Depression and anxiety are increasingly prevalent and often co-occur in adolescence. Symptoms of stress are a commonality of these disorders. However, the role of this commonality in the co...Show moreDepression and anxiety are increasingly prevalent and often co-occur in adolescence. Symptoms of stress are a commonality of these disorders. However, the role of this commonality in the co-occurrence remains unknown. This cross-sectional study investigated the co-occurrence of depression, anxiety, and stress in adolescence using the network psychometrics approach. We obtained our data from the Open-Source Psychometrics Project. The data consisted of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)-42 (N = 25,086, ages 13-24 years old). We estimated Gaussian Graphical Models (i.e., partial correlations between nodes) and analyzed the bridge nodes. Bridge nodes are nodes of the network that are most influential in connecting the different disorders. We expected the bridge nodes to be the overlapping symptoms found among depression, anxiety, and stress as indicated in the DSM-V. Moreover, to examine whether bridge nodes were consistent across adolescence, we divided our sample into three age groups: early adolescence (ages 13-15, N = 2,354), middle adolescence (ages 16-19, N = 9,476) and late adolescence (ages 20-24, N = 13,256). Our findings of the full sample adolescent network indicated that symptoms of restlessness (stress) and negative mood (depression) served as bridge nodes, which was in line with our hypothesis. Other bridge nodes, not in line with our hypothesis, were symptoms of subjective experience of anxiety (anxiety) and situational anxiety (anxiety). Bridge nodes exclusive to the late adolescent network were: Finding it hard to wind down (stress) and feeling terrified (anxiety). Moreover, relief after anxious situations (anxiety) was uniquely present in the early and late adolescent networks. This study expands the current theoretical knowledge by, for the first time to our knowledge, including stress symptoms in the network models and by comparing the different adolescent age groups using a broad age range (13 to 24 years). Future research should examine whether clinicians can successfully incorporate this knowledge into transdiagnostic treatment interventions, which could contribute to better overall mental health.Show less
The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and prosocial behaviour is a controversial topic in scientific literature. It remains unclear whether SES positively or negatively influences...Show moreThe relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and prosocial behaviour is a controversial topic in scientific literature. It remains unclear whether SES positively or negatively influences prosocial behaviour, as many other factors may be involved. This study introduced stress as a mediation variable between SES and prosocial behaviour, in order to better understand this complicated relationship. Aiming to fill this gap in knowledge, this research objective was to answer the question “Does stress mediate the relationship between SES and prosocial behaviour?”. Specifically, it was hypothesized that low SES would lead to increased stress, which in turn would lead to lower prosocial behaviour. In addition, as a second objective, we investigated whether stress would mediate the relationship between perceived socioeconomic status (PSES) and prosocial behaviour, and hypothesized similar findings as in the first model. 287 participants took part in an online study, where they performed a prosocial behavioural task, and completed several self-report measures. Both mediation analysis revealed non-significant results, except for the relationship between SES and stress. We suggest that this non-significance could have been driven by factors that were unaccounted for in this research. This study adds onto the current literature, suggesting that the relationship between SES, prosocial behaviour and stress may be too complex to be captured by a simple mediation model. It is suggested that future research should focus on expanding the literature on the relationship between SES and stress by looking into other factors that could influence it.Show less
Recent data indicates that 49% of Dutch youth aged 12 to 25 reported frequent stress in the past month. Growing evidence suggests that childhood stress has concerning long-term effects on mental...Show moreRecent data indicates that 49% of Dutch youth aged 12 to 25 reported frequent stress in the past month. Growing evidence suggests that childhood stress has concerning long-term effects on mental and physical health due to its negative effects on brain development and the stress network. Additionally, the increasing diversity in Dutch society underscores the importance of understanding stress and its effects, especially in vulnerable groups like children with a migration background. Previous research, mostly among adults and adolescents, shows inconsistent findings on the role of ethnicity in stress among children. This study examines the relationship between the ethnic (migration) backgrounds of students in grades 7 and 8 in Dutch primary schools and their current stress levels, perceptions of stressors, and coping strategies. The study included 92 students from primary schools in the Randstad area. Employing a cross-sectional research design, measurement instruments comprised self-report questionnaires, including the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire-Short (ASQ-S) for stress assessment, the Bicultural Stress Scale for cultural stressors, and the Brief-COPE for coping strategies. Analysis showed significant differences in stress levels, with non-Western students reporting higher overall stress levels and social-cultural stressors than Western peers. However, non-Western students did not employ more problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance coping strategies than their Western peers. Overall, non-Western students experienced significantly higher stress levels, reported more socio-cultural stressors, but did not employ more coping strategies compared to their Western counterparts. Various factors, including acculturation processes, parental support, socio-economic status, and cultural conflicts, may contribute to these disparities. Understanding these findings, can provide insights for effective psychosocial support and culturally sensitive interventions for non-Western students. By recognizing their specific stress experiences, caregivers and schools can develop and implement targeted interventions that promote their well-being.Show less
The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), subjective social status (SSS), stress and prosocial behavior remains a topic of debate in science with conflicting theories and contradictory...Show moreThe relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), subjective social status (SSS), stress and prosocial behavior remains a topic of debate in science with conflicting theories and contradictory results. Correctly understanding the meaning of the relationship can contribute to promoting socioeconomic equality in society through targeted interventions. The three main objectives of this study were to investigate whether 1) SES and SSS predict prosocial behavior; 2) SES predicts prosocial behavior while controlling for SSS; 3) Stress affects the outcomes in question 1 and 2, when comparing a stressful context to a non- stressful context. The research was conducted through a two-session repeated measure design, one during a stressful period of exams and once during a non-stressful period without exams, measuring university students’ well-being and academic performance in association to prosocial behavior. 502 students from universities throughout the United Kingdom were recruited through the online platform Prolific. The experiment took place online and consisted of a behavioral task measuring prosocial behavior, assessing how much work participants would be willing to do to obtain a reward for themselves versus for a fictive participant, followed by self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that: 1) SES and SSS did not significantly predict prosocial behavior; 2) SES did not significantly predict prosocial behavior while controlling for SSS; 3) Stress did not significantly affect the outcomes in question 1 and 2, when comparing a stressful context to a non-stressful context. Limitations to the study include unmet assumptions of normality and linearity, a generalizability bias and a potential motivation bias. Future studies should consider random sampling and making use of an in-person experimental setting. This study highlights the possible complexity of the relationships between SES, SSS, stress and prosocial behavior and thus calls for further investigations.Show less
Affective empathy plays a crucial role in parenting. One possible predictor of affective empathy is parents’ attitudes towards children. However, little research has been conducted on this...Show moreAffective empathy plays a crucial role in parenting. One possible predictor of affective empathy is parents’ attitudes towards children. However, little research has been conducted on this relationship. Additionally, stress could play a moderating role in this relationship, via suppression of the positive role of attitudes on empathy. The aim of this study, therefore, is to gain insight into the relationship between attitudes towards children and affective empathy, and the moderating role of stress in this relationship. The main question is: “To what extent is there a relationship between attitudes towards children and affective empathy in female students between 18 and 25 years old and is this relationship moderated by stress?”. Affective empathy is measured by sympathy experienced when observing children in negative social contexts and positive affect experienced when observing children in positive social contexts. Participants were randomly assigned to two conditions: the stress condition (Trier Social Stress Test) and the no-stress condition. In both conditions, participants completed an experimental task measuring affective empathy and filled out questionnaires. Results showed that more positive attitudes were related to more sympathy and positive affect. Stress played no role in this relationship. From this study, it can be concluded that there is a positive relationship between attitudes towards children and affective empathy. This provides opportunities for interventions. Positive attitudes can be promoted through education and training, which in turn can be implemented to stimulate affective empathy. Finally, this research provides a starting point for further research into the predictors of affective empathy.Show less
This thesis presents a small-scale multiverse analysis approach to explore the influence of stress on (dis)honest decision-making and aims to reproduce the findings and expand on the study by Speer...Show moreThis thesis presents a small-scale multiverse analysis approach to explore the influence of stress on (dis)honest decision-making and aims to reproduce the findings and expand on the study by Speer et al. (2023). The hypothesis implies that the effect of stress on decision-making is moderated by an individual’s moral default. The analyses used logistic regression and logistic mixed effects models, focusing on the baseline tendency to cheat (“moral default”) and how this tendency possibly changes in response to stress. The findings suggest that outcomes are sensitive to the choice of statistical model. Logistic regression models indicated significant interaction effects in six pathways, while logistic mixed effect models showed significance in only two out of 20. The analyses also examined the influence of dummy and effect coding, finding that while effect coding resulted in smaller standard errors, the different coding of the stress conditions did not significantly alter the overall conclusions and p-values. Different outlier exclusion methods emphasise the role of the researcher’s degrees of freedom, revealing how different decisions on the outlier rule can significantly influence the results. This study contributes to the understanding of the complex relationship between stress and moral decision-making.Show less
Humor is a pleasant and universal yet still not fully understood human experience. A growing body of literature proposes potential anxiety alleviating effects of humor but thus far has been...Show moreHumor is a pleasant and universal yet still not fully understood human experience. A growing body of literature proposes potential anxiety alleviating effects of humor but thus far has been inconclusive and methodologically lacking. With the world’s population getting older and a concerning number of older adults having anxiety-related complaints, we set out to rigorously test this hypothesis using a prospective longitudinal design. We investigated whether humor influences anxiety following adverse life events in older adults. We analyzed data of 1589 participants collected over three measurement points three years apart using a Multilevel Linear Mixed model. Scores on anxiety, humor and negative life events questionnaires were compared. Contrary to the proposed hypothesis, we did not demonstrate humor affect anxiety following adverse life events. Stress-buffering effect of humor is hence yet to be conclusively proven. Study limitations and future directions were discussed.Show less
Introduction: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder that severely affects patients’ lives. How patients cope with the stress of receiving this diagnosis is influenced by...Show moreIntroduction: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder that severely affects patients’ lives. How patients cope with the stress of receiving this diagnosis is influenced by information-seeking coping style, which can be classified on two dimensions: monitoring (seeking information) and blunting (avoiding information). Patients’ level of monitoring and blunting may affect their perception of amount of information. Clinicians may not tailor the amount of information to the individual needs of patients, negatively impacting their recall. This study hypothesized that the amount of provided information by clinicians is equal for patients who score high on monitoring and patients who score high on blunting. Additionally, this study hypothesized that patients with high monitoring scores would report receiving too little information, and that patients with high blunting scores would report receiving too much information. Method: This study employed a prospective observational longitudinal design as part of the DiaMove Project. The sample consisted of newly diagnosed PD patients who completed questionnaires assessing their demographic characteristics, coping styles and perceived amount of information. Diagnostic consultations were video-recorded and subsequently observationally quantitatively coded for duration of information provision per topic. Statistical analyses included equivalence testing, independent t-tests and logistic regression. Results: This study found that the amount of information provided by clinicians is not equivalent for patients (N = 28) with high scores on the monitoring scale and those with high scores on the blunting scale (CI = [-0.26 – 0.37]; CI = [-0.20 – 0.43]). In addition, two independent t-tests were conducted, which showed no significant difference in the amount of information provided for high scores on the different coping styles (p = .288; p = .552). Furthermore, the likelihood of wanting to receive more or less information cannot be predicted by respectively high scores on the monitoring and blunting coping style (p > .05). Discussion: Patients’ level of monitoring or blunting was not a significant predictor for the amount of information provided and did not predict patients’ reported amount of information provided by clinicians. These findings may be influenced by limitations of self-reported questionnaires, such as the length and the small sample size of the study.Show less
Sleep is fundamental for a healthy lifestyle, yet people commonly report problems regarding sleep quality. Poor sleep quality is also a frequent issue among college students. Sleep quality can be...Show moreSleep is fundamental for a healthy lifestyle, yet people commonly report problems regarding sleep quality. Poor sleep quality is also a frequent issue among college students. Sleep quality can be affected by various factors, including stress and the consumption of specific substances like caffeine. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the connections between caffeine consumption, caffeine time use, academic stress, and sleep quality. This study also investigated possible moderating roles of caffeine consumption and timing of caffeine consumption in the relationship between stress and sleep quality, as well as the evening caffeine use in the association between caffeine consumption and sleep quality. Data were gathered from 315 participants (78.4% female, mean age 20.8 years, SD = 2.52) in March 2020. Respondents completed online questionnaires, including the Law Student Perceived Stress Scale to measure stress levels, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to measure sleep quality, and self-reporting questions about caffeine, alcohol, and cannabis consumption. Multiple regression analyses with interactions were performed. A negative association between stress and sleep quality was found, indicating that more stress is related to poorer sleep quality; however, there was no association between stress and caffeine use, nor between caffeine and sleep quality. Furthermore, there was no evidence of moderation in any of the relationships. It appears that among college students, the relationship between stress and sleep quality may be influenced by other substances rather than caffeine itself. More investigation is warranted to provide clarity on the inconsistencies in the existing literature. Future research can focus on exploring the advantages of online interventions for students experiencing poor sleep quality.Show less
This study investigated whether there is a relationship between Pyrrhonism and anxiety and stress with gender identity as a moderator. According to ancient Greek philosophy, a Pyrrhonist attitude...Show moreThis study investigated whether there is a relationship between Pyrrhonism and anxiety and stress with gender identity as a moderator. According to ancient Greek philosophy, a Pyrrhonist attitude ensures the presence of Ataraxia (or peace of mind). This study examined whether Pyrrhonism is associated with stress and anxiety. The Non Evident Questionnaire was developed to measure the independent variable. This was administered in a test battery together with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The test battery was completed online by 176 people. The first hypothesis stated that a Pyrrhonistic attitude and anxiety and stress would be negatively correlated. The second hypothesis was that identifying as transgender would weaken the effect. The main analysis was found to be insignificant for both GAD-7 and PSS. In the moderation analysis, the second hypothesis was found to be significant for both GAD-7 and PSS. On closer examination of the data, the effect turned out to be significantly positive in cisgender people, while it was insignificant and negative in transgender people. The conclusion of this study is that gender identity changes the effect of Pyrrhonism on anxiety and that Pyrrhonism does not reduce anxiety.Show less
Research into Adverse Life Events (ALE) is rarely focused on students. ALE are a common experience among students and may have significant effects on mental health outcomes such as depression,...Show moreResearch into Adverse Life Events (ALE) is rarely focused on students. ALE are a common experience among students and may have significant effects on mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, stress, and lifetime depression. In this study we use multiple measures for ALE, which assess several types of ALE, including life trauma, childhood trauma, bullying, childhood adversities and negative life experiences. These outcomes are measured by the PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSS-10 and the LIDAS. This study investigated the relationships between ALE and these mental health outcomes, together with the predictive role of childhood trauma, negative life experiences, being bullied and childhood adversities by using multiple regression. In addition, we explored the role of gender as a control variable and conducted an exploratory network analysis. A multicohort study provided data from a sample of 449 Dutch higher education students who completed self-report measures of mental health outcomes and ALE experiences. The results showed that negative life events are significant predictors for all four mental health outcomes. Childhood trauma predicted depression, lifetime depression and stress, and life trauma were predictive of depression. Overall, these findings were supported by network analysis. They suggest that negative life events may be more impactful to current mental health than life trauma, and that both can have a lasting impact on the mental health of students. The implications and alternative explanations for these findings are discussed, together with suggestions for future research.Show less
In 2021 bleek dat maar liefst zestien procent van de werknemers in Nederland kampt met burn-out klachten. Dit gaat samen met een hogere mate van verzuim en daarmee hoge kosten. Daarnaast bleek dat...Show moreIn 2021 bleek dat maar liefst zestien procent van de werknemers in Nederland kampt met burn-out klachten. Dit gaat samen met een hogere mate van verzuim en daarmee hoge kosten. Daarnaast bleek dat vrouwen vaker kampen met burn-out klachten. Vele onderzoeken bevestigen de positieve resultaten van sport en beweging op het voorkomen en verminderen van burn-out klachten. Echter is het door onder andere vermoeidheid bij een burn-out, lastig om sportieve activiteiten te initiëren. Door deze fysieke inactiviteit blijft juist deze vermoeidheid in stand. Dit onderzoek bekijkt of mensen die kampen met een burn-out gemotiveerd kunnen worden door playful sport design in te zetten. Deze manier van sport benadert training op een speelse manier door proactief plezierige en competitieve elementen toe te voegen. Door middel van een dagboekstudie is data verzameld van N = 118 respondenten, verdeeld over vier weken. De vragen gingen in op de mate van burn-out, de mate van ervaren PSD en in hoeverre de respondent uitkijkt naar een volgende training als indicator voor sportmotivatie. Er bleek een significant positief verband tussen de mate waarin iemand PSD toepast in een training, en de mate waarin iemand uitkijkt naar een volgende sportsessie. Hoe speelser iemand sport, hoe meer diegene uitkijkt naar een de sportsessies in de komende week. Daarnaast bleek deze relatie significant sterker voor mensen met een hoge mate van burn-out klachten dan voor mensen met een lage mate van burn-out klachten. Burn-out blijkt dus een modererend effect te hebben op dit verband, mits er gecorrigeerd is voor geslacht en leeftijd. Mensen die een hoge mate van burn-out klachten ervaren, hebben dus mogelijk meer baat bij sporten op een speelse en competitieve manier. Echter moeten de resultaten met voorzichtigheid worden geïnterpreteerd doordat de steekproef klein is, en er gebruik is gemaakt van zelfrapportages. Hoewel er meer onderzoek nodig is naar dit verband in de praktijk suggereren deze resultaten dat er mogelijk veel te behalen valt op het gebied van sportmotivatie door playful sport design bij mensen die kampen met burn-out symptomen.Show less
This study examined needs and perceptions surrounding student burnout and the role that social support plays in the development of burnout. Specific attention was paid to LGBTQ students, a...Show moreThis study examined needs and perceptions surrounding student burnout and the role that social support plays in the development of burnout. Specific attention was paid to LGBTQ students, a vulnerable minority group that has shown to be more susceptible to stress (Meyer, 2003). The study had a mixed methods design. A survey including standardized and self-composed questions was administered among a convenience sample of 974 university students (85% Caucasian; 79% identifying as woman), 214 of whom identified as LGBTQ. Quantitative analysis was done in SPSS, and open questions were assessed using thematic analysis in ATLAS.ti. According to the burnout measure short (BMS), 56% of the sample met the diagnostic criteria of burnout. Social support and stress were significant predictors of burnout; however, a mediating effect of social support was not found. Many students attributed the high levels of stress and burnout to a high workload. Students want universities to reduce workload, teach coping skills, and pay more personal attention to students’ mental health. LGBTQ students showed significantly higher levels of burnout and stress and lower levels of social support. Students indicated that their LGBTQ identity had them navigate additional stressors, and they asked for LGBTQ-specific support from within their universities. The current study shows that burnout is a serious problem among students. Social support may play a small role in burnout; burnout prevention should mainly focus on reducing stress while considering the needs of students. Using firsthand input from the survey, this study presents two frameworks linking student needs to existing and new interventions.Show less
Mensen hebben interesse in het exploreren van nieuwe omgevingen. We zien in het dagelijks leven echter ook dat de mate waarin mensen exploreren verschilt en dat het exploreren van nieuwe omgevingen...Show moreMensen hebben interesse in het exploreren van nieuwe omgevingen. We zien in het dagelijks leven echter ook dat de mate waarin mensen exploreren verschilt en dat het exploreren van nieuwe omgevingen stress kan oproepen. Wat we niet weten is of het ontdekkingsgedrag in een nieuwe omgeving wordt beïnvloed door een staat van hoge stress, of dit stresseffect gedurende een langere tijd aanwezig blijft en of daarbij man-vrouw verschillen een rol spelen. Uit dit onderzoek blijkt dat de sing-a-song stresstest een significant effect heeft op de subjectieve stress. Daarnaast laten we zien dat sekse wel invloed heeft op het ontdekken van nieuwe omgevingen. We hebben gevonden dat mannen gemiddeld meer afstand afleggen tijdens het ontdekken van nieuwe omgevingen dan de gemiddelde afstand die vrouwen afleggen tijdens het ontdekken. Er is geen bewijs gevonden dat stress hier invloed op heeft. Onze resultaten laten zien dat mannen en vrouwen op verschillende manieren omgaan met nieuwe omgevingen. Verwacht wordt dat dit onderzoek van invloed kan zijn op het diagnosticeren van depressie en het behandelen van de manische symptomen van de bipolaire stoornis. In toekomstig onderzoek kan gekeken worden naar hoe de ontdekking van nieuwe omgevingen onder continue stress plaatsvindt. Daarnaast kan ook gekeken worden naar wat de invloed van de eigenschap harm avoidance hierop is. Aangezien uit de literatuur blijkt dat hier een verband verwacht kan worden.Show less
Wanneer dieren stress ervaren, kunnen zij een aantrekking of vermijding richting een nieuw object laten zien. Ondanks verschillende dierenstudies naar de invloed van stress op exploratiegedrag...Show moreWanneer dieren stress ervaren, kunnen zij een aantrekking of vermijding richting een nieuw object laten zien. Ondanks verschillende dierenstudies naar de invloed van stress op exploratiegedrag richting nieuwe objecten keken, is dit bij mensen niet eerder onderzocht. Eerder onderzoek bij mensen onderzocht de rol van stress op navigatietaken en ruimtelijke taken in een virtuele omgeving. De hippocampus zou ook een mogelijk rol kunnen spelen bij de relatie tussen stress en exploratiegedrag. Verder laat onderzoek zien dat slaapduur een rol kan spelen in zowel stress als exploratiegedrag. Er is nog niet eerder gekeken naar de invloed van stress en slaapduur op exploratiegedrag, gemeten door roaming entropy, in een virtuele omgeving bij mensen. Dit wordt in de huidige studie onderzocht door stress te verhogen door middel van de Sing-a-Song Stress Test en de participanten vervolgens een virtuele omgeving, gedurende 150 seconden, te laten verkennen. Daarna dienden de participanten in te vullen wat hun gewoonlijke slaapduur was. De resultaten van de huidige studie lieten geen effect van stress en slaapduur op exploratiegedrag zien. Dit kan mogelijk verklaard worden doordat de stressmanipulatie afwijkt van de stressmanipulatie in dierenstudies, er geen nieuwigheid werd getest, individuele verschillen (e.g. persoonlijke factoren) een rol kunnen spelen, slaapduur niet werd gemanipuleerd en geen andere slaapfactoren werden geïncludeerd (e.g. slaapefficiëntie en slaapkwaliteit). Dit moet verder worden onderzocht. Aangezien dit een begin studie is naar het effect van stress en slaapduur op exploratiegedrag, is er vervolgonderzoek nodig om de vraag; ‘wat is de invloed van stress en slaapduur op exploratiegedrag?’, te beantwoorden.Show less
In the Netherlands, more than 1 million people have accumulated debts. They can go to debt counseling to receive help for their financial problems. The current research investigated what type of...Show moreIn the Netherlands, more than 1 million people have accumulated debts. They can go to debt counseling to receive help for their financial problems. The current research investigated what type of help participants prefer to offer to a person in debt, focusing on two types of help: budget coaching, where debtors are being coached to keep their autonomy, and is often offered to people in early debt stages. We defined this as autonomy-oriented help. With budget management, the finances are taken off hands to relieve the debtor from stress, which is often offered to people in late debt stages. We defined this as dependency-oriented help. Previous research showed that people need dependency-oriented help when their financial stress causes cognitive impairments, we think this is also needed in an intermediate debt stage, than only in a late debt stage. We investigated if participants empathized with the help- seeker, would acknowledge the amount of stress, and would offer dependency-oriented help in an intermediate stage. Therefore, we manipulated the three debt stages; early, intermediate, and late, and manipulated perspective-taking. In this experiment, participants (N = 374) were randomly assigned to the manipulation conditions, read a scenario about a debtor in need, and filled out a questionnaire. We found that participants indicated acknowledging the stress of the help-seeker, but by taking perspective, participants indicated offering more autonomy- oriented help than dependency-oriented help. With this research, we suggest the debt counseling of the Netherlands to provide debt counselors the knowledge about debts, stress, and cognitive functioning.Show less
This thesis covers a pilot study that examines whether Dutch infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords. It is inspired by Sato et al.’s 'Development of Hemispheric...Show moreThis thesis covers a pilot study that examines whether Dutch infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords. It is inspired by Sato et al.’s 'Development of Hemispheric Specialization for Lexical Pitch–Accent in Japanese Infants' (2010). Sato et al. found that Japanese infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in Japanese disyllabic words, and that they start processing these stimuli mostly in the left hemisphere (rather than bilaterally) as they get older in their first year of life, suggesting that Japanese infants perceive lexical pitch-accent as a lexical acoustic cue. Since Dutch does not use pitch-accent as a lexical cue, we would not expect Dutch infants to start processing tonal patterns in the left hemisphere as they get older within their first year. The first step to examining this expectation is carrying out a behavioural discrimination task to establish whether Dutch infants can distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords in the first place. Only then does it become fruitful to carry out a NIRS experiment like Sato et al. to investigate in what parts of the brain Dutch infants process lexical tonal patterns, and whether this differs as they get older. We found that Dutch infants do seem to be able to distinguish lexical tonal patterns in pseudowords. Though the sample size of this pilot is small, the effect that we found is of such significance that we expect to find it in the larger sample size of the official study as well, showing that Dutch infants can distinguish words on the basis of their tonal pattern. We therefore expect that performing a NIRS study like Sato et al. (2010) will be feasible.Show less
Background The number of students with an autism diagnosis is increasing at university. Previous research has shown that those students experience lower levels of social support. Previous research...Show moreBackground The number of students with an autism diagnosis is increasing at university. Previous research has shown that those students experience lower levels of social support. Previous research has also shown a positive link between social support and academic performance. However, there is limited research on this topic. Aim To explore the relationship between social support and academic performance in university students, and to check whether this relationship is mediated by stress, perceived self-competence, depression, or anxiety, and moderated by an autism diagnosis. Design and method Online survey. 222 university students (aged 18-56), 59 with an autism diagnosis (aged 18-39), and 163 without an autism diagnosis (aged 18-56), completed multiple questionnaires assessing participants’ academic performance, perception of their competence to do their class work, stress related to studying at university, anxiety, depression, and social support. Participants were recruited at Dutch universities. Results There was no relationship between social support and stress, perceived self-competence, depression or anxiety. There was no relationship between stress, perceived self-competence, depression or anxiety and academic performance. Autism diagnosis moderated the relationship between social support and depression, and the relationship between social support and anxiety. Limitations The results are reliant on self-reports. A snowball procedure was used for recruitment, which may have caused the sample to be unrepresentative. Conclusion Considering the differences in findings to previous research and the limited amount thereof, it remains unclear whether a relationship between social support and academic performance in students with autism is present, and whether the relationship is mediated by stress, perceived self-competence, depression or anxiety. Future research should examine gender differences, as well as a combination of different constructs.Show less
