Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
closed access
The use of harsh caregiving behaviour is related to a range of negative outcomes on the development of children. Therefore, it is important to get a more thorough understanding of the determinants...Show moreThe use of harsh caregiving behaviour is related to a range of negative outcomes on the development of children. Therefore, it is important to get a more thorough understanding of the determinants of such caregiving behaviours. Researchers have consistently found an association between high levels of environmental chaos in the household and negative parenting behaviours. However, this relation has never been investigated in an experimental setting before so no causal inferences could be made. Therefore, the present study used an experimental within-subjects design to investigate whether (observed) harsh caregiving behaviour is predicted by an (experimentally manipulated) chaotic home environment. In addition, self-regulatory skills, measured with a delay discounting task and a Go/Nogo task, were examined as a potential moderator in this relation. A total of 96 women aged between 18 and 25 years participated in the two lab-visits. The laboratory (furnished like a living room) was calm and organized in the neutral condition, and chaotic and unorganized in the chaos condition. Contrary to what was hypothesized, results of the multilevel analysis showed no causal relation between chaos and harsh caregiving in the present study. Also, no moderating effect of self-regulatory skills on the relation between environmental chaos and harsh caregiving behaviours was found. Possible explanations for not finding the expected results and directions for future research are addressed in the discussion.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
open access
2017-10-10T00:00:00Z
We investigated the year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in residential and foster care and compared it with prevalence rates in the general population. We used two approaches to estimate...Show moreWe investigated the year prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in residential and foster care and compared it with prevalence rates in the general population. We used two approaches to estimate the prevalence of CSA. First, 264 professionals working in residential or foster care (sentinels) reported CSA for the children they worked with (N = 6,281). Second, 329 adolescents staying in residential or foster care reported on their own experiences with CSA. Sentinels and adolescents were randomly selected from 82 Dutch youth care facilities. We found that 4.3 per 1000 children had been victims of CSA based on sentinel reports. In addition, 248 per 1000 adolescents reported having experienced CSA. Results based on both sentinel and self-report revealed higher prevalence rates in youth care than in the general population, with the highest prevalence in residential care. Prevalence rates in foster care did not differ from the general population. We conclude that residential placements should remain a last resort. Unfortunately foster care does not effectively protect children against sexual abuse either, and thus its quality needs to be further improved.Show less
This study examined the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment by using multiple measurements for retrospective history of maltreatment. Furthermore, social learning theory, attachment...Show moreThis study examined the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment by using multiple measurements for retrospective history of maltreatment. Furthermore, social learning theory, attachment theory, and family stress model were examined as an explanation for intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. This study compared 24 mothers who were in treatment because of maltreating behaviours, to 18 control group mothers who did not maltreat their own children. Results showed that mothers who currently maltreat their own children were more likely to have a history of child maltreatment than mothers from the control group. This significant result was only found when history of maltreatment was measured using a questionnaire (CTQ-SF). The same trends, although nonsignificant, were found when history of maltreatment was measured using an interview (AAI) or a combined measurement of interview and questionnaire. This study did not find support for type-specific patterns and the moderating role of continuity of unemployment. The findings of this study support the hypothesis for the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. However, no support was found for the social learning theory or the family stress model. Attachment theory might be a better explanation for intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. Further research on attachment theory is needed to confirm this.Show less
