy and quarantined + infected groups (p < 0.001), and in the PHQ-9 measured infected group (p = 0.045), significant negative relationships between extraversion and depressive symptom scores were found. These findings are limited due to small sample sizes, the cross-sectional design and the use of convenience sampling. Further studies should include larger sample sizes and make use of a longitudinal design and probability sampling.Show less
What is environmental turbulence? How does it affect organisational performance? And how is this relationship moderated by stabilising features? This thesis delves into the topic of organisational...Show moreWhat is environmental turbulence? How does it affect organisational performance? And how is this relationship moderated by stabilising features? This thesis delves into the topic of organisational stability in the wake of turbulence stemming from the outside of (public) organisations. It uses COVID-19 crisis as an example of environmental turbulence and assesses its impact on the provision of education in The Netherlands. Moreover, this thesis investigates the moderating role of stabilising features, conceptualised as personnel stability in the form of personnel tenure, forms of employment and teacher-to-student ratio. This thesis is quantitative and deductive. In order to test this relationship, a statistical model has been set up, with the data on 429 public schools in the secondary education in The Netherlands. This thesis finds positive support for the argument that stabilising features attenuate the negative effect of environmental turbulence on the organisational performance, albeit weakly. This thesis recommends to delve further into contextual factors that could have an impact on aforementioned relationships, by choosing, for instance, a smaller N, or investigating one or few particular schools through interviews and thick description.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s life since its outbreak, with the lockdown having a negative reputation on mental health. This study examined mental health levels of undergraduate...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s life since its outbreak, with the lockdown having a negative reputation on mental health. This study examined mental health levels of undergraduate students during and one year after the lockdown, with the expectation that they would experience more mental health problems. Mood and anxiety problems were assessed through an online questionnaire in two collection waves. The first wave was conducted between September and October 2020, after the first lockdown. The participants were reassessed one year later. The sample consisted of N = 478 undergraduates (mean age = 22,3; 55,6% female). A binary logistic regression revealed that during the lockdown, half of the students (50,8%) reported that the COVID-19 crisis had impacted their mood in a negative way. One year after the lockdown fewer students reported that the COVID-19 crisis had negatively impacted their mood (41,3%), F (1, 205) = 17.91, p < .001. Less than half of the students (38,9%) reported that the COVID-19 crisis had impacted their anxiety levels. One year after the lockdown 25,6% reported that the coronavirus had negatively impacted their anxiety levels, F (1, 206) = 7.49, p = .007. Previous mental health problems were associated with mood and anxiety problems in both waves. In contrast to preregistered hypotheses, experiencing mood and anxiety problems during the COVID-19 lockdown did not predict having more mood and anxiety problems one year after the COVID-19 lockdown. Undergraduate students were found to be largely resilient to the effects of lockdown measures on mental health.Show less
Er zijn veel factoren die meespelen in het behalen van goede schoolprestaties. In dit onderzoek wordt gepoogd een beeld te schetsen van de invloeden van vriendschapskwaliteit en thuissituaties op...Show moreEr zijn veel factoren die meespelen in het behalen van goede schoolprestaties. In dit onderzoek wordt gepoogd een beeld te schetsen van de invloeden van vriendschapskwaliteit en thuissituaties op de schoolprestaties van adolescenten. Verder wordt er gekeken of de vriendschapskwaliteit een goede voorspeller is voor het geluk van de adolescent. Deze invloeden zijn veel veranderd in verband met de huidige Covid-19 pandemie. Adolescenten zijn meer op zichzelf aangewezen en hebben een andere schoolsetting. Dit onderzoek probeert dit in kaart te brengen te brengen door een analyse van een opgezette vragenlijst. Diverse zelf-rapportage vragenlijsten zijn afgenomen bij 160 adolescenten, 11 tot 15 jaar oud. De vragenlijst bevat vragen betreffende de thuissituatie, vriendschapskwaliteit, schoolprestatie en het level van geluksgevoel bij de adolescent. Uit de meervoudige regressieanalyse bleek dat de vriendschapskwaliteit een goede voorspeller is van de schoolresultaten adolescent. Verder heeft het onderzoek aangetoond dat een hogere vriendschapskwaliteit een hogere score op geluk voorspelt. We kunnen daardoor zeggen dat vriendschapskwaliteit een belangrijke factor voor zowel prestaties op school als een hoge score op geluk. Een belangrijke implicatie van dit onderzoek betreft de hoeveelheid vragen in de zelf-rapportage vragenlijst. Voor een completer beeld zouden er meer vragen gebruikt kunnen worden. Verder kan het gebruik van zelf-rapportage vragenlijsten ook zorgen voor onnauwkeurigheden. Voor verder onderzoek naar dit onderwerp zou er gekeken kunnen worden naar de visie van ouders en docenten om zo een accurater beeld te vormen van de adolescent.Show less
Nederland ging op 13 maart 2020 in een lockdown in vanwege de intrede van COVID-19. Mensen met een cardiovasculaire ziekte ervaren stress rondom het krijgen van een besmetting met het virus, wegens...Show moreNederland ging op 13 maart 2020 in een lockdown in vanwege de intrede van COVID-19. Mensen met een cardiovasculaire ziekte ervaren stress rondom het krijgen van een besmetting met het virus, wegens de consequenties van besmetting voor deze groep en de uitgestelde zorg. Er is echter nog weinig onderzoek gedaan naar het mentaal welzijn van deze groep ten tijde van en na de pandemie. Zo lijkt psychologische flexibiliteit een rol te spelen bij mensen met een chronische ziekte ten tijde van de pandemie. In dit onderzoek is er onderzocht of er een verschil in mentaal welzijn is tijdens en na de pandemie voor mensen met en zonder cardiovasculaire ziekte, en of psychologische flexibiliteit hierbij een beschermende rol speelt. Dit is gemeten door middel van zelfrapportage vragenlijsten bij 6050 respondenten tussen de 16 en 99 jaar. Uit de regressieanalyse is gebleken dat met name mensen zonder cardiovasculaire ziekten zich na de pandemie mentaal beter voelen, in vergelijking met mensen met een cardiovasculaire ziekte. Echter is er geen significantie aangetoond voor psychologische flexibiliteit, wat erop duidt dat dit geen beschermende factor is. Vervolgonderzoek zou moeten aantonen welke chronische condities daadwerkelijk voordelen ervaren een hoge psychologische flexibiliteit en welke overlap psychologische flexibiliteit met mentaal welzijn heeft. The Netherlands entered a lockdown on March 13, 2020, due to COVID-19. People with a cardiovascular disease experienced stress around getting an infection, due to the consequences of the virus, and the delayed care for their illness. However, little research has been done for this group during and after the pandemic. For example, psychological flexibility seems to play a role in people with a chronic illness during the pandemic. This study investigated whether there is a difference in mental well-being during and after the pandemic, for people with and without cardiovascular disease, and whether psychological flexibility plays a protective role. This was measured by means of self-report questionnaires among 6050 respondents between the ages of 16 and 99. The regression analysis showed that especially people without a cardiovascular disease have a higher mental wellbeing after the pandemic, compared to people with cardiovascular disease. However, no significance has been shown for psychological flexibility, suggesting that this is not a protective factor. Follow-up research should show which chronic conditions benefit from a higher psychological flexibility.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused both academic and financial hardship for students pursuing higher education in the Netherlands, including study delays and layoffs. Given that these types of...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused both academic and financial hardship for students pursuing higher education in the Netherlands, including study delays and layoffs. Given that these types of incidents have a bearing on students' overall financial behaviour and that student loans are a common tool among students to finance their postsecondary education, one would expect these effects of the pandemic to have a direct impact on student borrowing behaviour. However, there is another variable to take into account, namely students' financial preferences, particularly with regard to having or taking on debt. Accordingly, this study reports on the degree of debt aversion and how it affects the borrowing behaviour of students in Dutch higher education during this crisis. This relationship is examined by means of three hypotheses and corresponding multiple regression analyses with moderation effects, using data obtained through the use of a survey and an additive index measuring the degree of debt aversion. This research has shown that the financial preference of debt aversion has a negative impact on the borrowing behaviour of students. In other words, the higher a student’s degree of debt aversion is, the lower their monthly amount of student loans will be. This relationship does not differ depending on whether or not a student has been directly affected by the pandemic and the effects thereof.Show less
Aims: The aim of this study is to provide more information on the relation between the COVID-19 pandemic and externalizing problems in children and adolescents with mental health problems. In...Show moreAims: The aim of this study is to provide more information on the relation between the COVID-19 pandemic and externalizing problems in children and adolescents with mental health problems. In addition, this study examined the potential influence of gender and age on the relation between the COVID-19 pandemic and externalizing problems. Methods: This study is based on a between-subjects design that examined externalizing problems among children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 18 years in a youth care sample (N = 3,215) before the COVID-19 pandemic (April 1, 2019–March 10, 2020, N = 1,873) and during the pandemic (March 11, 2020–April 1, 2021, N = 1,342). The Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) was used to measure externalizing problems. Parents or legal guardians filled in this questionnaire at the beginning of treatment. Results: No increases in externalizing problems were found in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to children and adolescents before the pandemic. In addition, gender and age did not influence the relation between the COVID-19 pandemic and externalizing problems significantly. Conclusions: Our results are not in line with most previous research. However, they are in line with recent research that found initial increases in mental health problems at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but not over time. This research contributes to the knowledge and sheds new light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents referred to youth care.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
Metaphors effectively explain a complex (scientific) topic in terms familiar to the non-expert audience. However, metaphors also affect attitude. This thesis investigated the effects that the path...Show moreMetaphors effectively explain a complex (scientific) topic in terms familiar to the non-expert audience. However, metaphors also affect attitude. This thesis investigated the effects that the path metaphor and the wildfire metaphor have on the personal control people experience over the further course of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, participants received a text about the ongoing yet hidden threat of COVID-19, in which a new outbreak was either described as a wrongly taken path, as a wildfire flaring up, or without a metaphor. To measure the experienced amount of personal control, the participants were asked about their feelings of fear and control of the virus and the measures, and how they would bring these feelings into practice by reacting to multiple scenarios involving the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Statistical testing revealed no significant effect of the metaphors on the participants’ responses, potentially due to (amongst others) the time frame of the research. It is necessary to research in which circumstances a metaphor does and does not affect attitude. Then, it can be determined how and when a metaphor can best be employed in daily life to influence the hearer’s perception of a message, for example in the contexts of climate change, disease, and politics.Show less
Background: It is unclear if COVID-19 measurements affect adolescent with a history of Childhood Aversity (CA) more than other adolescents. It is important to find out, because CA already predicts...Show moreBackground: It is unclear if COVID-19 measurements affect adolescent with a history of Childhood Aversity (CA) more than other adolescents. It is important to find out, because CA already predicts more risk for psychological problems such as depression. CA can also have an impact on the stress hormone cortisol, which can lead to less or more depressive symptoms. Research is needed to find out if CA and cortisol can be of risk for developing depression after lockdown due to COVID-19 or if adolescents will be resilient to these kinds of stressors. Method: The sample consisted of 89 adolescents with a history of CA, recruited through an earlier study named Resilience after Individual Stress Exposure (RAISE). The adolescents filled in two questionnaires: Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Mood and feelings questionnaire (MFQ). They also performed an fMRI stress task (MIST) where prior to this test blood was contained for measurement of cortisol. After the first lockdown of COVID-19 the MFQ was filled in again. Results: The results stated that after the lockdown the depression symptoms were increased (Z = 4,122, p < .001). But threat and deprivation (both CA) were not predictors of cortisol (threat: b = -.214, t (87) = -200, p = .842, deprivation: b = .316, t (87) = .2523, p = .801). Cortisol did not have mediation effect between threat/deprivation and changes in depression symptoms (threat: 95% CI [-.017,.026], deprivation: 95% CI [-.037,.031]). And lastly only threat was a predictor for changes in depression symptoms (b = .255, t (87) = 2.3863, p = .019). Discussion: This research has proved that there is an increase in depressive symptoms after the first lockdown in April of the year 2020. Secondly, history of threat and deprivation are not predictors of cortisollevels in the adolescence. Third, cortisol did not play a mediation role between CA (threat/deprivation) and depressive symptoms. Lastly, threat predicts depressive symptoms after the lockdown. In future similar situations, to prevent development of (more) depressive symptoms that may lead to depression disorder, extra support for adolescents, especially with history of threat, is needed.Show less
