Sensitive parenting is important for promoting the parent-child relationship and children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental factors related to sensitive parenting are...Show moreSensitive parenting is important for promoting the parent-child relationship and children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental factors related to sensitive parenting are depression and parental self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between depression and sensitive parenting, and whether parental self-efficacy mediates this association. Participants were 17 Dutch mothers and 4 Dutch fathers of children aged 3-5 years. Parents played 5-10 minutes with their child during two measurement moments, while the researcher was present through a Microsoft Teams connection. A video of the playing was recorded. In between the two measurement moments, parents completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-questionnaire (CES-D) and the Me as a Parent-questionnaire (MaaP). Afterwards, the video recordings were encoded according to the Ainsworth sensitivity scale. Only the relation between depression and sensitivity was significant, where depression was positively related to sensitivity. There was no indication found for a mediational role of parental self-efficacy in the relation between depression and sensitivity. Explanatory theories, limitations and practical implications were discussed. Future research will have to show which other factors can explain these unexpected findings.Show less
In this thesis research has been conducted regarding the following question: is it possible to translate the long Qur’anic surah sūrat al-Raḥmān into Dutch, whereby the following three criteria are...Show moreIn this thesis research has been conducted regarding the following question: is it possible to translate the long Qur’anic surah sūrat al-Raḥmān into Dutch, whereby the following three criteria are met: 1. the meaning is preserved 2. the oral and aural aspect is conveyed 3. the translation is presented in natural and accessible Dutch. To meet the criterion of aurality and orality the translation must meet the testible criteria of rhyme, metre, parallelism, lexical echoes, conciseness, the relation between the sound of words and the atmosphere of a verse or surah, and repetition, which are the most important linguistic structures underlying orality and aurality. Recognizability for Muslims is part of the criterion of meaning. A translation method according to these criteria has been used in the testcase and the translation process has been described. The above resulted in a translation that met the criteria of the research question.Show less
Problematic behaviour remains a problem within healthcare of individuals with dementia, especially as its patient group is set to expand. Problematic behaviour is often caused by pain and places a...Show moreProblematic behaviour remains a problem within healthcare of individuals with dementia, especially as its patient group is set to expand. Problematic behaviour is often caused by pain and places a heavy burden on both professional and family caregivers. Especially since family caregivers are often overlooked as a factor in care. This study therefore investigates the effectiveness of the STA OP! method (SOM), a stepwise approach to address problematic behaviour and pain in individuals with dementia, as well as how the efficacy of SOM is moderated by family involvement. The study, conducted within the CARED-4 project, utilizes a quasi-experimental longitudinal design with measurements at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after implementing SOM. It included 84 residents with dementia from 10 Dutch nursing homes units paired with their family caregivers. Problematic behaviour was examined using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and family involvement was examined through a tailored questionnaire. Analysis was performed with RM Anova for problematic behaviour and family involvement and a general linear model for the moderation of SOM by family involvement. Results indicated that SOM effectively reduces problematic behaviour overall (F(2,55) = 3.81, p = 0.028), after 3 months (Mean Difference = 5.47 SE= 1.97, p = 0.007), but not after 6 months (Mean Difference = 5.70 SE = 3.36, p = 0.095). Family involvement did not change overall (F(1.62,30) = 2.12, p = 0.138). Accordingly, family involvement did not moderate the impact of SOM on problematic behaviour (F(2) = 1.43, p = 0.243). Despite methodological challenges mainly due to missing data, the study takes a first step towards understanding how the effectiveness of SOM interacts with family involvement. So, although family involvement did not moderate a significant reduction in problematic behaviour, the efficacy of SOM has further been established.Show less
In this research, we study the oxidation process of the Transition Metal Dichalcogenide (TMD) niobium diselenide, NbSe2. TMDs are a category of van der Waals materials, of which samples are...Show moreIn this research, we study the oxidation process of the Transition Metal Dichalcogenide (TMD) niobium diselenide, NbSe2. TMDs are a category of van der Waals materials, of which samples are obtained by exfoliation. The measurements are performed with the Low Energy Electron Microscope (LEEM), which measures reflectivity at different energy, resulting in the so-called IV curves. To analyze oxidation, we have developed a new method to obtain in situ exfoliated flakes in the LEEM set-up. First, we measure in situ cleaved NbSe2 flakes (bulk). The reflectivity upon adding (pure) oxygen is followed. Additionally, the reflectivity of ex situ cleaved NbSe2 flakes is assessed. Here, an intensity boundary between flake’s edge and center is recognized. The reflectivity measurements show that the electronic structure is different across the boundary: a V-shaped reflectivity minimum appears, which sharpens over time upon oxidation. The boundary is further researched with Atomic Force Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis. Additionally, we perform roughness analysis and Principal Component Analysis. The latter provides an alternative method to follow the change in electronic properties over time. We propose that already degraded NbSe2 flakes are more susceptible to oxidatin damage, compared to in situ exfoliated flakes. Upon further measurements, the in situ cleaved samples do not show any degradation signs, therefore we attribute the presence of an intensity contrast with the associated IV features, to oxidized NbSe2.Show less
Research shows that many students don’t have enough reading comprehension to understand texts. One way of improving students’ reading comprehension could be by providing feedback to students while...Show moreResearch shows that many students don’t have enough reading comprehension to understand texts. One way of improving students’ reading comprehension could be by providing feedback to students while they answer questions about a text. To use feedback efficiently in the future, it’s important to know how elaborate effective feedback should be. Considering this, the current study examined the relation between feedback and the use of reading strategies in general, and for the use of reading strategies while reading a text. Moreover, the relation between the amount of information provided in the feedback and the use of reading strategies was examined. Experimental data of 97 participants aged 10 and 11 years (52.6% boys, M = 10.45, SD = 0.52) was collected using questionnaires, namely the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory and the Task-Specific Strategy Self-Report. Participants were pre- and post-tested and had three intervention sessions. They were randomly assigned to a condition, namely no feedback, short feedback, or elaborate feedback. During the intervention sessions, participants had to read a text, and answer questions about the text. Depending on their condition, they either received feedback or not. If they did, the amount of information in the feedback differed. Every session ended with a questionnaire. Using SPSS, two repeated measures ANOVA were completed. According to the results, there was no relation between feedback and the use of reading strategies. Furthermore, no differences were found for the different amounts of information in feedback and the use of reading strategies. The biggest limitation of the current study was the lack of a motivational component in the used intervention. Therefore, future research should use motivation as part of the intervention to investigate if feedback could help in improving the use of reading strategies for youth aged 10 to 11.Show less
Insomnia is highly prevalent in patients with long-term medical conditions. Although fatigue is the most common daytime symptom of insomnia, it is still largely unknown which underlying components...Show moreInsomnia is highly prevalent in patients with long-term medical conditions. Although fatigue is the most common daytime symptom of insomnia, it is still largely unknown which underlying components are associated with fatigue in a broader population of insomnia patients. Previous literature stated that dysfunctional sleep-related beliefs (DSRB) and pre-sleep arousal (PSA) could explain the relationship between insomnia and fatigue. Additionally, subjective sleep characteristics, such as insomnia severity, number of nocturnal awakenings (NoA) and sleep efficiency might also be components of this relationship. This study aimed to investigate how these factors affect fatigue in a broad medical population with insomnia. It was hypothesized that more disturbed sleep-related psychological factors and subjective sleep characteristics were associated with increased fatigue. This cross-sectional study, derived from the ongoing TIMELAPSE study, consisted of 154 participants. Participants completed questionnaires assessing fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength-20), DSRB (Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep-16), PSA (Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale), and insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index). The Consensus Sleep Diary tracked NoA and sleep efficiency daily for one week. Two multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between sleep-related psychological factors (DSRB, PSA), subjective sleep characteristics (insomnia severity, NoA, sleep efficiency) and fatigue. Age, gender, and depression were included as controlling variables. Results showed that DSRB (β = .174, p = .027), PSA (β = -.160, p = .036), and insomnia severity (β = .243, p = .002) were factors associated with fatigue in insomnia patients. More severe DSRB and higher insomnia severity predicted elevated levels of fatigue. Contrary to expectations, PSA was negatively associated with fatigue. Lastly, NoA and sleep efficiency were not related to fatigue. This study uncovered connections between more severe DSRB, lower PSA, and higher insomnia severity that led to higher levels of fatigue. The current study suggests that improvements in DSRB and reducing insomnia severity may reduce fatigue of insomnia patients with long-term medical conditions. Sleep interventions should emphasize on challenging these DSRB. Future research is needed to examine the complex relationship between PSA and fatigue, as well as whether changes in DSRB during CBT-I treatment reduce fatigue symptoms in this population.Show less
The global prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to rise from 50 to 152 million cases by 2050 due to the limited availability of therapeutic and preventive strategies and ageing populations...Show moreThe global prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to rise from 50 to 152 million cases by 2050 due to the limited availability of therapeutic and preventive strategies and ageing populations. Although digital tools can address the growing gap between healthcare supply and demand, their implementation is difficult, and personal factors can influence individuals’ intention to use such tools. Thus, this study explores the relationship between various personal factors, as self-reported by healthy individuals (N = 507) who are part of a brain research registry, and their intention to use and promote using digital tools in the context of brain health and dementia. According to the hypothesis formulated for the research, higher financial scarcity, lower educational attainment, and lower employment status predict lower intention to use and promote digital tools for brain health. The study examined four distinct digital tools: (1) MijnBreincoach (a prevention tool), (2) cCog (a diagnostic tool), (3) ADappt (a patient- orchestrated care tool), and Neurokeys (a prediction tool). It was found that Neurokeys exhibited the highest score for intention to use but the lowest score for intention to promote. In addition, medium and high educational attainment predicted higher behavioral intention to use MijnBreincoach, while the most beneficial (i.e., most secure, stable, and safe) employment status predicted higher intention to promote MijnBreincoach and cCog. In conclusion, it is important to recognize differences in intention to use and promote different types of digital tools across potential users and the influence of personal characteristics on the intention to use and promote digital tools for brain health. During the development of a digital tool, it is recommended to consider which target audience would derive the greatest benefit from it and tailor it accordingly.Show less
Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression among young people are a growing public health problem worldwide. To address this effectively, it’s important to understand to what extend...Show moreMental health problems such as anxiety and depression among young people are a growing public health problem worldwide. To address this effectively, it’s important to understand to what extend factors such as academic stress, parental expectations and family well-being influence the development of anxiety and mood disorders. Relatively little is known about the anxiety and worry experienced by early adolescent children and the extent to which this is culture dependent. The present study sought insight in the worries of children aged 10-12 years from Western and non-Western cultural backgrounds. In addition, the extent to which internalizing symptoms are related to achievement anxiety, parental expectations and family well-being was examined. This was done by interviewing 74 Indian children (M = 10.92 ; SD = 0.75) and 69 Dutch (M = 11.17 ; SD = 0.92) children using the Cultural Formulation Interview. In addition, the amount of internalizing complaints and family welfare were determined using RCADS and FASIII. Results showed that children from India more often experienced achievement-oriented anxiety than Dutch children, and that this was associated with a greater amount of internalizing symptoms. The parental expectations that Indian children experienced were often achievement-oriented expectations regarding school or future profession, whereas the parental expectations of Dutch children were more often focused on being able to show responsibility for tasks. This might be explained by the values transmitted from parent to child within individualistic and collectivistic culture. Evidence exists that cultural values remain present when families from collectivist cultures move to a country with a more individualistic culture. It is therefore extremely important to be aware of these cross-cultural differences within mental health care, as well as education, when dealing with adolescents with anxiety and mood problems.Show less
This study aims to investigate the effects of exercise-intensity on divergent creativity. It is hypothesized that exercise of moderate and high intensity enhance creativity more effectively than...Show moreThis study aims to investigate the effects of exercise-intensity on divergent creativity. It is hypothesized that exercise of moderate and high intensity enhance creativity more effectively than exercise of lower intensity. The study also investigates if arousal, positive high-arousal affect, and negative high-arousal affect serve as intermediary variables in this relationship. Scarce previous research has suggested a relationship between exercise-intensity and creativity, but studies comparing different exercise-intensities on creativity and potential underlying mechanisms were lacking. To address this knowledge gap, this study compares different intensities, namely low-intensity (cycling at 55% of maximum heart rate), moderate-intensity (cycling at 70% of maximum heart rate), high-intensity (cycling at 85% of maximum heart rate) and a control group, on divergent creativity (i.e., number and uniqueness of creative ideas); And looks at affect and arousal as underlying mechanisms. Happy (positive), elated (positive), upset (negative), tense (negative) and stressed (negative) are used as indicators for high-arousal affect and feelings of wakefulness and alertness as indicators for arousal. Participants in this study completed two appointments, of which the first appointment consisted of a fitness test to measure participants’ maximum heart rate. During the second appointment, participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions and their affect and arousal were measured before and after the exercise or control task. Creativity was measured after the exercise or control task was completed. A Kruskal-Wallis Test showed that participants in the moderate-intensity and high-intensity exercise did not show higher creativity. Further, macro PROCESS model 4 revealed a significant effect of moderate-intensity and high-intensity exercise on arousal in comparison to low-intensity exercise and a significant effect of moderate-intensity exercise on positive high-arousal affect, in comparison to the control group. Other than this, the model revealed that none of the mediators significantly explained a relationship between exercise-intensity and creativity. This study thus suggests that exercise-intensity does not play a significant role in creativity enhancement, nor does arousal or high-arousal affect. However, future research is needed to confirm this for other modes of exercise, regular exercise instead of acute bouts of exercise and for different individual characteristics, such as age and gender.Show less
Despite the known effectiveness of digital storybooks for young children's language development, their use in classrooms remains limited. Digital storybooks can lead to a child being read to more...Show moreDespite the known effectiveness of digital storybooks for young children's language development, their use in classrooms remains limited. Digital storybooks can lead to a child being read to more often since they don’t rely on an available adult to read aloud. This study investigated whether the teacher’s attitudes toward printed and digital storybooks correlated with their class's frequency of logging into Bereslim, an interactive digital storybook platform for children aged 3 to 7 years old. The study also examined whether the number of children in a class at risk of developing language problems correlates with the frequency of logins to Bereslim. Additionally, it investigated whether teacher’s attitude toward printed storybooks could predict the amount of Bereslim logins. Lastly, the study explored whether the teacher's age impacted their attitude toward reading digital storybooks and the frequency of logins. In this research 8 teachers from 6 schools and 1 daycare participated, completing an online questionnaire about their attitudes toward reading aloud with print and digital storybooks. Log data was also utilized, containing information about the frequency of logins into Bereslim in each class. No significant results were found regarding teachers' attitudes toward print and digital storybooks and the frequency of logging into Bereslim in their class. There was no significant correlation between the number of children in the class who are at-risk of developing a language problem and the teachers' attitude toward print storybooks. Neither teachers' age nor their attitudes toward digital storybooks significantly predicted login frequency. It's possible that the sample was too small to produce significant effects. To increase the usage of Bereslim in class, providing teachers with more information about the platform and opportunities to gain experience with digital storybooks could be beneficial. A lack of experience with digital storybooks prevents teachers from using them.Show less
Attentional bias (AB) is when certain stimuli catch attention quicker than others, which varies according to individual characteristics. The study investigated: (1) if there is an AB to or from...Show moreAttentional bias (AB) is when certain stimuli catch attention quicker than others, which varies according to individual characteristics. The study investigated: (1) if there is an AB to or from itch; (2) whether this differs between people with chronic itch and healthy controls; (3) and if there is a possible AB/stress association. This is because understanding ABs to/from itch further elucidates the experience of patients with chronic itch and possible future clinical applications. Furthermore, an explorative analysis compared two tasks measuring AB, namely the Posner cueing and dot-probe task. The two tasks, alongside a stress-questionnaire, were administered online to the participants (N=70). A (frequentist and Bayesian) RM ANOVA was done for the main analysis, and a within- subjects t-test for the explorative task-comparison. Given that the task-comparison found the two tasks differing significantly (p = 0.01 d = -0.31), the results of the two tasks were interpreted separately. Overall, indications of AB being biased away from itch stimuli was found. When the AB was contrasted between participant group (people with and without chronic itch), the Posner cueing task found no significant difference (p = 0.68, ηp 2 = 0.003) whereas the dot-probe task found an AB away from itch-stimuli in patients with chronic itch (p = 0.02, ηp 2 = 0.077). Similar pattern unfolded with the stress-association: the Posner cueing task finding that AB did not significantly differ with stress (p = 0.23, ηp 2 = 0.021). The dot-probe task did find that they significantly differed (p = 0.01, ηp 2 = 0.091) where with higher stress, the AB switched to being an AB towards itch stimuli. The discrepancy between the two tasks aligns with expectations considering that the tasks were found inequivalent - highlighting one of the strengths of this study being that the two tasks were compared. Altogether this points towards differences in what the two tasks tap into, and that the attention of people with chronic itch is biased as a function of stress. Summarizing, AB to itch differed between the two groups and was associated with stress when using dot-probe task, which did not apply to the Posner cueing task.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This thesis explores the relationship between humans and non-humans within a sea turtle conservation organization in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Through eleven weeks of in-depth visual ethnographic...Show moreThis thesis explores the relationship between humans and non-humans within a sea turtle conservation organization in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula. Through eleven weeks of in-depth visual ethnographic fieldwork, I investigate the influence these human/non-human relationships have on scientific knowledge production. The output of this research consists of an ethnographic film ‘The Turtle Team’ and this article. This research underscores the necessity of adopting transdisciplinary methodologies in which non-humans are integrated, which is crucial in the era of the Anthropocene. It provides a nuanced understanding of how human/non-human relationships shape the production of scientific knowledge in this team of conservationists and emphasizes the interwovenness of humans and non-humans. This research contributes to the existing literature on the Anthropocene and the nature-culture debate and I argue that the interwovenness of humans and non-humans should be discussed more within scientific research, especially in conservation biology.Show less
Dutch law mandates that every secondary special education school develops post-secondary transition plans for their students. Currently, there are no established guidelines for creating these...Show moreDutch law mandates that every secondary special education school develops post-secondary transition plans for their students. Currently, there are no established guidelines for creating these transition plans. This study aimed to investigate two potential factors that could be considered, specifically for students with autism: IQ and social-emotional functioning. To examine the relationship between IQ, social-emotional functioning, and transition plans, this research assessed the correlation between IQ and transition plans, the correlation between social-emotional functioning and transition plans, and whether IQ or social-emotional functioning more strongly predicted transition plans. Recruitment resulted in a sample of n= 14 participants: with n= 13 boys and n= 1 girl. N= 7 was assigned the transition profile Labor and n= 7 was assigned the transition profile Post-Secondary Education, none of the participants were assigned the transition profile Daytime Occupation. This study utilized the developmental prospect plans of the students. Upon data analysis, it was found that there was no significant correlation between IQ and transition planning (p = .428), no significant correlation between social-emotional functioning and transition planning (p = .855), and neither IQ nor social-emotional functioning emerged as a stronger predictor for transition planning. The limitations of the current research were a small sample size, the variability of entries in the developmental prospect plans and the multidimensionality of the variables IQ and social-emotional functioning. Future research should be done to investigate the replicability of the current findings within a bigger sample and the potential of alternative variables that may be associated. Teachers working with students with autism may need additional training to understand the complexities of transition planning beyond the intellectual or social-emotional functioning. Considering these findings, it is concluded that neither IQ nor social-emotional functioning should be used as sole criteria for transition plans for autistic students in secondary special education.Show less
This current study investigated the relationship between level of pain, expectancies, and avoidance in individuals with chronic low back pain. Research showed that individually expectancies and...Show moreThis current study investigated the relationship between level of pain, expectancies, and avoidance in individuals with chronic low back pain. Research showed that individually expectancies and avoidance behaviour influence pain experience. However, there seems to be little research into the combined influence. Seeing that research also showed that pinpointing a cause for the chronic low back pain is difficult, this study aimed to give insight into interacting factors that influence chronic low back pain. To gather data participants (N=18) filled in a questionnaire five times a day for two weeks. This provided insight into their levels of pain in the morning and the evening, if they expected to experience pain and if they were more likely to avoid movements, they expected to be painful. These statements were answered with answering scales, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 6 (extremely), given how likely that statement was for the participant. A mediation analysis inspecting possible relations between the level of pain and expectancies, the level of pain and avoidance, and the level of pain, expectancies and avoidance yielded no significant relations. Therefore, it could not be concluded that avoidance and/or expectancy are influencing the level of pain in the evening when compared to the level of pain in the morning. There were two significant findings, the impact of level of pain in the morning on expectancies and the impact of expectancies on avoidance. These findings are in line with what was found in existing literature and give incitement for further research on this topic. Another incitement for further research is the small sample used in this current study. The implication for the scientific field therefore is to perform this study on a bigger sample. Another consideration for further research would be to try and use a more diverse sample in both age and gender, this to make a more representative sample to draw conclusions for the general population. This could also lead to more substantial implications for the clinical field since this study did not have significant results.Show less
