Parental socialization refers to the process through which parents transmit values and beliefs to their children. During this process, children learn to understand the world and shape their social... Show moreParental socialization refers to the process through which parents transmit values and beliefs to their children. During this process, children learn to understand the world and shape their social functioning. The impact of parental socialization can vary across different cultures. My research focuses on family interactions within Chinese cultures, emphasizing the importance of cultural nuances when examining the role of parental behaviors in children's social development. The study utilized samples of Chinese children and their parents, employing various research methods, including observations, interviews, and questionnaires. The findings indicated that Chinese mothers' psychological control had a relatively minor negative effect on children's emotion regulation and social anxiety. Additionally, the research revealed racism and colorism among Chinese children, which were associated with mothers' color-evasive socialization behaviors. Chinese mothers did not avoid talking about racial appearance and cultural background, which contrasts with studies in White Western populations where most White mothers showed color evasion. Chinese mothers’ acknowledgement of shared culture predicted children’s positive attitudes towards their own racial ingroup with a darker skin tone. My research underscores the unique features of Chinese culture that play a pivotal role in shaping the nature and consequences of parental socialization on children's social functioning. It highlights that Western theories related to parenting and color-evasive socialization may need adaptation when applied to non-Western cultural contexts. Show less
About 1 in 650-1000 children are born with a 47,XXY, 47,XXX or 47,XYY chromosomal pattern (i.e, sex chromosome trisomies, SCT). The presence of SCT is associated with an increased risk for... Show moreAbout 1 in 650-1000 children are born with a 47,XXY, 47,XXX or 47,XYY chromosomal pattern (i.e, sex chromosome trisomies, SCT). The presence of SCT is associated with an increased risk for neurodevelopmental difficulties across the life-span. Studying neurodevelopment in early childhood in children with SCT could signal deviations in development that serve as risk markers to guide clinical care. This thesis explored the development of self-regulation (emotion, cognition, and behavior) in SCT children and population-based controls, aged 1 to 7 years, who participated in the TRIXY Early Childhood Study. Behavioral symptoms were assessed through structured behavioral observation and parental questionnaires. Neurocognition was measured using performance tests and psychophysiological measures of arousal. Outcomes showed behavioral symptoms of psychopathology and neurocognitive vulnerabilities, already from an early age. Difficulties in self-regulation tended to become more pronounced with increasing age and were rather robust; independent of karyotype, pre/postnatal diagnosis, or intelligence-levels. A developmental neurocognitive perspective is key in increasing our knowledge of gene-brain-behavior pathways in SCT as well as advancing clinical care (diagnostics and treatment). Self-regulation amongst other neurocognitive functions may serve as a valuable target for early, tailor-made interventions to minimize the risk for psychopathology later in life and improving quality of life. Show less
This thesis describes the impact of Sex Chromosome Trisomies (SCT; XXX, XXY, XYY) on early social cognition. Individuals with SCT have an increased vulnerability for developing challenges on the... Show moreThis thesis describes the impact of Sex Chromosome Trisomies (SCT; XXX, XXY, XYY) on early social cognition. Individuals with SCT have an increased vulnerability for developing challenges on the social domain, given the convergent impact of the X and Y chromosome on brain networks that underly social adaptive development. We found that already from a very early age on, SCT can be associated with increased risk for vulnerabilities in social interactions, and with increased levels of social impairments associated with ASD. These findings suggest that SCT impact the maturation of the social brain already from an early age, and stresses the importance of early routine monitoring and (preventive) support of early social development in young children with SCT. Show less
The societal toll and human misery associated with mental health disorders is well established. Nonetheless, only about one in five minors with mental health difficulties access adequate... Show moreThe societal toll and human misery associated with mental health disorders is well established. Nonetheless, only about one in five minors with mental health difficulties access adequate professional support. Care pathways and procedures have to facilitate timely recognition and adequate evaluation of patients’ needs to navigate those who can benefit towards ‘the right service in the right place, at the right time, and delivered by the right person’ - a meaningful Chinese proverb often used by authors from the field of healthcare. To reach this meaningful goal, professionals should be able to ‘look’ at a patient and ‘see’ patients’ needs. This by relying on their sufficient knowledge to recognize a probable mental health need, their skills and experience to enquire further, known methods to reliably assess strengths and weaknesses, and readily available resources to translate what they see into an adequate support or management plan. In this PhD thesis we present a series of studies aimed to fill gaps in empirical knowledge on this topic of recognition, assessment, and referral of youth with mental health problems at the interface of primary care and mental healthcare. The results of the studies could inform clinicians on the status quo considering recognition and referral of minors with mental health problems. Moreover, the findings could serve policy and curriculum makers, thereby improving effective practices in child and adolescent mental healthcare. Show less
This dissertation focuses on the overall study, as well as the nuances, of bullying behaviours among school-going youth in India. A systematic review of past literature from India is presented by... Show moreThis dissertation focuses on the overall study, as well as the nuances, of bullying behaviours among school-going youth in India. A systematic review of past literature from India is presented by synthesizing 37 empirical studies examining psychometric properties of the instruments adopted, methodological characteristics, sample size and procedures, and characteristics of bullying behaviour. Results show that bullying is widely spread, and certain factors, like caste and religion, and their association with bullying behaviours are typical to the Indian culture. This dissertation also examines if dimensions of psychopathy, namely callous-unemotional traits, narcissism, and impulsivity, can differentiate between, bullies, victims, and bully-victims in a longitudinal capacity. Using a multi-informant approach and multinomial logistic regression analyses, it was found that psychopathy dimensions taken together provide a better fit in predicting bullying than the independent psychopathic subscales. The dissertation further investigates the structure and context of the relationship between victimization and Body Mass Index through a transactional model. Key results of structural equation modeling analyses yielded mainly concurrent relations between BMI and victimization, emphasizing that results from western countries may not generalize to India. Finally, bullying behaviours among youth as a function of their socio-economic status (SES) in classroom and self-perceptions of minority status are examined using a moderated-mediation growth model. Results show classroom level SES plays a significant role in predicting victimization cross-sectionally, and is mediated through perceptions of self. However, in the long run, being part of a minority, and perceiving self as such, leads to decreased victimization among youth in India. Show less
The research in this dissertation represents a multifaceted approach to understanding reading comprehension processes, and employs diverse methodologies to examine both internal and external... Show moreThe research in this dissertation represents a multifaceted approach to understanding reading comprehension processes, and employs diverse methodologies to examine both internal and external factors related to reading comprehension. More specifically, the research addresses attentional control processes during reading, the influence of dopamine on both attentional control and reading comprehension (i.e., internal factors; Chapter 2 and 3), and the effects of feedback on both reading comprehension and on cognitive and affective processes related to reading comprehension (i.e., external factors; Chapter 4 and 5). Show less
Self-regulation refers to the ability to deliberately control one’s affect and behavior to meet certain standards such as customs, norms and social expectations, and to pursue long-term goals (Kopp... Show moreSelf-regulation refers to the ability to deliberately control one’s affect and behavior to meet certain standards such as customs, norms and social expectations, and to pursue long-term goals (Kopp, 1982). Problems with self-regulation can result in significant personal as well as social problems such as substance addiction (e.g., drugs, alcohol and cigarettes), health problems (e.g., obesity and eating disorders), violence and crime (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2015; Hirschi, 2004; Johnson et al., 2012). Self-regulation emerges in early infancy and increases dramatically in later infancy and toddlerhood. This process has been described as the development from external regulation depending on caregivers to independent self-regulation (Calkins, 2002). During this transition, both infant factors (e.g., infant attention) and social factors (e.g., parental behaviors) contribute to the development of self-regulation (e.g., Bernier et al., 2010; Miyake et al., 2000). As mother-infant and father-infant relationships provide different experiences for infants, the parental impact on self-regulation may also differ between mothers and fathers (e.g., Braungart‐Rieker et al., 1998; Feldman et al., 2003). Yet, most parenting and infant research has focused on mothers, whereas fathers – and other family members with a caregiving role – are rarely investigated. Moreover, empirical studies of parenting and infant development have largely been restricted to North America and Western Europe (e.g., Bornstein, 2015; Tomlinson et al., 2014). As some evidence shows that the association between parental behaviors and the process of infant development is dependent on country and the associated cultural context (e.g., Deater- Deckard et al., 2011; Landford et al., 2016), it is also important to carry out research in non-Western countries to understand the generalizability of theories built in Western contexts and primarily rooted in Western tradition to non-Western populations. China—a non-Western country—has the world’s largest population, with traditions of multigenerational co-residence (including grandparents). However, few empirical studies have focused on grandparenting, parenting and child development. The current dissertation longitudinally investigated the parental role in infant self-regulation during the first two years of life in the Netherlands and China, and also specifically focused on the role of grandparents in China. Show less
Reading comprehension is a multifaceted skillset important to acquire in order to participate in modern society; to learn at school, for work related communication, for social digitized... Show moreReading comprehension is a multifaceted skillset important to acquire in order to participate in modern society; to learn at school, for work related communication, for social digitized interactions, and to keep up to date with news. Important developmental change in this skillset occurs between the ages of 9 and 12, when elementary school children go from learning to read to reading to learn. In this phase educators start expecting the children to use their reading comprehension skillset to gather knowledge about many different topics. This knowledge helps children in understanding their current surroundings as well as prepares them for future possibilities of employment. However, children are of course not alone on their journey to become proficient readers. A great deal of research and educational resources are mobilized to help them on their way. With this doctoral dissertation I aim to enlarge the scientific knowledge of reading comprehension and aid educational practitioners who ground their pedagogical work in scientific literature. This gathering of four empirical papers presents research from a cognitive scientific perspective on three elements that are important to understand reading comprehension in children: the reader, the text, and the task. Show less
Ample research has shown that more household chaos is related to lower parenting quality, but it is yet unknown whether this is a causal relation. This dissertation focuses on two research... Show moreAmple research has shown that more household chaos is related to lower parenting quality, but it is yet unknown whether this is a causal relation. This dissertation focuses on two research questions. The first is whether household chaos has a causal effect on parenting. The second is whether the effect of household chaos on parenting is stronger for parents with certain characteristics, such as high sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS), low self-regulation, and more impulsivity. Two experimental studies were conducted in which household chaos was manipulated. The results show that household chaos affects both positive and negative parenting, but only in demanding parenting situations. Moderation by impulsivity was not found and moderation by SPS and by self-regulation was inconsistent. Regarding SPS, this may exacerbate the effect of household chaos on parenting in case of extreme differences between or high levels of household chaos. Regarding self-regulation, parents with low self-regulation may not have enough self-regulation capacities to simultaneously lower their levels of household chaos and refrain from harsh discipline. These results form a promising vantagepoint for further research, which could eventually lead to prevention and intervention programs to improve parenting by reducing household chaos. 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
Wanneer kinderen moeilijk corrigeerbaar grensoverschrijdend of agressief gedrag laten zien is het belangrijk dit gedrag tijdig te signaleren en (preventief) te behandelen om te voorkomen dat deze... Show moreWanneer kinderen moeilijk corrigeerbaar grensoverschrijdend of agressief gedrag laten zien is het belangrijk dit gedrag tijdig te signaleren en (preventief) te behandelen om te voorkomen dat deze gedragspatronen zich voortzetten in de adolescentie of volwassenheid. Om tijdig succesvolle ondersteuning van de ontwikkeling in te kunnen zetten, in het belang van het welzijn van het kind, maar ook in het belang van de samenleving, is het belangrijk te onderzoeken welke factoren bijdragen aan de totstandkoming van dit externaliserende grensoverschrijdende en agressieve gedrag en om te bezien welke van deze factoren via begeleiding positief beïnvloedbaar zijn. In dit proefschrift staat dan ook de vraag centraal of bij een groep kinderen met hardnekkig grensoverschrijdend en agressief gedrag neurocognitieve en neuroaffectieve mechanismen herkenbaar zijn die aan dit gedrag lijken bij te dragen. Vervolgens worden de effecten op het gedrag geëvalueerd van een preventieve interventie gericht op ondersteuning van de ontwikkeling, die mede is ingericht op basis van de individuele neurocognitieve en neuroaffectieve sterkte- en zwakteprofielen. Show less
Children become more active participants in parent-child interaction by the time they reach primary school age, during the transition from dependence to greater autonomy. Parent-child interaction... Show moreChildren become more active participants in parent-child interaction by the time they reach primary school age, during the transition from dependence to greater autonomy. Parent-child interaction can shape children’s neurocognitive development, yet little is known about the nature of this relation in school-aged children. In this dissertation the associations between parent-child interaction and four- to eight-year-old children’s attentional control, executive functioning , social cognition and reasoning skills were investigated. Furthermore, it was investigated whether parents can be educated to improve interactions with their child through a compact psycho-educational program. It can be concluded that parental supportive presence, intrusiveness and questioning style adaptive to both the age and needs of school-aged children were associated with children’s neurocognitive functioning. Educating parents to adaptively modify their parent-child interactions can positively influence their supportive presence, intrusiveness and questioning style, which in turn may benefit their child’s neurocognitive functioning. These findings suggest that educating parents can benefit children’s neurocognitive development and the aspects of parenting strategies investigated in this dissertation could be useful objectives. A compact school-based group program for parents may already have a meaningful impact in promoting aspects of parent-child interaction that have been shown to be associated with children’s neurocognitive development. Show less
We studied frontal asymmetry (FA) in relation to fearfulness, prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior in young twins. Based on the literature FA was a likely candidate to explain individual... Show moreWe studied frontal asymmetry (FA) in relation to fearfulness, prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior in young twins. Based on the literature FA was a likely candidate to explain individual differences in approach and withdrawal related behavior. However, our results showed no associations between fearfulness, prosocial behavior or aggressive behavior on the one hand and FA on the other in 4-6 year old children. We did show that genetic influences were involved in fearfulness, prosocial behavior and FA in young twins. Furthermore, we have developed two new, age appropriate, tasks: the Prosocial Owl Game (POG) and the Social Network Aggression Task – Early Childhood (SNAT-EC). In both tasks, young children show similar responses to social exclusion and social judgments as older children, adolescents and adults. The POG and SNAT-EC turned out to be reliable measures that can be used for long-term follow-up research. New insights in the role of FA may be revealed when the children grow older, increasing the value of the data in the coming years. Show less
Although the outcomes of our daily-life risky decisions are often unknown (e.g., receiving or not receiving a fine after running a red light), the probabilities of these outcomes may also vary in... Show moreAlthough the outcomes of our daily-life risky decisions are often unknown (e.g., receiving or not receiving a fine after running a red light), the probabilities of these outcomes may also vary in uncertainty. That is, the probabilities may be known (risk) or unknown (ambiguity), which influences risk taking behavior to a great extent. A developmental phase associated with heightened risk taking is adolescence, yet how adolescents process risk and ambiguity, and the relation with real-life risk taking, remain elusive. Moreover, individual differences in observed risk taking behavior remain largely overlooked. In this PhD thesis risk and ambiguity processing in adolescents were decomposed using behavioral economics and fMRI, and related to real-life risk taking. The results indicated that risk and ambiguity differentially impact risk-taking behavior, and are processed by different neural mechanisms. In addition, individual variation in task-related and real-life risk taking highlighted that adolescence is not a phase of heightened risk taking for everyone. Moreover, it was found that real-life risk-taking and prosocial tendencies were both predicted by fun seeking, suggesting this trait may make individuals differentially susceptible to positive or negative outcomes. Together, this thesis points towards a more nuanced perspective on adolescent risk taking and its underlying components. Show less
This dissertation focused on teachers’ comprehension of student progress graphs from a progress-monitoring system called Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM). CBM is designed for teachers to... Show moreThis dissertation focused on teachers’ comprehension of student progress graphs from a progress-monitoring system called Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM). CBM is designed for teachers to monitor the progress of students with learning disabilities and to evaluate instructional effectiveness for these students (Deno, 1985, 2003). Within CBM, short measures are administered to students frequently, and scores on those measures are depicted in individual progress graphs. Teachers inspect the graphs to evaluate student progress and effects of instruction. When teachers use CBM to monitor student progress and when they respond to the data by making instructional changes, student achievement improves; however, teachers often do not use the data (Stecker, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2005). One potential reason might be that teachers have difficulty reading and interpreting the graphs. This dissertation focused on teachers’ ability to read and interpret – to comprehend – CBM graphs. We employed think-aloud and eye-tracking methodologies to examine how teachers described and inspected CBM graphs. We also examined approaches for improving teachers’ CBM graph comprehension. Results revealed that teachers experience difficulties with inspecting CBM graphs, and with reading, interpreting, and linking CBM data to instruction, but that teachers’ CBM graph comprehension can be improved via relatively short CBM instructional videos. Show less
