Around 70% of young people that engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) have attempted suicide at least once. NSSI has become one of the most concerning behaviors in young people, and having...Show moreAround 70% of young people that engage in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) have attempted suicide at least once. NSSI has become one of the most concerning behaviors in young people, and having experienced childhood adversity increased the risk of NSSI. Therefore, it is important to find protective factors against NSSI in young people with a history of childhood adversity. This thesis looked into the interaction between resilient functioning, friendship quality, and NSSI, and investigated if resilient functioning and friendship quality could reduce NSSI in young people with a history of childhood adversity. 72 young people, aged 16-26 years, who were exposed to childhood adversity before the age of 16 years were included in the study. They were asked to fill out online assessments about psychosocial functioning, childhood adversity history, friendship quality, and NSSI. The results showed that higher resilient functioning was related with a greater tendency of NSSI, and higher friendship quality was associated with a lower tendency of NSSI in young people with a history of childhood adversity. The relationship between resilient functioning and NSSI was not moderated by the friendship quality. Friendship is an important factor to buffer the negative effect of childhood adversity and reduce NSSI in young people. It can be valuable to add friendship in the intervention related to NSSI in young people with a history of childhood adversity.Show less
When looking at the African continent, Africa is now a socially and economically vibrant destination for foreign powers to invest in and has generated interest of traditional Western powers and of...Show moreWhen looking at the African continent, Africa is now a socially and economically vibrant destination for foreign powers to invest in and has generated interest of traditional Western powers and of the newly emerged ‘Southern powers’ such as China. China puts great effort in differentiating themselves from other partners of African nations. China portrays itself as an ‘all-weather friend’ of Africa that strives for changing the economic world order justly in which all (developing) countries have a say. This research looks at how the Chinese government constructs its engagement in Africa as different compared to Western involvement on the African continent, and how this difference is constituted through different strategies of differentiation: historical ties, South-South mutual understanding, Soft Power and Non-conditional development cooperation.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
During the final years of the Yuan dynasty, a group of poets gathered in a district near the northern part of Suzhou’s city walls. This group became later known as the “Ten Friends of the North...Show moreDuring the final years of the Yuan dynasty, a group of poets gathered in a district near the northern part of Suzhou’s city walls. This group became later known as the “Ten Friends of the North City Wall” (Beiguo shi you 北郭十友). This thesis analyzes the friendship and social relationships of four of these friends. It challenges the significance of their literary gatherings in the north city wall district, while it focuses on the variety of other locations – estates, gardens, monasteries, scenic and historical sites - where their relationships were acted out. In the Yuan-Ming transition, when civil war and political instability greatly reduced opportunities for distant travel and social networking, these various places in and around Suzhou allowed them to maintain a social network through time and space.Show less
