Suicide attempts are a major global public health concern with wide-ranging tragic consequences. Trait anger has been shown to be a predictor of suicide attempts in past studies, with people higher...Show moreSuicide attempts are a major global public health concern with wide-ranging tragic consequences. Trait anger has been shown to be a predictor of suicide attempts in past studies, with people higher in trait anger having an increased risk of attempting suicide. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms as to why this relationship persists are still mostly unknown. The aim of this research was to investigate the prospective relationship between trait anger and suicide attempts. Based on the idea that frequent anger may harm social relationships, we proposed loneliness to mediate the relationship between trait anger and suicide attempts. The study design was longitudinal, and data was collected using ecological momentary assessment over a study period of one year. The sample consisted of participants with a history of suicide attempt or suicidal ideation (N = 65). Survival analysis was used to analyze the data. Against our predictions, higher trait anger was not related to an increased risk of attempting suicide. The hypothesized mediation effect of loneliness was also not significant. Possible reasons for this may be sample characteristics and our operationalizations of trait anger and loneliness. Nevertheless, our findings contribute to the literature on suicide attempts by utilizing comprehensive data collection and analysis methodologies as well as proposing important considerations for future research. Awareness of suicide attempts and corresponding prevention interventions are discussed.Show less
The bond an individual had with their caregivers in childhood can influence their mental health in adulthood. A body of literature suggests that parental bonding is believed to have significant...Show moreThe bond an individual had with their caregivers in childhood can influence their mental health in adulthood. A body of literature suggests that parental bonding is believed to have significant influence on the possible development of various psychopathologies, such as alcohol use and loneliness. This study examined the influence of parental bonding on alcohol use and loneliness. The participants of this study were part of the longitudinal NESDA study (N = 1685). Parental bonding, specifically care and overprotection, was measured with the parental bonding instrument (PBI). Two mediation analyses were run: parental care and overprotection were expected to predict alcohol use, mediated by loneliness. To control for confounders, depression and anxiety symptoms were included as covariates. The results demonstrated that both low parental care and high overprotection predict loneliness. However, loneliness was not associated with alcohol use and did not mediate the relationship between parental bonding and alcohol consumption. Surprisingly, low overprotection was associated with higher alcohol use. Meanwhile, parental care was not significantly related to alcohol consumption. This study offers new insights to the relationship between parental bonding and alcohol use. Demonstrating that low parental overprotection does predict alcohol use while parental care does not. Further research should take sociability of participants and gender differences into account.Show less
Background: Suicidality has become the most common cause of death for younger individuals. With increasing suicide rates across the globe suicidal ideation (SI) has received a lot of attention not...Show moreBackground: Suicidality has become the most common cause of death for younger individuals. With increasing suicide rates across the globe suicidal ideation (SI) has received a lot of attention not only because of its occurrence in a non-clinical population but also due to its predictive quality of suicidal behavior. Recent literature arising out of the COVID-19 era indicated that high loneliness is a predictor higher SI. Current theories of SI emphasized the identification of external risk factors for SI but have neglected the participating role of the self during SI. Objective: That is, the present paper aimed to introduce the ego function mentalization from the school of psychoanalysis and psychodynamics to illuminate the limitations of current SI theories. Consequently, this study investigated the moderating effects of mentalization on the link between loneliness and SI. Method and results: In this cross-sectional design, students aged 17-26 (N=112) filled out online, self-report questionnaires measuring SI, loneliness, and mentalization. The bivariate correlation test showed that loneliness is positively associated with loneliness (rs = .6, p < .001). Findings from the hierarchical analysis indicate that this positive relationship is moderated by mentalization (R2 = .425, b = .01, F (1,108) = 5.01, p = .027). In particular, the interaction effect of loneliness and SI suggests a strengthening of the link between loneliness and SI as mentalization scores increase. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of mentalization as a moderator of the critical relationship between loneliness and SI in a non-clinical juvenile sample. In essence, the findings invite clinicians to introduce ego functions when investigating the emergence, maintenance, and progression of self-destructive ideation.Show less
Bullying is a phenomenon that is widespread in schools and workplace but is also occurring online in the form of cyberbullying. Previous studies have indicated that bullying is negatively related...Show moreBullying is a phenomenon that is widespread in schools and workplace but is also occurring online in the form of cyberbullying. Previous studies have indicated that bullying is negatively related to social support and self-esteem. Social support and self-esteem thus constitute protective factors in the relation to bullying. Further, it was expected that bullying will be positively related to the negative mental health outcomes loneliness, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. To investigate the relations between bullying and social support, self-esteem, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation the present study used the network approach to integrate all the variables and visualize their relations. The data was taken from the WARN-D project, where 453 participants aged between 18 and 53 (M = 22.7, SD = 4) filled out questionnaires about various mental health aspects including the seven variables used in the present study. Results show that the hypothesized positive relationships between bullying and mental health outcomes are present in the network. The same holds for the negative relationships between bullying and the protective factors. In conclusion, the present study provides an important framework for theory development and further use of the network approach in the field of bullying.Show less
Background: University students with autism are more likely to experience mental health issues during their studies than their neurotypical peers. The exact role of loneliness and meaning in life...Show moreBackground: University students with autism are more likely to experience mental health issues during their studies than their neurotypical peers. The exact role of loneliness and meaning in life in the mental health of students with autism is unknown. Aim: To investigate the impact that loneliness and meaning in life have on different mental health outcomes for university students with and without a diagnosis of autism. The examined mental health outcomes were depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Methods: Online survey. The sample consisted of 59 students with autism and 163 neurotypical university students in the Netherlands. Results: Students with autism reported lower levels of meaning in life and higher levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation than their neurotypical peers. Both loneliness and low meaning in life could significantly predict all the mental outcomes. Loneliness was also predictor of low meaning in life. For participants with autism, there was no evidence of meaning in life mediating the relationship of loneliness with depression and anxiety. However, meaning in life fully mediated the effect that loneliness has on suicidal ideation. Regarding the neurotypical sample, there was evidence of a partial mediation of meaning in life for all three mental health outcomes. Conclusion: Students with autism are at greater risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Both loneliness and low meaning in life may contribute to this. If replicated, universities may be advised to offer social support, as well as interventions targeting meaning in life to their students with autism.Show less
Previous research indicates that both suicidal ideation and several risk factors fluctuate substantially within hours. Factors that increase the risk of suicidal ideation in the long-term may...Show morePrevious research indicates that both suicidal ideation and several risk factors fluctuate substantially within hours. Factors that increase the risk of suicidal ideation in the long-term may differ from factors contributing to present suicidal ideation. The aim of this single-case study was to investigate real-time, concurrent associations between suicidal ideation and perceived burdensomeness, hopelessness, loneliness, optimism, social support, and stress. Data were obtained via ecological momentary assessment with four assessments per day over a 21-day period. It was hypothesised that higher scores of burdensomeness, hopelessness, loneliness, and stress, as well as lower optimism scores and the absence of social support would be associated with concurrent increases in suicidal ideation. Additionally, the role of social support as a potential moderator of the relationships between suicidal ideation and perceived burdensomeness, hopelessness, loneliness, optimism, and stress was examined. A multilevel linear mixed model analysis yielded significant associations between hopelessness, loneliness, and social support with suicidal ideation. Further, social support significantly moderated the association between suicidal ideation and hopelessness, with both being lower when the participant was in company. These results imply that repeated daily assessments of hopelessness, loneliness, and social support in individuals at suicide risk may be used as indicators of the severity of current suicidal ideation. Besides, social support may serve as a protective factor that could be integrated in suicide prevention strategies. Nonetheless, these conclusions are limited in their external validity given the case-study design. Further research replicating this study with a larger sample is needed to obtain generalisable conclusions.Show less
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions may have far-reaching consequences for mental health among adolescents with experiences of childhood adversities (CA). Exposure to CA...Show moreIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions may have far-reaching consequences for mental health among adolescents with experiences of childhood adversities (CA). Exposure to CA influences information processing such as threat processing and reward processing and is therefore associated with elevated risk for psychopathology partly due to altered patterns of social functioning. We propose that adolescents with CA may experience loneliness due to the COVID-19 restrictions and that experiencing loneliness can depend on exposure to deprivation and threat because of its distinct effects on neurological development. Methods: We recruited adolescents (N = 79, 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑒= 22,4, SD = 2,645) from the Resilience after Individual Stress Exposure (RAISE) who filled in a questionnaire of experienced Childhood Adversities before the lockdown. We measured loneliness during the first lockdown (April 2020), the relaxation of restrictions (July 2020) and the reintroduced restrictions (October 2020). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) measured Childhood adversities and the Revised University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (R-UCLA) measured loneliness. Results: The findings showed that loneliness in April, July and October did not change (F(1.906, 131.508) = .187, p > .05). Loneliness and experiences of threat did not interact with each other; reported loneliness was not influenced by experiences of threat (F(1.906, 131.508) = .282, p > .05). Loneliness and experiences of deprivation did not interact with each other; loneliness was not influenced by experiences of deprivation (F(1.906, 131.508) = .237, p > .05). There was an association between loneliness (April) and neglect (β = .1.18 (t (74) = 3.73; p < .001, r=.56), but no association between loneliness and threat (β = .005 (t) (74) = .017; p > .05). Discussion: The corona pandemic is characterized by an unpredictable situation, which may have caused feelings of fear and anxiety for the entire population which resulted in solidarity; the virus could affect anyone. This could explain the absence of association between threat and loneliness as well as the absence of difference in loneliness in April, July and October.Show less
This study examined the relationship between three different measurements of children’s social interactions at school: self-reports measuring loneliness in group integration and intimacy, peer...Show moreThis study examined the relationship between three different measurements of children’s social interactions at school: self-reports measuring loneliness in group integration and intimacy, peer nominations and sensor data taken from free play during recess. Furthermore, the gender differences in the level of social interactions were assessed. A total of 216 primary school children participated in this research with a mean age of 10.5 years (SD = .94). Correlations were found for peer nominations (mutual nominations and best friend nominations) with self-reported sense of integration and percentage time interacting (sensor data). No other correlations appeared. Moreover, when testing for possible gender differences in the level of social interactions, girls reported feeling more peer intimacy (less lonely in the context of intimate friendships) when compared to boys. This was the only gender difference found in this research. Taking everything in consideration, it is sensible that primary education focuses on social interactions and loneliness since friendship is a crucial part of a child’s development. However, schools could still focus more on gender differences in social interactions and loneliness. Furthermore, based on this research outcomes, some questions arise about (non)-existing gender differences and differences with existing literature. This indicates the need for more in-depth research in the future.Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis examines the depiction of solitude in the novels Caleb Williams, Frankenstein, and A Tale of Two Cities, and the relationship between these depictions and eighteenth- and nineteenth...Show moreThis thesis examines the depiction of solitude in the novels Caleb Williams, Frankenstein, and A Tale of Two Cities, and the relationship between these depictions and eighteenth- and nineteenth-century discourses on solitude. In particular, this thesis shows the tension between philosophies of sociability and sympathy, such as Rousseau’s and Hume’s, and the moral dimension of solitude. While previous research has examined solitude by focusing on either Romantic solitude or on loneliness as an imposed condition by social forces, this thesis aims to investigate the moral value of solitude, and its relation to social criticism. Taking a cultural materialist approach, this thesis examines cultural discourses surrounding solitude and offers close readings of the novels to argue that these novels present sociability as a divisive force in society, and solitude as both necessary to foster a connection to humanity, and a necessary condition for justice and morality. The privileging of solitude over sociability shows how these novels respond to the emphasis of Enlightenment philosophy on sympathy and similarity and suggest an alternative foundation for justice and morality in situations where sociability and similarity are insufficient.Show less
The quality of early relationships is thought to form the basis of maintaining mental well-being later in life. The aim of this study was to examine the role of parental bonding, loneliness and...Show moreThe quality of early relationships is thought to form the basis of maintaining mental well-being later in life. The aim of this study was to examine the role of parental bonding, loneliness and hopelessness in the development of PTSD symptomatology in a young adult sample. Participants who study at Leiden University was asked to fill-out questionnaires about parental bonding, loneliness, hopelessness and PTSD. According to participants’ scores on parental bonding inventory (PBI), they were assigned either to secure or insecure attachment groups. A mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between parental bonding and PTSD symptomatology by coding hopelessness and loneliness as potential mediators in this relationship. The results revealed that insecure attachment was associated with higher levels of hopelessness, loneliness and PTSD symptomatology whereas secure attachment was associated with lower levels of hopelessness, loneliness and PTSD symptomatology. Furthermore, loneliness and hopelessness mediated the relationship between parental bonding and PTSD symptomatology. These findings could help in identifying individuals who are more or less vulnerable to develop trauma-related symptoms after a traumatic or an adverse situation.Show less
Objective: Loneliness has become an increasingly common phenomenon due to lockdowns put in place to minimize spread of COVID-19. The current body of literature suggests the relationship between...Show moreObjective: Loneliness has become an increasingly common phenomenon due to lockdowns put in place to minimize spread of COVID-19. The current body of literature suggests the relationship between loneliness and various Big-5 personality dimensions, except openness to experience. The current study aimed to fill this gap by investigating if there is a predictive effect of 1) openness to experience and 2) tolerance to uncertainty on loneliness during COVID-19 pandemic. It also aimed to investigate if this relation is influenced by gender. Methods: Responses from 349 participants were collected in anonymous online surveys at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim and at Leiden University. The survey was posted at online platforms and distributed amongst social media and the University Research Systems. Openness was assessed with the 10-Item Big Five Inventory (BFI10). Loneliness was measured with UCLA loneliness scale (ULS8). Intolerance of uncertainty was assessed with the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (UI18). Results: The results showed that higher BFI10 scores predicted higher ULS8 scores (loneliness) (B = .066, SE= .031, p =.036, 95% CI= [.004, .128]). Similarly, higher UI18 scores (intolerance of uncertainty) predicted higher scores on ULS8 (loneliness) (B = .298 , SE= .036, p =<.001, 95% CI= [.228, .369]). There was no significant effect of gender on loneliness. Conclusions: Our results show the importance of the personality trait openness and intolerance of uncertainty in predicting loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further investigation is is important to study this relationship using longitudinal designs and accounting for other personality characteristics.Show less
Objective: Research on loneliness suggests that loneliness increases physical and mental health concerns. This study aimed to investigate the predictor role of psychological distress, childhood...Show moreObjective: Research on loneliness suggests that loneliness increases physical and mental health concerns. This study aimed to investigate the predictor role of psychological distress, childhood trauma, mistrust, and the living situation on loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic to identify vulnerable groups. Methods: 349 participants took part in this cross-sectional study. They completed online selfquestionnaires assessing their level of loneliness, psychological distress, childhood trauma, mistrust, and living situation. The study was conducted online during September 2020 and April 2021 at the Universities of Leiden (the Netherlands) and Mannheim (Germany). Most of the respondents were 18-25 years old university students from 30 different nationalities. Results: The results indicated that childhood trauma (B =.074, SE =.012 t = 6.29, p < .05) and psychological distress (B = .007, SE = .003, t = 2.11, p < .05) predict loneliness while mistrust (B = -.074, SE =.044, t = -1.68, p = .092) does not. The effect of psychological distress became insignificant, when controlling for the other predictor variables (β = .003, SE =.003 t = 1.11, p =.26). No significant effect was found on loneliness score between two categories of living situation (F(1,347) =.64, p =.424, ηp 2 =.002). There was no significant interaction between childhood trauma and psychological distress. Conclusions: The current study highlights that experiencing childhood trauma is a risk factor for the feeling of loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Prospective research is needed to fully understand the reasons and consequences of loneliness and its relationship with possible risk factors.Show less
Introduction: Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, feelings of social isolation, loneliness and stress increased. Coping styles are used to deal with stress. Theories suggest that social isolation...Show moreIntroduction: Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, feelings of social isolation, loneliness and stress increased. Coping styles are used to deal with stress. Theories suggest that social isolation increases the use of non-adaptive coping styles and decreases the use of adaptive coping styles. This study explored whether these findings correspond to social isolation during COVID-19. Method: By using an online survey, social isolation and coping styles were measured among the general population (N= 202) in a cross-sectional study. The effect of social isolation on non-adaptive and adaptive coping styles was investigated using simple linear regression analyses. Results: Social isolation had a significant effect on nonadaptive coping styles in general and on the non-adaptive coping style withdrawal. The relationship between social isolation and adaptive coping styles was not significant. Discussion: The results are partly consistent with previous research and may provide insight into an association between social isolation and coping styles during COVID-19. Limitations of current research include a relatively small, homogenous sample and the design of the study. Recommendations for additional research are done.Show less
Once transitioning to University, students have elevated levels of both alcohol consumption and loneliness compared to the rest of the population. Additionally, after the outbreak of Covid-19 in...Show moreOnce transitioning to University, students have elevated levels of both alcohol consumption and loneliness compared to the rest of the population. Additionally, after the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, the total population experienced higher loneliness and some were more likely to cope with alcohol. This study examined the associations between Covid-19-related fear, loneliness, alcohol use, and the protective role of virtual communication on loneliness during the Covid-19 pandemic. 141 students from Leiden University in the Netherlands reported their levels of Covid-19-related fear, loneliness, quantity and motives of alcohol consumption, and extent of virtual communication through self-report. Fear of the virus was not associated with loneliness or problematic alcohol consumption, but higher loneliness was associated with reduced drinking. Students that kept more contact with loved ones via digital media experienced lower loneliness. Generally, significant differences emerged between Dutch and international students, the latter of which scored worse on most outcomes. In conclusion, this study’s results suggest that students’ alcohol consumption is high yet differs from adult drinking behaviour in that it has an underlying social, not coping, motive. Moreover, international students seem to be particularly vulnerable suggesting the need for an improved care system. Altogether, the results identified important outlets for future research exploring social components underlying students’ alcohol consumption and the gap between international and native students. Further research may address the protective effect of virtual communication to potentially reduce loneliness in students as well as in the general population during exceptional circumstances like a pandemic.Show less
