Research on precursors of empathy, and on the association between empathy and aggression in early childhood is scarce and contradictory. It is likely that these contradictory results can be... Show moreResearch on precursors of empathy, and on the association between empathy and aggression in early childhood is scarce and contradictory. It is likely that these contradictory results can be explained by taking into account other factors that are related to empathy and aggression. Therefore, our main aim was to study early manifestations of empathy as a predictor of aggression during the first years of life, while taking into account the role of precursors of empathy and possible moderators of the association between empathy and aggression. Early manifestations of empathy could be predicted from emotional responses in infancy, as infants who were more emotionally reactive themselves were also more sensitive to emotions of others during toddlerhood. In addition, impaired empathy already was a risk factor of aggression from the age of 20 months. High levels of aggression were associated with low levels of affective empathy, but not cognitive empathy. The negative association between empathy and aggression was stronger for girls, children with high levels of inhibition, and children with low levels of social attention. It is important to take these factors into account in further research and intervention programs that target empathy and its association with aggression in early childhood. Show less
This dissertation aimed to contribute to the quality of foster care addressing three main objectives: The first objective was to investigate if existing parenting interventions are effective in... Show moreThis dissertation aimed to contribute to the quality of foster care addressing three main objectives: The first objective was to investigate if existing parenting interventions are effective in supporting/improving parenting and child outcomes in foster care using a meta-analytic approach. The second objective was to study the effectiveness of an adapted version of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) for foster care, i.e., VIPP-FC. The implementation of VIPP-SD in different types of families and in childcare settings was first reviewed, with special attention to VIPP-FC. Subsequently, the study protocol of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effectiveness of VIPP-FC was described. In addition, the results of this RCT regarding the effectiveness of VIPP-FC on parenting behavior and attitudes were presented. The third objective was to examine correlates of indiscriminate friendliness (IF) displayed by foster children. To answer this question, the relations of attachment security, parental sensitivity, and child inhibitory control with IF were examined using data collected during the pretest of the VIPP-FC RCT. Results are described and discussed in different chapters, and implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research are additionally provided. Show less
This dissertation focused on the role of attachment-based interventions in child protection cases involving young children. The results confirmed that placement decisions are impacted by subjective... Show moreThis dissertation focused on the role of attachment-based interventions in child protection cases involving young children. The results confirmed that placement decisions are impacted by subjective factors, including professionals’ own attitudes and mind-set. Because we argue that the influence of subjective factors can be reduced by inserting relevant evidence into the decision-making process, we tested the effectiveness of one procedure that might produce such information. Evidence for the notion that implementing an attachment-based intervention in parenting capacity assessments can enhance the quality of placement decisions was partially found in this dissertation: We found initial evidence for improved reliability, but not for improved validity, of placement decisions. Taking these findings together with international evidence, we do tentatively conclude that attachment-based interventions can contribute to an improved quality of placement decisions. However, more research is needed to determine what implementation would be most fruitful in the Dutch child protection context. Finally, our finding that maltreating parents with more severe levels of childhood trauma benefited less from an attachment-based intervention implicates that we need to consider families’ individual needs when conducting interventions in this setting. This way, not only more parents will benefit from these interventions, their responses to these interventions might also be a more valid source of information to support placement decisions. Show less
An increasing number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enter higher education each year. Researchers from Leiden University collaborated with Stumass (JADOS) to identify... Show moreAn increasing number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enter higher education each year. Researchers from Leiden University collaborated with Stumass (JADOS) to identify factors that are important for the quality of life of these young adults. The extent to which a student with ASD feels able to show flexible behavior, self-monitor one’s own social behavior, and plan and organize daily activities proved important for satisfaction and study success in daily life. Our research showed that emotional awareness and the ability to use one's own emotions as a means of navigation in daily functioning are less well developed in young adults with ASD. The ability to regulate emotions contributes to adaptive behavior in social situations, and to the perceived quality of life. In addition, it was found that for many students with ASD, the autonomic nervous system is less adaptive in response to socially meaningful information, compared to their typically developing peers. This can have consequences for the experience of social situations. The results described in this thesis emphasize the importance of developing interventions that strengthen executive functioning and emotion regulation in this group of young adults with ASD. Supporting self-regulation could improve quality of life for students with ASD. Show less
In 2017 waren in Nederland tussen de 90.000 en 127.000 kinderen van 0 tot 18 jaar slachtoffer van een vorm van kindermishandeling. Zowel in Nederland als in andere landen lijkt het aantal... Show moreIn 2017 waren in Nederland tussen de 90.000 en 127.000 kinderen van 0 tot 18 jaar slachtoffer van een vorm van kindermishandeling. Zowel in Nederland als in andere landen lijkt het aantal slachtoffers van kindermishandeling niet te zijn afgenomen de afgelopen jaren. Dit heeft mogelijk te maken met de complexiteit van het probleem.Om tot een meer integratief beeld te komen van de antecedenten en consequenties van kindermishandeling bestudeerden we het functioneren van individuen op verschillende niveaus (fysiologie, cognitie, gedrag). Dit deden we binnen een multigenerationeel familieonderzoek.Samengenomen kunnen we op basis van de bevindingen verschillende conclusies trekken over mishandeling (bv. slaan, schelden) en verwaarlozing (bv. je kind onvoldoende van voedsel voorzien). Allereerst vonden we een sterkere evidentie voor de intergenerationele overdracht van mishandeling dan voor de intergenerationele overdracht van verwaarlozing. Daarnaast hing mishandeling samen met ouderlijk gedrag: ouders die mishandeling hadden ervaren in hun jeugd en mishandeling pleegden waren negatiever richting hun kinderen. Verwaarlozing, daarentegen, hing sterker samen met fysiologische reacties van ouders: ouders die meer waren verwaarloosd in hun jeugd lieten een verhoogde stressreactiviteit zien. Deze resultaten onderstrepen het belang om onderscheid te maken tussen mishandeling en verwaarlozing, zowel in onderzoek als in de praktijk. Show less
The central aim of this dissertation is to gain insight into the on-line text processing and strategy use by young low- and high-comprehending readers as they read expository and narrative texts... Show moreThe central aim of this dissertation is to gain insight into the on-line text processing and strategy use by young low- and high-comprehending readers as they read expository and narrative texts for comprehension, with an additional aim to provide insight into distinct reading profiles. A second aim is to gain insight into the effect of different forms of text layout on young readers’ text comprehension and reading speed. The dissertation comprises three sections. The first section consists of a theoretical chapter about individual differences in reading comprehension (Chapter 2). The second section consists of four empirical studies in which (combinations of) different research methods were employed (Chapters 3-6). In the first study, a think-aloud protocol was used to investigate the on-line reading approach of readers and the possible existence of subgroups of readers, whereas in the second study readers’ eye movements were tracked. The third study examined whether subgroups of readers that were characterized as paraphrasers and elaborators based on the think-aloud study, were also characterized by different eye-movement patterns. The fourth study examined whether and why young beginning readers might benefit from segmented text layouts. The third section consists of a conceptual chapter in which the results and conclusions from the empirical studies are summarized and discussed in a broader context and recommendations are given for educational practice (Chapter 7). Show less
This is the very first study of its kind in the Muslim Arabic culture of Yemen which provides a truly ‘off the beaten track’ context for the research on parenting using video observation methods in... Show moreThis is the very first study of its kind in the Muslim Arabic culture of Yemen which provides a truly ‘off the beaten track’ context for the research on parenting using video observation methods in a veiled culture. Completely veiled 62 mothers were filmed and observed while interacting with their children in a naturalistic setting and in a semi structured setting.Findings show that the Ainsworth Western-based video observation measure of maternal sensitivity was a feasible measure in the non-Western Arab Muslim culture even though with some challenges. Maternal sensitivity scores showed significant variation and were positivity related to maternal education, maternal social support, and negatively to partner conflict. Findings also showed a moderation effect of maternal religiosity in the association between harsh physical parenting and child outcomes. In children whose mothers showed a higher level of religiosity, harsh parenting was more strongly related to child behavior problems in comparison to their counterparts whose mothers showed lower levels of religiosity.We hope with its valuable results, this dissertation opens the door for future research using naturalistic video observation measures which can help to increase our knowledge on parenting and child development in that context. Show less
