Genes on the X and Y chromosomes have been found to have influence on the development of the brain, and thus on the development of psychopathology. Children with Sex Chromosome Trisomies (SCT) have...Show moreGenes on the X and Y chromosomes have been found to have influence on the development of the brain, and thus on the development of psychopathology. Children with Sex Chromosome Trisomies (SCT) have an abnormal number of X or Y chromosomes and may therefore be at risk for developmental problems, including internalizing problems. The present study aims to provide an answer to the question whether children aged 1 to 6 years with SCT have more internalizing symptoms than children without SCT, whether there is a difference between SCT karyotypes (XXX, XXY or XYY) and to what extent internalizing symptoms increase with age. This study included 29 children with XXX, 43 children with XXY, 20 children with XYY and 42 boys and 46 girls without SCT, all between the age of 1 to 6. These children’s parents completed the CBCL1-5 and a background-questionnaire while the WIPPSI-III was administered to the children. The study showed that children with SCT have an increased amount of internalizing symptoms compared to the control group. It also appears that there is a difference between the three SCT groups in degree of difference with the control group on internalizing symptoms. Finally, internalizing symptoms of children with SCT appear to have a stronger increase with age than the control group. In all three outcomes, it was also found that there is a difference between the SCT groups and between the SCT group and control group in which types of internalizing symptoms emerge. Thus, this study has shown that it is important to be aware of internalizing symptoms in young children, so that further development of these problems can be prevented. It is also important to keep in mind that internalizing problems manifest differently in these children, which makes it important to find a fitting intervention.Show less
Although it is known that men with Klinefelter syndrome have cognitive and behavioral problems, knowledge about psychological treatments is limited. This study describes the effect of a...Show moreAlthough it is known that men with Klinefelter syndrome have cognitive and behavioral problems, knowledge about psychological treatments is limited. This study describes the effect of a Selfmanagement training on social competence, social interaction and self-understanding. Scores of 23 Klinefelter men on the Social Skills Rating System, the Social Behavior Scale and the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire were compared to 41 control men. Both groups were compared on the pretest. The Klinefelter group has had a Selfmanagement training and a posttest after six months. Independent t-test and repeated measures were computed. The Klinefelter group showed significantly more impairments in social competence, social interactions and self-understanding than the control group on the pretest. No significant improvements on social competence, social interaction and self-understanding were found on the posttest for the Klinefelter men, so we looked at the means of the subtest. The means of the repeated measures indicate an improvement in averages after the training for social competence, frequency of social interactions and the emotion dimension of self-understanding. It turned out that the average excitement during social interaction has decreased considerable on the intervention period. It seems that the Selfmanagement training has a positive effect on the Klinefelter men. In the future research with a larger number of Klinefelter men is recommended as well as research on the effects at the long term. Because this is a first psychological training for men with Klinefelter, the small improvement found in the mean is already valuable and an open door for further research.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2014-08-16T00:00:00Z
The aim of this study was to expand the knowledge about the specific social-emotional difficulties within Klinefelter syndrome (47, XXY) by measuring attention to social cues, emotion recognition...Show moreThe aim of this study was to expand the knowledge about the specific social-emotional difficulties within Klinefelter syndrome (47, XXY) by measuring attention to social cues, emotion recognition skills, empathy and emotional arousal. 14 participants with Klinefelter syndrome (age range 16-56) and 14 control participants (age range 22-60) were included. All participants watched four video clips designed to evoke empathy, and filled out a questionnaire about their own and the main character’s emotions after each video. Furthermore, they completed an emotion recognition task consisting of 80 pictures of faces with a neutral, happy, scared or angry expression. During both tasks eye movements and fixations were measured. Electrocardiogram and skin conductance measurements were done at baseline, during the video clips and during the emotion recognition task. Participants with Klinefelter syndrome had equal emotion recognition scores compared to the control group, but empathy scores were lower for the Klinefelter group. Participants with Klinefelter spent less time fixating on eyes and more time fixating outside the face during the emotion recognition task. No group differences in overall fixation times were found during the videos, but longer fixations on eyes and mouths and shorter on objects predicted better empathy scores. Psychophysiological responses differed between groups during the empathy videos: participants with Klinefelter showed somewhat stronger skin conductance reactions than controls. The current results can contribute to the development of interventions for Klinefelter syndrome. Moreover, the results can give insight into the role of the X-chromosome in the relation between (social) attention processes and social-cognitive functioning.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-01-01T00:00:00Z
The aim of this study is to explore the role of language skills, communication and emotion regulation in relation to the degree of externalizing behavior. Studying children with an additional X...Show moreThe aim of this study is to explore the role of language skills, communication and emotion regulation in relation to the degree of externalizing behavior. Studying children with an additional X chromosome, who are known to have language deficits, can reveal insights into the underlying mechanisms of the development of externalizing behavior problems. A total of 85 normal developing children (34 boys and 51 girls) and 33 children with an additional X chromosome (16 girls and 17 boys) participated in the study. All children were tested on language skills (vocabulary, word associations, formulating sentences and concealed meaning) and emotion regulation (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire- kids). Parents completed questionnaires to assess social communication (Autism Questionnaire-children and Pragmatics Profile) and externalizing behavior (Social Skills Rating System and Child Behavioral Checklist).Our results indicate poorer language and social communication skills, more externalizing problem behavior and lowered levels of self-control in children with an additional X chromosome. Emotion regulation strategies were similar to controls although rumination was more often used as a regulation strategy. Though no direct association between language skills and externalizing behavior was found, findings did indicate an indirect association via social communicational skills. The findings also suggest that emotion regulation was linked to externalizing behavior. Future studies should focus on these possible risk factors in relation to the development of externalizing behavior. This might provide more insight into the treatment of the children with an additional X chromosome, as they have an high risk to develop externalizing behavior problems, early in life.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2016-09-22T00:00:00Z
The main objective of this study was to unravel characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by studying autism traits, social cognition, and gender differences in Klinefelter Syndrome (KS)...Show moreThe main objective of this study was to unravel characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by studying autism traits, social cognition, and gender differences in Klinefelter Syndrome (KS) and Triple X syndrome. ASD traits were assessed with the parent-report Autism Spectrum Quotient. Social cognition was measured with the Social Cognitive Skills Test. Participants included 17 KS boys and 16 Triple X girls (Mage = 12.0 years, SD = 2.6), and 85 control children (Mage = 10.6 years, SD = 1.1). Our results showed that both boys and girls with an extra X chromosome show substantially elevated rates of ASD traits compared to controls. In addition, our study is the first to show that KS boys and Triple X girls have overall impaired social cognitive skills and function at a lower social cognitive level than typically developing children. Our study provides guidelines for the design and enhancement of screening instruments and treatment programs, which will benefit the development of these children. Future studies should focus on identifying risk factors endangering the development of children with ASD and those that are born with an extra X chromosome.Show less
