Introduction: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a serious ongoing public health issue that continues to raise concern for well-being and safety within the community. Previous research identified...Show moreIntroduction: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a serious ongoing public health issue that continues to raise concern for well-being and safety within the community. Previous research identified Childhood Maltreatment (CM) as an important potential risk factor for developing IPV in adulthood. The relationship between IPV and different types of CM has been carefully studied and established, but a few studies show that emotion regulation might be another mechanism underlying the relationship between CM and IPV. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between CEN and IPV, specifically examining a possible mediating role of rumination in this relationship. Methods: An online survey that included self-report questionnaires to assess childhood emotional neglect, rumination, and intimate partner violence among a sample from the general population (N = 268) was used. The data analysis involved regression path analysis modeling, using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The study design was cross-sectional. Results: The mediational hypothesis was not supported: no significant total, indirect or direct effect was found. Only CEN and rumination were positively related to each other. Discussion: Previous research based on a multitude of theoretical models for IPV shows that emotion regulation can play a key role in predicting IPV but would very likely be in combination with other fundamental factors. These contrasting findings call for future studies to attempt to replicate and extend the current results in other, more diverse, samples using prospective longitudinal designs.Show less
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on individuals’ physical and mental well-being, particularly affecting their sleep patterns. However, prospective research on the...Show moreIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on individuals’ physical and mental well-being, particularly affecting their sleep patterns. However, prospective research on the specific effects of COVID-19 on sleep quality and rumination remains limited. The current study aims to fill this gap by investigating how the pandemic affects sleep quality and nighttime rumination in both adults and adolescents. It was hypothesised that COVID-19 would worsen sleep quality and increase nighttime rumination, particularly in adolescents. Methods: 101 participants (67 adults, 34 adolescents) were assessed using a within-betweensubjects design comparing two time periods (before and during COVID-19) across two age groups. Sleep quality was assessed daily by asking three questions that measured subjective sleep quality, sleep latency and wake after sleep onset. Nighttime rumination was quantified using self-reported rumination scores. Results: No significant differences in sleep quality or nighttime rumination were observed between the two periods for either age group. However, during the pandemic, adults experienced significantly worse sleep quality and increased nighttime rumination compared to adolescents. Additionally, nighttime rumination had a negative effect on sleep quality in both age groups. Conclusion: The study did not find statistically significant differences across time periods, but adults reported poorer sleep quality and higher levels of nighttime rumination during the pandemic compared to adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of further research to understand and address the psychological impact of global health crises in diverse populations.Show less
Child abuse remains a significant and current issue that many individuals experience during their childhood. The literature suggests that the development of empathy can be hindered by experiencing...Show moreChild abuse remains a significant and current issue that many individuals experience during their childhood. The literature suggests that the development of empathy can be hindered by experiencing child abuse, as victims often struggle more with recognizing and understanding other’s emotions. Rumination, a maladaptive form of emotion regulation, may potentially mediate this relationship. The present study examines whether individuals who have experienced child abuse score lower on empathy and whether this relationship is mediated by a higher degree of rumination. The sample, consisting of the parents of the adolescents, included 74 men and 79 women with an average age of 49 years. Parental empathy was measured through the subjective experience of the child using a reminiscence task, where the adolescent shares a distressing experience with the parent. Child abuse and rumination were measured via self-report questionnaires. The multiple regression analysis found no significant effect between child abuse and empathy, and no mediating role of rumination. However, it was found that individuals who have experienced child abuse ruminate more than those who have not experienced child abuse (b = 0.24, p < .05). This research can provide more insight into the socio-emotional development of parents who have experienced child abuse and improve potential interventions. A longitudinal study is necessary to gain more insight into the underlying mechanisms.Show less
Background In Rachman’s three-pathway theory of fear acquisition, negative information transmission as provided by parents plays a crucial role in the intrafamilial transfer of fear in children. To...Show moreBackground In Rachman’s three-pathway theory of fear acquisition, negative information transmission as provided by parents plays a crucial role in the intrafamilial transfer of fear in children. To date, little research has been devoted to specific mechanisms underpinning this process within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Objective The aim of the present study was to explore the mediating role of rumination emotion regulation strategy in the link between parental trait anxiety and the frequency with which parents communicate threatening information about Covid-19 to their children. Methods The sample consisted of 332 parents(75.9% mothers and 24.1% fathers) living in the Netherlands who completed online questionnaires measuring their trait anxiety (the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Adult version; SCARED-A), cognitive emotion regulation (the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; CERQ), and their perspective on the transmission of negative information regarding Covid-19 (adapted version of the Fears of Swine Flu Questionnaire; FSFQ). Results Against expectations, rumination did not mediate the link between parental trait anxiety and verbal fear transmission. It was found that parental trait anxiety was positively associated with rumination. Verbal fear transmission was not related to parental trait anxiety nor rumination. Discussion The findings underscore the importance of mental well-being of parents in the pandemic situation, which should be addressed in family interventions. Furthermore, the obtained results suggest that there might be other indirect pathways involved in the parental fear transmission mechanism.Show less
Quality sleep is paramount for the mental and physical health of university students and for their academic success. Stress was found to be a precipitator and a maintaining factor of poor sleep....Show moreQuality sleep is paramount for the mental and physical health of university students and for their academic success. Stress was found to be a precipitator and a maintaining factor of poor sleep. Moreover, vulnerabilities in the student population may maintain and/or exacerbate a possible association between stress and sleep quality; one of which is the development or the existence of poor coping strategies to deal with stress, such as a propensity to engage in perseverative negative cognitions (PNCs). This study examined whether an increase in academic stress was related to a decrease in the sleep quality of university students. Additionally, moderation by two different PNCs (i.e., excessive worry and rumination) were expected, with high levels of PNCs associated with an exacerbation of the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality. Lastly, the unique contribution of the two PNCs to the moderation effect was explored. Cross-sectional data from 49 university students were obtained using a series of questionnaires (Mage = 19.6 years, female = 95.9%). A simple regression analysis failed to indicate that an increase in academic stress predicts a decrease in sleep quality (p = .30). In addition, a hierarchical multiple regression failed to establish that PNCs moderate the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality (p = .18), suggesting that high levels of PNCs may not be associated with an exacerbation of the relationship. Furthermore, this study did not find evidence for the individual contribution of both types of PNCs to the moderation effect of PNCs in the association between academic stress and sleep quality (p = .28 for worry as a moderator; p = .47 for rumination as a moderator). These findings inform that academic stress might not share the same link with sleep difficulties as other types of stress have demonstrated. Furthermore, there is the possibility of additional concomitant difficulties (i.e., depression and anxiety) being relevant for the associations investigated, either as subsequent outcomes or as determinants of these associations. These findings provide a basis for future research on possible resistances experienced by this population and inform interventions that could help ameliorate sleep quality in university students.Show less
Greater perceived stress is associated with maladaptive repetitive thinking, which can be divided into worry and rumination. Previous literature found associations between rumination, stress, and...Show moreGreater perceived stress is associated with maladaptive repetitive thinking, which can be divided into worry and rumination. Previous literature found associations between rumination, stress, and sleep quality; however, for the subcomponents of rumination, namely brooding rumination and reflective pondering, only a relationship between brooding rumination and stress has been found in which brooding rumination increases after the occurrence of a stressor. In order to gain more insights into both the relationship of brooding rumination and sleep quality in moderation of academic stress in students, and to exploratively investigate the relationships between brooding rumination and reflective pondering with sleep quality, an online questionnaire using the Ruminative Response Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Perception of Academic Stress was used with Leiden university students. The hierarchical multiple linear regression with interaction did not find a moderation effect for academic stress on the relationship between brooding rumination and sleep quality with F(3, 43) = 0.98 p = .413, and both simple linear regressions revealed insignificant results for an association between brooding rumination and reflective pondering with sleep quality with F(1, 44) = 1.35 p = .252 and F(1, 44) = 0.06, p = .803, respectively. Whereas the latter finding may suggest an association of the subcomponents of rumination with sleep quality through the possible mediator depression, the former finding could be depicted in a simple slope analysis that suggested a moderation effect of academic stress after all. The clinical relevance of this study therefore lies on the moderation effect of academic stress and the relationships between rumination, sleep quality, and depression.Show less
Previous research suggests an association between attentional control and rumination, supported by the impaired disengagement hypothesis. According to the impaired disengagement hypothesis,...Show morePrevious research suggests an association between attentional control and rumination, supported by the impaired disengagement hypothesis. According to the impaired disengagement hypothesis, individuals with low attentional control are more likely to experience increased rumination due to difficulties in disengaging from negative thoughts. A relationship between rumination and poor sleep quality has also been previously investigated and the findings are in line with the concept of perseverative cognition. As illustrated by the concept of perseverative cognition, rumination has been associated with poor sleep quality because the cognitive arousal that accompanies rumination may lead to physiological arousal resulting in unsuitable conditions for quality sleep. However, the potential mediating role of rumination in the relationship between attentional control and sleep quality has not yet been fully elucidated. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate whether rumination significantly mediates the relationship between attentional control and sleep quality. I expected increased rumination to mediate the relationship between low attentional control and poor subjective sleep quality. 69 healthy university students completed questionnaires including measures of attentional control, rumination, and sleep quality. A mediation analysis and a bootstrap was employed to test the significance of the indirect effects. Results showed that rumination fully mediated that effects of attentional control on sleep quality. A bootstrap analysis confirmed the significance of the mediation model. Targeting attentional control and rumination may prove beneficial in treatments for poor sleep quality. Interventions such as mindfulness-based therapy have been successful in reducing rumination, whereas attentional training technique has shown promising results in improving attentional control.Show less
Benefits of sleep (e.g., mental health) and detrimental effects of sleep-loss (e.g., impaired academic performance) have been extensively researched and implications are broad. A considerable...Show moreBenefits of sleep (e.g., mental health) and detrimental effects of sleep-loss (e.g., impaired academic performance) have been extensively researched and implications are broad. A considerable amount of research on the relations between perfectionism and sleep exists, where perfectionism negatively affects sleep quality. Mediators, primarily anxiety, affecting sleep quality have been investigated as well. However, within the bounds of conducted literature search, research with a mediatory model of maladaptive repetitive thinking (MRT) on perfectionism and sleep quality in a student population seems to require further exploration. Therefore, current work investigated whether MRT (i.e., worry and rumination) mediates the relationship between perfectionism and sleep quality. Data was analyzed from an overarching main study which, through convenience sampling, recruited 69 healthy university students who filled in online questionnaires (e.g., assessing rumination and sleep quality). In line with previous research, results showed that increased perfectionism was related to worse sleep quality and increased maladaptive repetitive thinking. Furthermore, increases in maladaptive repetitive thinking was related to worse sleep quality. However, the proposed mediation was found to be nonsignificant. Several limitations were at play (e.g., self-report measurements), thus it is recommended to replicate the current work and minimize these limitations. As sleep has a wide array of implications on healthy overall functioning it is recommended to explore the triad further, paving the way to innovations to improve sleep quality and consequently healthy functioning in the student population.Show less
To date, a growing body of literature studies maladaptive repetitive thinking; an unproductive emotion regulation strategy, where a person engages in certain negative thoughts, that are maintained...Show moreTo date, a growing body of literature studies maladaptive repetitive thinking; an unproductive emotion regulation strategy, where a person engages in certain negative thoughts, that are maintained on a conscious state for a prolonged time period. Maladaptive repetitive thinking consists of different components, like worry and rumination. Researchers argue whether the two are actually distinct cognitive processes. Limited bibliography examined the relationship between maladaptive repetitive thinking and stress, which is why this study addresses this topic. Specifically, it investigates whether higher worry and rumination levels predict higher academic and general stress levels of undergraduate students, during an exam and a non-exam week. In addition, it is hypothesized that students will report higher academic and general stress levels during the exam week compared to the non-exam week. Lastly, we anticipate worry to be highly associated with rumination. Forty students during the non-exam week and twenty-eight during the exam week responded to the completion of self-report questionnaires, regarding worry, rumination, academic, and general stress. With the exception of general stress during the non-exam week, only increased rumination predicted increased levels of academic and general stress, during both weeks. Students reported higher general stress levels during the non-exam week compared to the exam week, whereas academic stress levels did not differ between the two weeks. As expected, worry highly correlated with rumination during both academic weeks, building on the literature in favor of this relationship. Our findings claim that, possibly, rumination is a stronger predictor of academic and general stress, compared to worry. Further exploration on how maladaptive repetitive thinking potentially affects the stress levels of students during different academic periods is needed. Limitations of the study are addressed and future directions are suggested.Show less
Challenges in stress management, effective attention direction, and striving for adequate sleep are reflected in a student’s life and academic performance. According to recent research, decreased...Show moreChallenges in stress management, effective attention direction, and striving for adequate sleep are reflected in a student’s life and academic performance. According to recent research, decreased attentional control is related to an increased tendency to engage in maladaptive repetitive thinking (RT) i.e., rumination and worry, which has been considered as a threat to sleep quality. Furthermore, an increase in academic stress has been found to impair students' sleep quality. Using moderation analysis, the current study investigated whether maladaptive RT strengthened the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality. We used linear regression analysis (LRA) to investigate the relationship between attentional control and maladaptive RT. A number of self- report questionnaires were used in this cross-sectional study to measure attentional control, sleep quality, academic stress, worry, and rumination. The final sample consisted of 50 Leiden University students aged 17-30 years. The results of the simple LRA showed that poor attentional control is related to a higher tendency of maladaptive RT, such as rumination and worry. The result of the moderation analysis revealed that neither rumination (b = -.001, t = -0.90, p = .930) nor worry (b = - .003, t = -0.73, p = .471) strengthened the relationship between increased academic stress and poor sleep quality. Despite its limitations, the study serves as a preliminary study into the role of rumination and worry in the relationship between academic stress and sleep quality and provides methodological suggestions for future research to yield more reliable results.Show less
Background: rumination is both a symptom and predictor of major depressive disorder (MDD). In MDD patients, rumination is correlated with depression severity, and for healthy people rumination is a...Show moreBackground: rumination is both a symptom and predictor of major depressive disorder (MDD). In MDD patients, rumination is correlated with depression severity, and for healthy people rumination is a predictor of the onset and duration of a depressive episode. Recently, rumination was shown to be correlated to functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) in the brain. During working memory (WM) tasks, the central executive network (CEN) shows high connectivity and the DMN shows low connectivity, whereas during rest this is the other way around. This ‘switching’ between DMN and CEN connectivity is blunted in MDD patients, but it is still unknown whether this ‘switch’ is affected by acute rumination in healthy participants. The aim of the current study is to determine the effect of acute rumination on the switching between the DMN and the CEN in healthy participants. Methods: 36 healthy females, randomly assigned to the acute-rumination group (n=18) or the no-rumination group (n=18) underwent fMRI assessment during a rest-WM task (alternating rest and WM conditions). Only for the acute-rumination group, an acute rumination phase immediately preceded the rest-WM task. Pearson’s correlation was performed to analyze the correlation between the DMN and the CEN in each participant. A mixed ANOVA was performed to analyze the effects of acute rumination. Results: Negative Pearson correlation coefficients were found between DMN and CEN for both groups. A statistically significant interaction effect was found for network (CEN versus DMN) × condition (rest versus WM). However, no statistically significant main effect was found for group (acute-rumination versus no-rumination). Conclusion: Consistent with previous studies an interaction in the expected direction was found between the DMN and CEN. However, this study does not support the effect of acute rumination on this interaction. The current study contributes to an increased understanding of the effect of rumination, and contributes to research of this prominent symptom of MDD and other psychological disorders.Show less
This study aims to examine the effects of hedonic goal pursuit on psychological wellbeing operationalized through luxury consumption, as hedonic pleasure is the primary goal consumption (Khan, Dhar...Show moreThis study aims to examine the effects of hedonic goal pursuit on psychological wellbeing operationalized through luxury consumption, as hedonic pleasure is the primary goal consumption (Khan, Dhar, and Wertenbroch, 2004). We will examine (1) the individual differences concerning THC to alleviate negative emotions after an imaginary luxury product purchase and (2) the effects of price discounts on the alleviation of post-purchase negative emotions concerning the high price of luxury products. Furthermore, the effects of THC on purchasing intentions regarding the chosen product and the rumination after the purchase will be studied. The participants (N = 106) were presented with five luxury products to choose one from, and were requested to complete the questionnaire adhering to that chosen product. A mixed-design repeated measures ANOVA with a counterbalanced within-subjects method was conducted to measure these effects. The results indicated that THC predicted postpurchase negative emotions as predicted. Furthermore, discount alleviated post-purchase negative emotions and post-purchase rumination, and increased purchasing intentions towards a chosen luxury product. However, THC’s effects on rumination and purchasing intentions with and without the presence of discount were not captured.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2016-09-22T00:00:00Z
This study seeks to uncover the externalizing behavioral phenotype of extra X chromosome children, and discover the role of emotion-regulation and executive functioning (EF) deficits in its...Show moreThis study seeks to uncover the externalizing behavioral phenotype of extra X chromosome children, and discover the role of emotion-regulation and executive functioning (EF) deficits in its development. Participants included extra X chromosome children (N = 29, 16 girls and 13 boys) and control children (N = 84, 33 boys, 51 girls). Ages ranged between 7 and 16 (Mage = 10;3, SD = 1;7). Externalizing behavior was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire assessed emotion regulation and two tasks of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks battery measured EF. To provide a detailed picture of overall social functioning of the participants the Social Skills Rating System was used. Results showed that extra X chromosome children show more externalizing behavior, more mental flexibility deficits and nearly significantly more rumination. In extra X chromosome children, externalizing behavior was positively related to inhibition deficits and to rumination levels. Emotion regulation and EF were not related but children exhibiting less rumination were more dependent on their EF in the prediction of externalizing behavior. Implications include evidence for the role of neuropsychological deficits in externalizing behavior and possible guidelines for the treatment of children with an extra X chromosome and externalizing behavior.Show less
