Abstract Depression prevalence is increasing worldwide, especially among young people. Alarmingly, the majority of individuals are likely to suffer from recurring episodes of depression. With...Show moreAbstract Depression prevalence is increasing worldwide, especially among young people. Alarmingly, the majority of individuals are likely to suffer from recurring episodes of depression. With treatment developments lagging behind, there is an increasing need for preventing depression from an early age by investigating protective factors. Specifically, the thesis aimed to examine how behavioral emotion regulation (ER) strategies might mediate the association between self-efficacy (SE) and depression severity over four months. Additionally, the yearly stability of behavioral ER use was investigated. The sample comprised 738 participants, (Mage = 22.56, SD = 3.88), 80.6% were female. Of these, 298 individuals completed a yearly follow-up. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess SE, behavioral ER and depression severity at baseline. Depression was reassessed after four months. A multiple mediation analysis revealed that behavioral ER strategies did not mediate the relationship between SE and depression severity over time. With the exception of ignoring, no behavioral ER strategies were significantly associated with depression over time. Higher baseline SE at baseline was linked to the use of more helpful ER strategies and lower depression severity four months later. The additional analysis demonstrated stability in using some behavioral ER strategies over 1 year. The findings emphasize SE as a relevant protective factor in depression. Future research should explore additional factors and employ longitudinal designs to enhance our understanding of the complex interplay among SE and behavioral ER in buffering against depression.Show less
Each year, between 2700 and 2900 underage victims of sexual offenses are interrogated in the Netherlands. Shyness is a personality trait known to influence the memory and testimony of adult...Show moreEach year, between 2700 and 2900 underage victims of sexual offenses are interrogated in the Netherlands. Shyness is a personality trait known to influence the memory and testimony of adult witnesses. However, the influence of shyness on testimonies has not yet been thoroughly investigated in the case of underage witnesses. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent shyness of children is related to level of detail and accuracy of their statement during interrogation and whether these variables differed based on the type of recall during the interrogation. The sample consisted of eight to eleven year old children (mean age = 9.91 years, SD = 1.221). First, the children participated in a standardized online yoga lesson. A week later, the children participated in an online interview to talk about the yoga lesson. These interviews were transcribed and coded for level of detail and accuracy. The Emotionality, Activity, and Sociability Temperament Survey for Children (EAS), filled out by one of the parents, was used to measure the children’s shyness. Both Pearson correlations and repeated measures ANOVAs showed no significant relations between shyness and the level of detail and accuracy of children’s statements during an interrogation. No differences on the relations between shyness and the level of detail and accuracy were found between free recall versus cued recall. This suggests that shyness might not be the best predictor of the level of detail and accuracy of children’s statements and that shy children may be equally good witnesses as non-shy children. However, the sample in this study was too small (n = 11) to draw a firm conclusion and a replication study with a larger sample is necessary.Show less
Children are known to rely on others’ facial expressions to guide their behavior and to use their own affective state to elicit desired reactions. Recent facial mimicry literature argues that...Show moreChildren are known to rely on others’ facial expressions to guide their behavior and to use their own affective state to elicit desired reactions. Recent facial mimicry literature argues that automatic imitation of others’ emotional expressions can be altered based on social motivations. The present study aimed to explore the impact of learning about children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors on young adults’ facial mimicry to children’s sad dynamic displays. Potential moderations of implicit gender bias and time spent with children were also investigated. Our final sample included 25 young adults (80% females) between the ages of 18 and 30. Participants’ frowning responses to primary-school aged children’s video displays of sad facial expressions were measured via facial electromyography (fEMG). Using a within-subject design, facial mimicry was assessed before and after learning about children’s behaviors. Participants additionally estimated a total weekly hours they spend with children and completed an adapted Implicit Association Task (IAT) measuring their implicit gender bias towards children’s behaviors. Results did not reveal any significant change in young adults’ facial responses after learning about children’s behaviors, suggesting that internalizing behaviors did not elicit increased mimicry compared to externalizing behaviors and baseline. An interaction of participants’ implicit gender bias was found with behavior and time (p = .04). Adults with greater positive bias tended to mimic internalizing children more than externalizing children. Lastly, no moderation of time spent with children was found, which might be a result of a lack of variability in the sample. The present study tentatively points towards a moderation of implicit gender bias on adults’ affiliative motivations. Prevention and intervention programs may be needed to increase caregivers and teachers’ sensitivity and responsivity to high risk children’s emotional expressions.Show less
Aims and objectives. This study aims to describe behavioural aspects, cognition, and epilepsy course and identify predictors for Quality of Life (QoL) in adolescents and adults two to ten years...Show moreAims and objectives. This study aims to describe behavioural aspects, cognition, and epilepsy course and identify predictors for Quality of Life (QoL) in adolescents and adults two to ten years after achieving remission from epileptic encephalopathy with spike-wave activation in sleep (EE-SWAS). Background. Children with EE-SWAS, a childhood epilepsy syndrome, often experience neurodevelopmental arrest or regression, which consists of a heterogeneous combination of behavioural and cognitive deficits. Three-quarters of the patients in EE-SWAS remission have permanent deficits. Long-term follow-up studies are scarce but suggest a relation between the aetiology, EE-SWAS duration, and use of corticosteroid treatment with neurodevelopmental outcome of patients in remission. Design. This study utilised a cross-sectional observational design with questionnaires and retrospective data collection. Methods. Parents or caregivers of patients digitally filled out the Epilepsy Questionnaire and the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire-55 (QOLCE-55). Results. A total of 35 adolescents and adults with a mean age of 18.2 (SD±3.76) years were included in the statistical analysis. The participants consisted of 18 male and 17 female adolescents and adults who were in ≥ 2 years in EE-SWAS remission. An established aetiology occurred in 19 participants, the median EE-SWAS duration was 4.3 (IQR 2.0-7.0) years, and 13 participants received corticosteroid treatment. The mean QOLCE-55 score for the sample size was 50.0 (SD±16.97). A significant difference of 10.3 points between the means of the QOLCE-55 score of patients with an established (M=45.3, SD±16.20) and an unknown (M=55.6, SD±16.65) aetiology has been found (t=1.841, df=33, p=.038). No difference was found in the QOLCE-55 means between patients with and without corticosteroid treatment (t=0.831, df=33, p=.226). Moreover, no correlation was found between the EE-SWAS duration and QOLCE-55 scores (ρ= -.298, p=.052 (n=31). No statically significant predictors of the QOLCE-55 scores were found in the multivariate regression analysis with an established aetiology (B=-4.5, p=.430), duration (B=-0.1, p=.108), and corticosteroid treatment (B=3.2, p=.595). Conclusions. Although no statistically significant predictors of QoL in EE-SWAS remission in adolescents and adults were found, an established aetiology and longer duration of EE-SWAS showed a potential trend as predictors of a poorer QoL. The study’s findings confirm the presence of cognitive deficits experienced in EE-SWAS remission, aligning with previous literature.Show less
The current study investigated the mediating role of social-evaluative anxiety in the relationship between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction in a sample of 160 adolescents (aged between...Show moreThe current study investigated the mediating role of social-evaluative anxiety in the relationship between self-concept clarity and body dissatisfaction in a sample of 160 adolescents (aged between 11 and 21 years). Participants completed self-report questionnaires to measure their self-concept clarity and level of social-evaluative anxiety. To measure body dissatisfaction, participants undertook an fMRI task measuring physical self- concept and completed the physical domain of the Competence Experience Scale for Adolescents (CBSA). A correlational analysis revealed that low self-concept clarity is related to higher body dissatisfaction, regardless of gender. The relationship was found to be partially mediated by social-evaluative anxiety. Gender comparisons did not reveal any significant gender differences. Findings suggest that targeting low self-concept clarity as well as social-evaluative anxiety might be an important part of interventions aiming to reduce body dissatisfaction among adolescents. In addition, the results underline the necessity to equally include both genders in future research and potential interventions.Show less
Experiencing child maltreatment and domestic violence can have significant short- and long-term impacts, including increased risks of mental health issues and psychopathology. Previous research has...Show moreExperiencing child maltreatment and domestic violence can have significant short- and long-term impacts, including increased risks of mental health issues and psychopathology. Previous research has shown that child maltreatment not only can affect direct victims but also the children of parents who have experienced maltreatment. This study examines the relationship between mother’s experienced child maltreatment and their children’s behavioral problems, and investigates whether this relationship is moderated by maternal psychopathology. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that a positive relationship would exist and that this relationship would be stronger for mothers with more psychopathology. The study focuses on mothers and their children residing in Dutch women’s shelters following domestic violence by the mother’s (ex-)partner. A sample of 29 mother-child dyads was recruited with the average age of mothers being 31.6 years (SD = 6.2 years) and of children being 3.2 years (SD = 1.5 years). The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) was used to measure mother’s experiences of child maltreatment in their childhood, with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) children’s behavioral problems were evaluated and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) was used to assess maternal psychopathology. The results indicated no significant main effect of mother’s experienced child maltreatment on children’s behavioral problems, and no significant moderation effect of maternal psychopathology on this relationship. However, significant main effects were found for mother’s experienced child maltreatment on maternal psychopathology and for maternal psychopathology on children’s behavioral problems, suggesting a potential mediation effect. Possible explanations for not finding the expected main effect and moderation are a low statistical power due to the small sample size and resilience. Therefore, replication studies are warranted. This study enhances the understanding of the complex interplay between child maltreatment, maternal psychopathology, and children’s behavioral outcomes, emphasizing the need for systemic interventions.Show less
Introduction: Relatively little research has assessed predictors of both treatment outcomes and attrition in binge eating disorder (BED) treatment. Even fewer studies did so for digital forms of...Show moreIntroduction: Relatively little research has assessed predictors of both treatment outcomes and attrition in binge eating disorder (BED) treatment. Even fewer studies did so for digital forms of therapy. This study thus aims to contribute to the current pool of knowledge by examining the predictive value of various variables in a recently developed digital BED-treatment: BED-online. Methods: This study was part of a RCT into the effects of BED-online therapy. Participants were over the age of 18, Dutch-speaking and diagnosed with the DSM-V BED. A total of 180 participants were found to be eligible, of whom 40 (22.2%) dropped-out before the last session. Post-treatment measurements from an interview (EDE) and a self-report questionnaire (EDE-Q) were used to determine the immediate treatment effects. A follow-up (24 weeks post-treatment) EDE-Q measurement determined the long-term effects. These variables served as the dependent variables in three different hierarchical linear regression analyses. A fourth logistical regression analysis was conducted, where treatment-related drop-out formed the dependent variable. The following eight predictor variables were chosen based on literature research: ethnicity, age, gender, educational level, comorbidity, frequency of binge eating episodes, levels of BED pathology and treatment condition. The predictor variables served as the independent variables. Results: BED pathology at baseline was found to be the only significant predictor of treatment outcomes as measured by the EDE (β=.41, t=3.71, p<.001), EDE-Q (β=.57, t=8.23, p<.001) and at follow-up (β=.47, t= 6.24, p< .001). Attrition could be predicted by both ethnicity and gender, where males were 5.63 times more likely to discontinue treatment prematurely (OR=5.63, 95%CI [1.81, 17.53]) and participants born abroad were 3.91 times more likely to discontinue treatment (OR=3.91, 95%CI [1.43, 8.76]). Other independent variables did not significantly contribute to the final regression models. Discussion and conclusion: All predictor variables are discussed in detail, reflecting on the results found and comparing them to findings of previous studies. Limitations are elaborated in depth. Due to these limitations, and the modest number of previous studies, further research is encouraged, exploring both the current and other dependent variablesShow less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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Prediction-based and repetition-based learning are two learning strategies, differing most profoundly in their depth of processing. In repetition-based learning, students repeat information shortly...Show morePrediction-based and repetition-based learning are two learning strategies, differing most profoundly in their depth of processing. In repetition-based learning, students repeat information shortly after learning it, while in prediction-based learning, students make a prediction before learning the information. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of the two learning strategies for memory recall, as well as consider the influence of age, the magnitude of the prediction errors, and the involved brain areas. It seeks to enhance the educational debate on these learning strategies by uncovering the strategies' mechanisms and guiding educators on their effective use. To accomplish this, 28 young adolescents and 46 young adults were scanned in an MRI scanner while learning numerical facts using both strategies: predicting and repeating. The study explored the influence of strategy, age group, and prediction error on memory recall. Furthermore, it investigated strategy-specific and age-specific differences in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), striatum, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). While it was expected that prediction-based learning would result in better learning for both age groups as it requires deeper processing, results showed that adults had improved memory for repetition compared to prediction, whereas adolescents did not show a significant difference between the two learning strategies. Within prediction-based learning, adults showed increased memory for small and large prediction errors, while adolescents only did for large prediction errors. Lastly, among the investigated brain areas, the ACC, which is involved in error detection, showed the most prominent role in prediction-based learning.Show less
May people are dealing with debts and this has negative consequences. Therefore, it is important that they seek out for help. However, not everyone seeks out for help. Research suggest that...Show moreMay people are dealing with debts and this has negative consequences. Therefore, it is important that they seek out for help. However, not everyone seeks out for help. Research suggest that autonomy could be of influence. This study investigated the relationship between the need for autonomy and the level of help acceptance, of which was expected that a higher implicit need for autonomy was related to a lower level of help acceptance when experiencing debts. The PSE was used to measure the implicit need for autonomy in a sample of 91 (recently graduated) students. The level of help acceptance was measured with a self-developed questionnaire. The correlation analysis showed that autonomy and help acceptance were positively associated (r (91) =.180, p = .044). Future research should focus on investigating the relationship between autonomy and help acceptance in the specific debt domain. In general, more theoretical research is needed to understand the factors influencing the level of help acceptance. This study provides evidence that a higher need for autonomy is associated with a higher level of help acceptanceShow less
This research paper aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of the newly emerging online approach to psychedelic ceremonies as well as explore the impact set and setting have on the experience....Show moreThis research paper aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of the newly emerging online approach to psychedelic ceremonies as well as explore the impact set and setting have on the experience. Previous research has demonstrated and explored the benefits of psychedelics and their impact on mental health. Nonetheless, no study has yet investigated the potential benefits of psychedelics in an online setting. Therefore, this study recorded the experiences of average people who participated in Spinoza’s online psychedelic ceremonies by means of a voluntary questionnaire. Results showed a significant increase in mental health, compared to baseline, for almost all participants. Additionally, individual differences and setting seemingly had no significant impact on the trip experience. This study provides an insight into the potential experiences of virtual psychedelic ceremonies, contributing to the growing research within the field of psychedelics.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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Iedereen kent de beelden van de protesten voor Black Lives Matter in de Verenigde Staten. Groepen mensen die massaal bijeen kwamen om zich te verzetten tegen het structureel racisme dat afro...Show moreIedereen kent de beelden van de protesten voor Black Lives Matter in de Verenigde Staten. Groepen mensen die massaal bijeen kwamen om zich te verzetten tegen het structureel racisme dat afro-Amerikanen dagelijks meemaken. Verder zijn er internationaal ook veel demonstraties om het milieu te verbeteren, zoals schilderijen die worden besmeurd door klimaatactivisten. Deze protesten waren te zien op verschillende media’s en hebben een grote indruk achtergelaten. Racisme en milieuvervuiling zijn beide prominente problemen in de maatschappij en deze kunnen elkaar versterken. Dit is terug te zien bij milieuracisme. Bij milieuracisme wordt een bepaalde groep vanwege hun huidskleur meer benadeeld door milieuvervuiling dan witte mensen. Zwarte mensen hebben door structureel racisme al een grotere differentiële kwetsbaarheid. Dit betekent dat zij op de gebieden toegang tot middelen, politiek en bestuur, cultuur en kennis en informatie te kort komen vergeleken met witte mensen in hun omgeving.Show less
Background: Therapists deal with a wide range of challenging situations that can affect therapy outcome. This study explores the nature of these situations, and develops a taxonomy of these...Show moreBackground: Therapists deal with a wide range of challenging situations that can affect therapy outcome. This study explores the nature of these situations, and develops a taxonomy of these challenging therapy situations. The findings contribute to therapist’s training and improve therapy outcome. Furthermore the study aims to examine the hypothesis that a higher score on the Professional-Self-Doubt-scale translates to a greater number of words used when describing a challenging situation. The last aim is to explore a potential difference between level of PSD and the type of situations. Methods: The study employs a mixed-qualitative design, using an online questionnaire. A total of 245 therapists participated (89%-female, average-age 41). Participants described 169 challenging therapy situations. Thematic analysis was applied to categorize the qualitative data. PSD was measured using the PSD-scale. Spearman correlation was used to correlate number of words and PSD-score. Chi-Square tests and a Kruskal-Wallis test was used to explore the relation between PSD-score and category of challenging situation. Results: The framework by Henkel et al. (2019) was used to categorize challenging therapy situations, not all situations fit the existing framework. Proposed changes include the introduction of three new subcategories. No significant correlation was found between PSD-score and wordcount. Furthermore no significant relation was found between PSD-score and category of challenging therapy situations. Conclusions: The framework of challenging therapy situations by Henkel et al. (2019) can be expanded and refined. More research is needed in order to examine the relation between level of PSD and category of challenging therapy situation.Show less
Deliberate Practice (DP) is widely associated with positive outcomes in skill-based contexts, prompting an investigation into its role in psychotherapists' management of challenging therapy...Show moreDeliberate Practice (DP) is widely associated with positive outcomes in skill-based contexts, prompting an investigation into its role in psychotherapists' management of challenging therapy scenarios for possible future implications into therapist training. This study delves into the intricacies of challenging therapy situations as recounted by psychotherapists and examines the influence of Deliberate Practice (DP) on the themes of these situations and therapists' sentiments. A total of 254 participants engaged in the study via an online survey, facilitated by various psychotherapy organizations, each representing different therapeutic frameworks. The survey, utilizing a mixed-methods approach, encompassed closed and open-ended questions. Participants DP levels were assessed using the Deliberate Practice Scale, while thematic analysis provided a rich comprehension of the qualitative data. The results indicate that there is no relationship between the number of hours a participant spent in DP and the themes they describe as challenging. Next to this, a relationship between confidence and number of hours in DP was found. The nature of the relationship revealed that the more hours a participant spent in DP, the less confident they were. Participants regardless of their DP engagement, described similar themes as challenging. However, a negative relationship between confidence and DP hours surfaced, prompting speculation about potential explanations such as impostor syndrome, burnout, and perfectionism. This correlation underscores the complexity of psychotherapists' experiences and asks for further in-depth exploration.Show less
