Sensitive parenting is important for promoting the parent-child relationship and children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental factors related to sensitive parenting are...Show moreSensitive parenting is important for promoting the parent-child relationship and children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental factors related to sensitive parenting are depression and parental self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between depression and sensitive parenting, and whether parental self-efficacy mediates this association. Participants were 17 Dutch mothers and 4 Dutch fathers of children aged 3-5 years. Parents played 5-10 minutes with their child during two measurement moments, while the researcher was present through a Microsoft Teams connection. A video of the playing was recorded. In between the two measurement moments, parents completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-questionnaire (CES-D) and the Me as a Parent-questionnaire (MaaP). Afterwards, the video recordings were encoded according to the Ainsworth sensitivity scale. Only the relation between depression and sensitivity was significant, where depression was positively related to sensitivity. There was no indication found for a mediational role of parental self-efficacy in the relation between depression and sensitivity. Explanatory theories, limitations and practical implications were discussed. Future research will have to show which other factors can explain these unexpected findings.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Background: Theoretical models propose that parenting practices play a role in the development and maintenance of child depression. However, previous meta-analytic findings indicated that parenting...Show moreBackground: Theoretical models propose that parenting practices play a role in the development and maintenance of child depression. However, previous meta-analytic findings indicated that parenting accounted for only 5-11% of the variance in childhood depression, with varying effects for different types of parenting behaviors. Research Question: The current study aimed to investigate the association between observed negative/positive parenting behavior, childhood depression, and child gender, while controlling for the confounding effects of type of informant and assessment approach for childhood depression. Method: Two meta-analysis were conducted for the negative parenting – childhood depression and positive parenting – childhood depression association, while including moderating and confounding variables. The current study included thirty articles in total, with nineteen examining negative parenting behaviors and twenty-three examining positive parenting behaviors. Results: Observed negative parenting behavior was positively and observed positive parenting behavior was negatively related to childhood depression, with overall small effect sizes. Type of parenting behavior, child gender, and assessment approach for childhood depression did not moderate the associations. Type of informant for childhood depression explained some variance in the positive parenting – childhood depression association. Conclusions: Parenting interventions for childhood depression might aim to improve a broader range of parental behaviors. Future research is advised to compare actual to perceived parenting behaviors and investigate the direction of the parenting – childhood depression association, while adopting a multiple levels of analysis perspective. This could possibly contribute towards developing most effective personalized interventions for childhood depression, while lowering the high burden of depression.Show less
This thesis explores the Romantic-era nature/nurture debate as represented in Gothic fiction, by examining the representation in Frankenstein of Mary Shelley’s standpoint regarding the significance...Show moreThis thesis explores the Romantic-era nature/nurture debate as represented in Gothic fiction, by examining the representation in Frankenstein of Mary Shelley’s standpoint regarding the significance of nurture for human mental development. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the role of parenting and education in the formation of individual identity. Frankenstein is first analysed in relation to the work of Shelley's parents regarding parenting, upbringing and education. Shelley's representation of the malleability of children is examined, after which Frankenstein's creature is read as a Female Gothic victim-heroine, in order to demonstrate how Shelley extends existing Gothic conventions to illustrate her beliefs regarding the influence of upbringing on the formation of individual identity. Finally, this thesis explores the role of the cult of domesticity on Frankenstein, in order to complete its analysis of Shelley's intellectual standpoint regarding the importance of nurture for the formation of individual identity. Shelley is shown to take up an intellectual position between the radical egalitarianism of her parents and her husband, that stresses nurture above everything else, and the more conventional – Christian – wisdom concerning human development as exemplified in Ann Radcliffe’s Female Gothic romances. Frankenstein shows that even though sociopolitical institutions have the power to corrupt individuals, the individuals have the responsibility to act according to their conscience.Show less
Psychological control is a parenting technique, that is described as parental controlling behaviour that intrudes on the emotional and psychological world of their child. As psychological control...Show morePsychological control is a parenting technique, that is described as parental controlling behaviour that intrudes on the emotional and psychological world of their child. As psychological control is suggested to create a link between the child’s behaviour and relational consequences with the parent, the child may experience it’s behaviour can be threatening the security of the parent-child relationship. This might specifically be true in a performance context, where the child’s performance on a task may be perceived as possibly threatening the security of the relationship. It is suggested that this relational consequences still emerge up to young adulthood. For these young adults, it is hypothesized that they will show more withdrawal tendencies from a performance task. These tendencies can be measured through electroencephalogram (EEG) activity of the frontal cortices. This thesis sought to determine whether psychological control influences the frontal brain asymmetry, that serves as a measure for approach-withdrawal motivation, in young adulthood. Baseline frontal EEG was recorded from 26 female undergraduates, preceding and after doing a time-estimation task. Approach motivation was observed preceding the task, and changed to withdrawal motivation afterwards. No influence of psychological control was found. An additional exploration of how motivation to perform well, and satisfaction with the performance, related to the approach-withdrawal motivation, yielded no significant results either. Despite the lack of significant results, some suggestions for further research emerge from this thesis. Replication with an increased sample size and additional measurements of the characteristics of the participants in the sample could contribute to the research in the field of psychological control and cortical activity.Show less
