In the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, selective mutism is classified as an anxiety disorder. Literature has shown that there is a strong overlap...Show moreIn the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, selective mutism is classified as an anxiety disorder. Literature has shown that there is a strong overlap between social anxiety and selective mutism. Social anxiety is known to be related to a lower quality of life. A lower quality of life is associated with stress and depression and an increased risk of medical problems. This study aims to gain a clearer picture of what is more important in an adolescent's quality of life: selective mutism, social anxiety, or low speech behaviour. 79 adolescents aged from 10 to 18 and one of their parents completed various questionnaires. Adolescents completed subscale C of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) and the domain psychological well-being of the Kidscreen-52. Parents completed the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ) and a short questionnaire that showed whether or not an adolescent has selective mutism. Significantly less speaking behavior has been reported in adolescents with selective mutism than without selective mutism (t(78) = -12.28, p<.001). In addition, significantly more social anxiety was found in adolescents with selective mutism than in adolescents without (t(78) = 9.19, p < .001). A significantly lower quality of life was found in adolescents with selective mutism than in adolescents without selective mutism (t(78) = -2.71, p = .010). The association between speaking behavior and social anxiety turned out to be significant (r = -.77, p<.001), the association between social anxiety and quality of life aswell (r = -.33, p<.001) and the association between speaking behavior and quality of life was also significant (r = .30, p = .01). The variables have been shown to be related to each other but not to have a significantly unique contribution to the quality of life of adolescents. Selective mutism as well as social anxiety and a low level of speaking behavior lead to a lower quality of life. More research is needed to further expand the picture of selective mutism and quality of life.Show less
Itch is an unpleasant sensation that induces scratching and is often accompanied by psychological distress. Chronic itch, such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis (eczema), has a lifetime prevalence...Show moreItch is an unpleasant sensation that induces scratching and is often accompanied by psychological distress. Chronic itch, such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis (eczema), has a lifetime prevalence of 22% and often carries a marked psychological burden. Catastrophising of itch symptoms can inhibit coping, increase scratching and lower mood, which maintains scratching and creates a vicious cycle. The relationship between sex, gender and chronic itch is not well understood. More broadly, sex and gender differences often go overlooked – this is called the gender data gap. Therefore, the first research question was, to what extent does catastrophising affect the quality of life of patients with chronic itch? The second research question was, to what extent is there a difference in how catastrophising affects the quality of life of men and women with chronic itch? 27 patients with chronic itch (psoriasis or atopic dermatitis) filled in the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) adjusted for itch and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) online. Contrary to expectations, a simple linear regression analysis showed that catastrophising was not a significant predictor of quality of life. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis showed that catastrophising does not affect the quality of life of men and women differently. Importantly, the results are limited by low sample size, lack of control variables and the use of convenience sampling. Further research into the relationship between itch catastrophising, quality of life and gender could greatly impact the lives of patients with chronic itch.Show less
For women with a diminished oocyte reserve, for example due to premature ovarian insufficiency, oocyte donation (OD) is their only possibility to conceive. However, OD is related to a higher...Show moreFor women with a diminished oocyte reserve, for example due to premature ovarian insufficiency, oocyte donation (OD) is their only possibility to conceive. However, OD is related to a higher incidence of pregnancy complications and psychosocial challenges. Preconception counselling (PC) helps women who might opt for OD by explaining the risks of a pregnancy, guiding them in their decision making and focussing on the psychosocial wellbeing. This thesis aims to explore the perspectives on PC of women who conceived through OD. Furthermore, using a quantitative questionnaire design, this thesis aims to investigate the differences on psychosocial constructs (quality of life (QoL), contentment, anxiety, and distress) between women who did and did not receive PC. The perspectives of these women were investigated by conducting qualitative focus-group research. To summarize the perspectives of these women, analyses of the focus groups were done by both deductive and inductive coding. The questionnaire was based upon the validated FertiQoL questionnaire (measures QoL in people with fertility problems) and the GAD-7 questionnaire (measures anxiety and distress). Analyses of the quantitative outcomes were done with an independent samples t-test or a Mann-Whitney U test. The sample included 87 women who did receive PC, and 24 women who did not receive PC before their OD treatment. Analyses of the focus groups indicated the need for more clarity on the process of OD (e.g., finding a donor, possible risks), possibly by the development of a guideline. Also, the participating women would have liked to receive more psychosocial support. Analyses of the questionnaire showed no significant differences between both groups on the psychosocial variables, except for one scale on contentment, U(NPC=no=21, NPC=yes= 80) = 599.50, z = -2.02, p = .043. Women who did receive PC were more content with the quality and availability of treatment. In conclusion, this research could be implemented into a national guideline, offering a helpful document on OD care for health care providers, and thereby improving OD care for these women and their partners.Show less
Background: The aim of this study is to investigate differences in QoL between males and females visiting a memory clinic. Knowledge about determinants of QoL is limited, especially from patients'...Show moreBackground: The aim of this study is to investigate differences in QoL between males and females visiting a memory clinic. Knowledge about determinants of QoL is limited, especially from patients' own perspective. We examined whether there was a relationship between sex and QoL in patients in different stages and with different types of dementia taken together (total sample), whether this relationship existed within patient groups of specific stages or types of dementia separately and whether this relationship in the total sample was mediated by anxiety, depression, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility and/or coping style. Methods: In total, 375 patients aged between 32 and 82 years, who visited the memory clinic and who completed an 88-item self-reported questionnaire, were included in the study. Linear regressions were performed to assess the relationship between sex and QoL and whether stage and type of dementia affect this relationship. In addition, we performed mediation analyses to assess whether anxiety, depression, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility and/or coping styles mediate the relationship between sex and QoL. In all our analyses, age and education were added as covariates. We corrected for multiple testing using False Discovery Rate (FDR). Results: Sex was not associated with QoL (p = .160) in the total sample. Sex was also not associated with QoL within the different stages (CN p = .847, MCI p = .688 and dementia p = .688), or within different types of dementia (FTD p = .895, AD p = .809 and other types of dementia p = .895). Our mediation analyses showed that only anxiety was a significant mediator in the relationship between sex and QoL (p = .010). Conclusion: In our study, there was no relationship between sex and QoL. For patients trying to maintain or improve their QoL, it is important to be aware of the factors that play an important role in QoL.Show less
Introduction: Children with autism experience difficulties in daily life due to impairments in social functioning and adaptive functioning. These impairments differ from person to person, as autism...Show moreIntroduction: Children with autism experience difficulties in daily life due to impairments in social functioning and adaptive functioning. These impairments differ from person to person, as autism concerns a spectrum of symptoms. As metacognition (the ability to monitor and control one’s own thought processes) is said to be related to executive functioning and social cognition, impairments in metacognition might explain difficulties in daily functioning of autistic children. Therefore, the relationship between metacognition, emotion recognition and the quality of children with ASD-symptoms was examined. Method: 25 boys and 21 girls between the age of 8-16 (M = 10) from primary- and secondary schools in and around Leiden participated by performing the Thinking Aloud- task (metacognition) and Morphed Face Emotion Recognition Task, as well as completing the Cantril ladder (quality of life. One parent of each participant completed the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 to measure ASD-symptoms. Results: ASD-symptoms did not significantly correlate to metacognition (F(1.39) = 1.911, p = .175, R² = .047). Furthermore, metacognitive skills did not significantly predict emotion recognition skills (,F(1.41) = .073, p = .789, R² = .002). Neither metacognition nor emotion recognition was a significant predictor of the quality of life of children (F(2.40) = .683, p = .511, R² = .033). Conclusion: Due to the small sample, the current findings should be interpreted carefully. However, this study underscores the importance of examining the individual strengths and needs of children to promote their personal development and well-being. Future research within a larger sample should further investigate the role of metacognition in relation to the well-being of children in different contexts to better support pupils according to their neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses. This might not only contribute to the well-being of the individual child, but might also be beneficial for society as a whole.Show less
Forced migration is an endemic and worldwide phenomenon that results from human or nature induced conflicts such as (violent) conflicts, persecution or natural disasters. People are coerced to...Show moreForced migration is an endemic and worldwide phenomenon that results from human or nature induced conflicts such as (violent) conflicts, persecution or natural disasters. People are coerced to migrate to seek safety since they are often at the risk of their life. The issue of forced migration is generally tackled through institutions and international legal systems through top-down approaches, especially because forced migrants often have to cross international borders. While some forced migrants have improved living conditions in comparison to their pre-migration situation, a lot of forced migrants end up in refugee camps, where they experience poor living conditions. There, they are often excluded from their host community and their humanitarian needs are not always met. A more collaborative and communal approach through human agency has been neglected in comparison to the top-down approaches. For voluntary migrants, interactions and relationships with the host community have been shown to benefit their well-being. This thesis aims to examine how the sense of community affects the quality of life of forced migrants, especially when they arrive in their host community, because forced migrants often have to leave their home community and family network behind.Show less
Chronic pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Even though COPD is a common chronic disease, patients that suffer from this disease do not receive palliative care...Show moreChronic pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Even though COPD is a common chronic disease, patients that suffer from this disease do not receive palliative care as often as patients with other diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to broaden knowledge about the effectiveness of palliative care interventions for patients with COPD and their informal caregivers. This study focused on the effect of an integrated palliative care intervention on quality of life and spiritual wellbeing of the patient and the satisfaction with care of their informal caregiver. The eight participating hospital regions in the Netherlands were randomly allocated to the intervention or control condition by an independent statistician. Patients in the control condition (N = 97) received care as usual and patients in the intervention condition (N = 89) received integrated palliative care implemented by trained health professionals. The patients and their informal caregivers filled in questionnaires at multiple moments; baseline, three months after inclusion and six months after inclusion. Based on earlier research we hypothesized that the quality of life and spiritual wellbeing of the patients in the intervention group would improve over time. With respect to the informal caregivers, we hypothesized that their satisfaction with the hospital care and the care of the general practitioner would improve over time for the intervention group. Linear mixed model analysis was used to compare the control and intervention group over time. Results did not show an effect of the intervention on quality of life, spiritual wellbeing, and satisfaction with care over time. However, findings of this paper do contribute to a broadening of the knowledge about the effects of palliative care interventions for patients with COPD. This is important, as palliative care for patients with COPD is not as well studied as palliative care for other patient groups. Further research on palliative care for patients with COPD is recommended.Show less
Dialysis patients, who suffer from end-stage renal disease, experience severe symptoms and undergo an invasive treatment which negatively impacts their daily lives. Patients suffering from other...Show moreDialysis patients, who suffer from end-stage renal disease, experience severe symptoms and undergo an invasive treatment which negatively impacts their daily lives. Patients suffering from other chronic diseases have shown to improve their well-being through self-management behaviour. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether self-management acts as a mediator on the relations between self-efficacy, optimism and health outcomes (physical and mental quality of life, symptoms and symptom severity). This observational research was performed using online self-report questionnaires, taken by 39 Dutch dialysis patients that were recruited by their nephrologists. Self-management did not mediate the associations between self-efficacy, optimism and health outcomes. Higher levels of self-management were correlated with higher levels of self-efficacy. Higher levels of self-efficacy were strongly correlated with higher levels of self-management, mental quality of life and physical quality of life and with lower levels of bodily symptoms and symptom severity. Higher levels of optimism were correlated with lower levels of bodily symptoms and symptom severity. This means that even though self-management is correlated with self-efficacy and health outcomes, it does not influence their relation. Secondly, as optimism and self-management were not correlated, it could mean that optimism does not focus on behaviour but exemplifies a cognitive state. Considering the small sample size, it is advised to replicate this research and include more participants. This research contributes to the relatively new body of knowledge concerning the association of self-management and health outcomes in dialysis patients, which is vital for the development of chronic healthcare.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This research explores the potential effects of coming in contact with archaeology through active engagement for audiences with dementia, specifically with regard to wellbeing. The thesis is set up...Show moreThis research explores the potential effects of coming in contact with archaeology through active engagement for audiences with dementia, specifically with regard to wellbeing. The thesis is set up as an explorative research, which serves to test whether there are indications for a positive effect on wellbeing which warrant further systematic studying on a larger scale. Dementia is a term used to denote a syndrome that causes the progressive decline of cognitive ability, severe enough to interfere with an individual’s daily life. Dementia is often accompanied by negative psycho-social affects and has an adverse impact on quality of life and wellbeing. Currently, the prevalence of dementia is steadily increasing. While dementia causes severe psychosocial impact on individuals living with the syndrome, it has primarily been studied from a neuro-medical viewpoint. Understandings of the psychosocial consequences of the syndrome and implications with regard to wellbeing and quality of life are topics that have begun to emerge only recently. An involvement of other disciplines than the neurological and medical field can enrich the way dementia and its effects on the wellbeing of individuals are approached. This research reviews heritage-in-health and archaeology-in-health interventions and lays out a theoretical framework for the introduction of archaeology in dementia care, embedded in meaningful activity theory, existing therapies relevant in the context of dementia and person-centered dementia care. The ideas put forward in this thesis are tested in a small-scale quasi-experimental intervention. This research concludes that an active involvement in archaeology can facilitate high levels of engagement and can bring about quality moments, indicating a positive influence on wellbeing. Further research into these effects is warranted in order to gain a full understanding of archaeology’s potential to contribute to wellbeing in the context of health problems, and this research presents several avenues to pursue.Show less
