Throughout our lives, we go through stressful situations on a daily basis. It effects multiple facets of our lives, including social interaction and empathy. This study explores the impact of acute...Show moreThroughout our lives, we go through stressful situations on a daily basis. It effects multiple facets of our lives, including social interaction and empathy. This study explores the impact of acute stress on affective empathy in female students (N = 115, M = 21.23 years, SD = 1.64 years). After being exposed to the (placebo) Trier Social Stress Test, participants completed an affective empathy task. They assigned compassion and positive affect scores to negative, neutral and positive pictures. Smiling and frowning responses were measured simultaneously. Surprisingly, no significant differences were revealed between the stress and control group for compassion and positive affect. However, results indicated more relaxation in smiling muscles and more tension in frowning muscles in response to positive stimuli in the stress condition. The results challenge the tend-and-befriend framework.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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In this study we investigated the relationship between stress, prosociality, and academic achievement. With a sample of UK-based college students, we aimed to investigate whether prosociality may...Show moreIn this study we investigated the relationship between stress, prosociality, and academic achievement. With a sample of UK-based college students, we aimed to investigate whether prosociality may serve as a buffer for the assumed negative relationship between stress and academic achievement. Our findings revealed that there was a negative relationship between academic stress and academic achievement. Furthermore, people tended to be more prosocial when they were stressed. However, this increased prosociality was not related to academic achievement and did not buffer people’s academic achievement from the negative effects of stress. The findings highlight the complex dynamic between stress, prosociality, and academic achievement. Understanding the interplay between these three variables has significant value for the innovation of interventions and preventive measures to enhance the overall well-being in students.Show less
Background: Itch and scratching are distressing symptoms in diverse diseases. Both negative expectancies and stress have been shown to increase symptom severity. However, especially the role of...Show moreBackground: Itch and scratching are distressing symptoms in diverse diseases. Both negative expectancies and stress have been shown to increase symptom severity. However, especially the role of stress remains unclear as it has mostly been tested in pain studies. Methods: To investigate whether the effect of stress on itch is mediated by negative expectancies; cowhage, verbal suggestions and a video fragment were used to induce itch in a within-subjects design of 11 healthy participants. Itch, scratching and negative expectancies were measured on a scale from 0 to 10. Stress was assessed by the DASS-21 questionnaire. Results: Using mediation analysis, results suggested that stress was not predictive of itch symptoms at all, even when taking into account negative expectancies. Nonetheless, negative expectancies on their own were related to itch and scratching. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that negative expectancies should be treated as a key aspect in psychological treatment targeting chronic pruritus, such as rational-emotive therapy (RET). However, future research should still investigate stress in relation to itch, as the current study did not assess the impact of severe stress levels and experimentally-induced stress.Show less
This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the influence of stress on atypical symptom amelioration to first-choice psychostimulant medication in individuals with attention deficit...Show moreThis retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the influence of stress on atypical symptom amelioration to first-choice psychostimulant medication in individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Understanding the impact of stress on the effectiveness of psychostimulant medications is crucial, given the high prevalence of stress-related psychiatric comorbidity in ADHD and the potential stress effects on psychostimulant effectivity. It was hypothesized that cardiovascular stress and stress-related psychiatric comorbidity are related to atypical symptom amelioration and that these two characteristics are interrelated. Additionally, the effect of medication and time will be explored. A unique subset from the SOPHISTICATE cohort was analysed, comprising of 460 patients diagnosed with ADHD who exhibited atypical treatment response following first-choice medication registration and were switched to a second-choice medication within 3 weeks. The adult version of the Quantified Behavioral Test (QbTest), a computerized tool that quantifies the core symptoms of ADHD was used to determine baseline symptom severity and treatment response, i.e. QbActivity (QbAct); QbImpulsivity (QbImp); and QbInattention (QbIna). Patients were divided into groups based on stresscharacteristics, and linear mixed models were employed to examine the impact of stresscharacteristics, first-choice medication and time on symptom amelioration (i.e. QbTest score after first- or second-choice medication – QbTest score at baseline; ∆). The results reveal that stress-characteristics were not related to atypical symptom amelioration after first-choice medication. However, patients with stress related psychiatric comorbidity show more inattentive symptom amelioration after second-choice medication registration β=.21, SE=.10, 95% CI [.02, .41], p=.031. Importantly, the effect of time was significant for all three symptom domainssuggesting a role of time to enable a typical response, i.e. ∆QbAct (F(1,462) = 387.818, p < .001), ∆QbImp (F(1, 462) = 235.224, p < .001) and on ∆QbIna (F(1, 463) = 319.655, p = .242). Additionally it was found that baseline symptom severity confounds the medication effect for ∆QbImp and for ∆QbAct. In conclusion, the results indicate that stress characteristics nor medication is related to an atypical response pattern to first-choice medication. The current study did reveal an important role of time to enable a ‘typical’ response. Limitations of the study included the lack of a reference group, the possibility of random effects, and quality of the cardiovascular data. In conclusion, while the impact of stress on treatment response could not be definitively determined based on the available data, future research should explore the complex interplay between stress, psychiatric comorbidity, and medication types to optimize treatment strategies and improve outcomes for patientsShow less
This thesis research investigates the indirect relationship between role conflict and sleep quality. It is investigated whether anxiety complaints have a mediating effect, and whether burnout has a...Show moreThis thesis research investigates the indirect relationship between role conflict and sleep quality. It is investigated whether anxiety complaints have a mediating effect, and whether burnout has a moderating effect. An association has been found in the literature for the relationship between role conflict and anxiety symptoms, as well as for anxiety symptoms and reduced sleep quality. In addition, it turned out that burnout has an effect on these three variables. Four online questionnaires were used for this study, which were completed over a period of three weeks. The results of this study showed no significant indirect effect, also burnout was not a significant moderator. However, a non-significant association was found between decreased sleep quality and role conflict. It is recommended that more research be done on this in the futureShow less
Background: Threat-related attentional bias is a dynamic process, determined by internal and external factors. Individual differences in attentional control, a core function of the executive system...Show moreBackground: Threat-related attentional bias is a dynamic process, determined by internal and external factors. Individual differences in attentional control, a core function of the executive system, is thought to modulate the expression of attentional bias. Attentional bias is also influenced by the threat level of a stimulus (mild and high). The effect of stress on attentional bias in relation to attentional control and threat level shows considerable heterogeneity. Aims and hypotheses: Investigate the association between attentional bias to different threat levels, stress and attentional control. Stress increases attentional bias towards all threats compared to the control condition. Attentional control moderates the effect of stress on attentional bias towards mild and high threats. Method: Sixty-four female participants completed a self-report attentional control measure, underwent a stress-induction (n = 32) or control (n = 32) procedure and completed the modified dot-probe task. Results: Attentional bias to high and mild threats was not affected by stress. Importantly, attentional control moderated the relation between stress and attentional bias to high threats. High attentional control was associated with an attentional bias towards high threats in the stress condition while high attentional control predicted an attentional bias away from high threats in the control condition on a trend level. This moderation effect was not shown for the association between stress and attentional bias to mild threats. Discussion: This study provides evidence that attentional control plays an important role in the manifestation of attentional bias to high threats in stressful and controlled situations in healthy individuals.Show less
Background: Long-term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with the prevalence of hypertension. To understand more about this exposure-response relationship, it is essential to examine this...Show moreBackground: Long-term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with the prevalence of hypertension. To understand more about this exposure-response relationship, it is essential to examine this association with baseline blood pressure measurements. However, theories of possible mechanisms explaining the chronic physiological effects of road traffic noise exposure are limited. Furthermore, the findings of epidemiological studies investigating this relationship are inconsistent and different factors seem to influence the strength of the relationship. A critical evaluation of these studies seems warranted. Purpose: This study aims to gain more theoretical and empirical insight into the association between road traffic noise and resting blood pressure measurements. Methods: Web of Science, PubMed and reference lists were used. Six articles were included, consisting of information about ten studies. A meta-analysis on the association between road traffic noise and blood pressure among adults was performed. The ten effect size estimates were based on the data of 146,339 subjects in total. Results: A 0.195 mmHg (95% CI: 0.004, 0.386) higher systolic blood pressure per 10 dB increase was found. Road traffic noise was not associated with diastolic blood pressure. However, the sensitivity analysis revealed stronger associations with diastolic blood pressure for high-quality studies and stronger associations with systolic blood pressure for nighttime noise exposure. Conclusion: Long-term exposure to road traffic noise had a significant positive association with systolic blood pressure, perhaps strongest at night, and a nonsignificant positive association with diastolic blood pressure. The significant moderating effect of study quality on diastolic blood pressure is a possible explanation for this inconsistency. Further research is required to get a more comprehensive understanding of the association between road traffic noise and blood pressure.Show less
Starting in 2015, the Dutch youth healthcare system will be decentralized and transformed. To smoothen this transition into a ‘new’ healthcare system it is important to prevent families from going...Show moreStarting in 2015, the Dutch youth healthcare system will be decentralized and transformed. To smoothen this transition into a ‘new’ healthcare system it is important to prevent families from going into intensive healthcare by investing in prevention- or early intervention programmes. In the current study the influences of socio-economic status (SES), parental stress and being an only child on the social competence of a child are investigated. The social competence of a child is divided into two compartments; social behaviour and social cognition. A well-developed social competence is linked to better school results and stronger friendships throughout childhood, while a poorly developed social competence is linked to loneliness and underachievement. The research took place in Den Haag, Noordwijk and Zeeuws-vlaanderen and included 160 participants in the age of 4 to 9. Information was gathered through questionnaires and a test. The results showed no effect for SES. Nor was there an effect for being an only child, which means that children who grow up without siblings do not show a difference in social competence then children who do have siblings. The effect of parental stress on social behaviour in a child showed a significant result. This means that, if parents experience relatively more stress from raising their child, this child shows more problems in social behaviour. When this relationship was more closely examined, it showed that this effect is mainly caused by stress derived from parental experiences of social isolation, problems in attachment, and demanding behaviour in the child. Because of these specific sources of stress it seems as if parental stress ‘merely’ plays a mediating role between some form of (social) anxiety or social isolation within the parent. It seems important to investigate this theory in future research so that prevention- and early intervention programme’s can be adapted accordingly.Show less
Bij een eerste zwangerschap komen veel nieuwe dingen kijken die stress kunnen opleveren. Mogelijk ervaart een aanstaande moeder daarnaast nog meer stressvolle gebeurtenissen die veroorzaakt worden...Show moreBij een eerste zwangerschap komen veel nieuwe dingen kijken die stress kunnen opleveren. Mogelijk ervaart een aanstaande moeder daarnaast nog meer stressvolle gebeurtenissen die veroorzaakt worden door de omgeving. Nu is het waarschijnlijk dat aanstaande moeders die al meerdere stressvolle gebeurtenissen meegemaakt hebben, door de ervaring met de vorige gebeurtenissen, emotioneel beter met de nieuwe stressvolle gebeurtenissen om leren gaan. In dit onderzoek werden de moeders ingedeeld in een laag- en hoog-risico groep. Dit werd gedaan op basis van enkele criteria, zoals werkloosheid en alleenstaand ouderschap. Er werd tijdens dit onderzoek niet alleen gekeken of er een verschil in invloed is in de totale doelgroep maar ook tussen deze twee risicogroepen. De participanten (N=143) die aan dit onderzoek meededen, zijn voor het eerst zwanger en hebben een leeftijd van 16 tot 26 jaar. Door middel van de scores op de vragenlijsten voor het aantal meegemaakte stressvolle gebeurtenissen (List Of Threatening Experiences) en de emotieregulatie (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) werd met behulp van SPSS getoetst of er een verband is tussen deze twee variabelen. Uit de resultaten is gebleken dat er geen verband werd gevonden tussen de mate van het meemaken van stressvolle gebeurtenissen en de emotieregulatie van de hoog-risico moeders en de laag-risico moeders samengenomen. Dit is mogelijk te verklaren doordat de stressvolle gebeurtenissen heel verschillend zijn per individu en de aanstaande moeders daarom hun eerdere opgedane ervaring niet kunnen gebruiken bij het reguleren van hun emoties tijdens een volgend stressvol moment. Wel werd er bij de hoog-risico moeders een trend in de richting van een negatief verband gevonden. De mate van het meemaken van stressvolle gebeurtenissen lijkt dus tot een betere emotieregulatie te leiden bij deze risicogroep. Doordat dit een observationeel onderzoek betreft, kan het mogelijk zijn dat een eventuele derde variabele er voor zorgt dat er bij de totale groep aanstaande moeders geen positief verband is gevonden tussen de mate van meemaken van stressvolle gebeurtenissen en de emotieregulatie. Voordat uitgesloten kan worden dat er daadwerkelijk geen verband is tussen deze twee variabelen, dient dit verder onderzocht te worden.Show less
