Background: Adults with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to experience distrust, feel distant from others, and develop an insecure attachment style which may also affect... Show moreBackground: Adults with a history of childhood maltreatment are more likely to experience distrust, feel distant from others, and develop an insecure attachment style which may also affect relationship quality. Furthermore, childhood maltreatment has been linked to several mental health problems; including, depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependance severity, that are also known to relationship quality. Objective: The current study was designed to investigate to what extent childhood maltreatment is associated with adult insecure attachment and intimate relationships and whether this association is mediated by psychopathology. Participants and Method: In a study comprised of 2035 adults aged 18-65, we investigated whether childhood maltreatment was associated with insecure adult attachment styles and the quality of intimate relationships and whether this was mediated by depression, anxiety, and alcohol dependence severity (based on repeated assessments of the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report, Beck Anxiety Index, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test respectively). Results: The path model showed an acceptable fit, RMSEA = 0.05, and suggested full mediation of the association of childhood maltreatment with quality of intimate relationships by depression severity and a) anxious attachment (13 = -4.0 * 10-2; 95% CI = -5.5 * 10-2, -2.7 * 10-2) and b) avoidant attachment (13 = -7.2 * 10-2; 95% CI = -9.6 * 10-2, -4.9 * 10-2). Anxiety and alcohol dependence severity were not significant mediators. Conclusions: Childhood maltreatment is associated with a lower quality of intimate relationships, which is fully mediated by depression severity and insecure attachment styles. Show less
Alberda, D.; Duits, N.; van den Bos, K.; Ayanian, A. H.; Zick, A.; Kempes, M. 2021
The European Database of Terrorist offenders (EDT) is based on comprehensive judicial information of convictedor deceased terrorist offenders, including social, psychological and psychiatric... Show moreThe European Database of Terrorist offenders (EDT) is based on comprehensive judicial information of convictedor deceased terrorist offenders, including social, psychological and psychiatric reports. This new empirical databaseis the result of a European cross-border collaboration between judicial organizations and scientists within theEuropean Union. The EDT dataset comprises developmental, individual, biographical and contextual factors,which are potentially related to engagement in violent extremism and terrorism. It supports research seeking toidentify critical risk and protective factors for violent extremism and terrorism. The EDT dataset could be usedto conduct studies aimed at the identification of significant personal and contextual risk and protective factorsfor terrorism and violent extremism, improving and validating risk assessments, as well as identifying pathwaysinto terrorism and radicalization. Moreover, this data can assist in the design of effective policy, prevention andintervention practices regarding potential violent extremist and terrorist offenders in Europe and elsewhere. The aimof this article is twofold: firstly, it seeks to present the EDT, along with discussing its development and methodology.To this end, the inclusion criteria and coding principles are discussed, alongside quality-, privacy- and securityissues associated with the gathering and processing of judicial data, together with some preliminary statistics.Secondly, it aims to discuss potentials for research based on EDT data. Accordingly, potential applications andfuture developments of the EDT are discussed as well as urgent needs to use and further develop this comprehensiveand unique database. Show less
Empathy enables people to share, understand, and show concern for others' emotions. However, this capacity may be more difficult to acquire for children with hearing loss, due to limited social... Show moreEmpathy enables people to share, understand, and show concern for others' emotions. However, this capacity may be more difficult to acquire for children with hearing loss, due to limited social access, and the effect of hearing on empathic maturation has been unexplored. This four-wave longitudinal study investigated the development of empathy in children with and without hearing loss, and how this development is associated with early symptoms of psychopathology. Seventy-one children with hearing loss and cochlear implants (CI), and 272 typically-hearing (TH) children, participated (aged 1-5 years at Time 1). Parents rated their children's empathic skills (affective empathy, attention to others' emotions, prosocial actions, and emotion acknowledgment) and psychopathological symptoms (internalizing and externalizing behaviors). Children with CI and TH children were rated similarly on most of the empathic skills. Yet, fewer prosocial actions were reported in children with CI than in TH children. In both groups, affective empathy decreased with age, while prosocial actions and emotion acknowledgment increased with age and stabilized when children entered primary schools. Attention to emotions increased with age in children with CI, yet remained stable in TH children. Moreover, higher levels of affective empathy, lower levels of emotion acknowledgment, and a larger increase in attention to emotions over time were associated with more psychopathological symptoms in both groups. These findings highlight the importance of social access from which children with CI can learn to process others' emotions more adaptively. Notably, interventions for psychopathology that tackle empathic responses may be beneficial for both groups, alike. Show less
This thesis describes a cross-sectional behavioral and neuroimaging study in a sample of n=85 adolescents with a history of childhood sexual abuse related PTSD (CSA-related PTSD), anxiety and/or... Show moreThis thesis describes a cross-sectional behavioral and neuroimaging study in a sample of n=85 adolescents with a history of childhood sexual abuse related PTSD (CSA-related PTSD), anxiety and/or depressive disorders or no psychiatric symptoms. We assessed attachment representation as well as psychopathological symptoms, attentional bias and emotional face processing among diagnostic groups. We also correlated unresolved-disorganized attachment representation (Ud) and psychopathology using a general psychopathology factor (GPF) to grey matter (volume), white matter (tracts) and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the brain in the entire sample. We found that clinical groups did not significantly differ in psychopathology. The unresolved-disorganized cannot classify category (Ud/CC) was overrepresented in the CSA-related PTSD group. Coherence of mind also differentiated the clinical groups, but Ud did not. The CSA-related PTSD group had a negative attention bias for neutral and fearful faces, the anxiety/depressive disorders group only for fearful faces. No differences were found for emotional face processing among diagnostic groups. We found a differential relationship of Ud and a GPF to grey matter volume, white matter integrity of white matter tracts and RSFC for Ud. Ud was associated with lateralization of the brain to the left with regard to amygdala RSFC and hippocampal volume. Show less
Exposure to trauma strongly increases the risk to develop stress-related psychopathology, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive disorder (MDD). In addition, liability to... Show moreExposure to trauma strongly increases the risk to develop stress-related psychopathology, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive disorder (MDD). In addition, liability to develop these moderately heritable disorders is partly determined by common genetic variance, which is starting to be uncovered by genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, it is currently unknown to what extent genetic vulnerability and trauma interact. We investigated whether genetic risk based on summary statistics of large GWASs for PTSD and MDD predisposed individuals to report an increase in MDD and PTSD symptoms in a prospective military cohort (N = 516) at five time points after deployment to Afghanistan: one month, six months and one, two and five years. Linear regression was used to analyze the contribution of polygenic risk scores (PRSs, at multiple p-value thresholds) and their interaction with deployment-related trauma to the development of PTSD-and depression-related symptoms. We found no main effects of PRSs nor evidence for interactions with trauma on the development of PTSD or depressive symptoms at any of the time points in the five years after military deployment. Our results based on a unique long-term follow-up of a deployed military cohort suggest limited validity of current PTSD and MDD polygenic risk scores, albeit in the presence of minimal severe psychopathology in the target cohort. Even though the predictive value of PRSs will likely benefit from larger sample sizes in discovery and target datasets, progress will probably also depend on (endo) phenotype refinement that in turn will reduce etiological heterogeneity. (c) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. Show less
Research on the prevalence, diagnostic and prognostic value for treatment of personality pathology – i.e., both personality disorders and problematic personality characteristics – was... Show more Research on the prevalence, diagnostic and prognostic value for treatment of personality pathology – i.e., both personality disorders and problematic personality characteristics – was carried out within a mainly Dutch forensic mental health setting. Issues such as (dis)simulation and unintentional self-deception limit the utility of self-report instruments within a pre-trial setting. Personality disorders and psychopathic traits in suspected offenders in the Netherlands often lead to court rulings of enforced psychiatric treatment – an internationally unique situation. A prospective study on the predictive value of personality disorder isolated factors that can affect enforced treatment length, such as crime type and comorbidity, that can be a focus for policy makers and forensic mental health experts. Caution is advised when using self-report instruments within the forensic context, especially in the absence of response bias scales and in the case of (legal) incentives for certain outcomes. There is urgent need for international standardization of instruments and terminology and a test battery that is specifically designed for and validated within forensic populations. An increase in (detail of) digital registration of patient, treatment and risk characteristics is necessary for meaningful scientific research, a better assessment of personality and risks, fewer incidents, lower recidivism and shorter treatment. Show less
In this thesis the epidemiology of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (together referred to as 'suicidality') in Huntington's disease (HD) is investigated and coping styles and support... Show moreIn this thesis the epidemiology of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (together referred to as 'suicidality') in Huntington's disease (HD) is investigated and coping styles and support strategies that may serve to help suicidal HD mutation carriers are explored. Suicidality frequently occurs in HD, with a 1-month prevalence of up to 20%. Mutation carriers who were most likely to currently experience suicidal ideation or suicidality had a shorter disease duration, were anxious, aggressive, previously attempted suicide, used antidepressants, and had a depressed mood. The presence of a depressed mood and use of benzodiazepines were the only significant independent predictors of incident suicidal ideation or suicidality. Biological parameters, in particular functioning of the immune system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis were not found to be associated with suicidality in HD. In a qualitative study it was shown that suicidal HD mutation carriers generally used four strategies to cope with suicidality: talking about suicidality, employing self-management activities, using medication, and discussing end-of-life wishes. Lastly, in a meta-analysis, we examined whether the expression of suicidal ideation predicted subsequent completed suicide. Effect estimates differed substantially among different populations, but none of the included studies investigated this association in HD. Show less
The general aim of the studies in this dissertation is to provide more insight in the role of family characteristics, parent characteristics, and child characteristics in early child emotion... Show moreThe general aim of the studies in this dissertation is to provide more insight in the role of family characteristics, parent characteristics, and child characteristics in early child emotion socialization and children’s social-emotional development. In Chapter 2 the degree to which fathers and mothers elaborate on emotions with their daughters and sons is examined from toddlerhood to preschool age. In addition, the role of gender stereotypes in parents’ use of emotion talk is examined. Chapter 3 reports on the role of the gender combination of siblings on everyday (emotion-related) parent-child interactions. Chapter 4 focuses on the potential influence of the proportion of male siblings in fathers’ and mothers’ family of origin on their current gender-typed parenting characteristics, including parents’ gendered use of emotion talk. In addition to a direct relation between parents’ family background and their gender-typed parenting, an indirect effect through parents’ testosterone levels is tested. In Chapter 5 a mediation model is tested in which the link between parents’ psychopathology symptoms and preschoolers’ social-emotional functioning is mediated by the degree to which parents elaborate on negative emotions with their children. Finally, in Chapter 6 the main findings of these empirical studies are reviewed and integrated. Show less
Since heterogeneity in depressed patients makes treatment decisions difficult and treatment often unsuccessful, we seek to identify certain subtypes of depression. 30 to 40% of depressed patients... Show moreSince heterogeneity in depressed patients makes treatment decisions difficult and treatment often unsuccessful, we seek to identify certain subtypes of depression. 30 to 40% of depressed patients have anger regulation problems; from irritability to anger attacks. What is the significance of anger in depression? Does it signify a subtype of depression? In the NESDA cohort, we compared a large sample of currently depressed patients with irritability to currently depressed patients without irritability. Irritable depressed patients had more symptoms of depression, more often had comorbid anxiety and had more often attempted suicide than non-irritable depressed patients. In a student sample, we investigated the role of the MAOA genotype and found that women with the high expression variant are possibly more vulnerable to anger or aggression during depression. Using acute tryptophan depletion we temporarily lowered serotonin in remitted depressed patients with and without anger regulation problems during their depression. We found no cognitive differences between the two groups, but the experiment did show us that depressed patients with anger regulation problems may be more serotonergically vulnerable. Further research is needed to elucidate best suited treatment strategies for anger regulation problems in depression Show less
Children with hearing loss are at risk for developing psychopathology, which has detrimental consequences for academic and psychosocial functioning. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to... Show moreChildren with hearing loss are at risk for developing psychopathology, which has detrimental consequences for academic and psychosocial functioning. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to objectify levels of psychopathology in hearing-impaired children, and to investigate the influence of various risk and protective factors on psychopathology. The first result of this large multi-center study was that children with hearing loss were more prone to developing psychopathology than their normally hearing counterparts. The second outcome entailed that cochlear implants recipients equaled to or outperformed children with hearing aids involving their levels of psychopathology. Moreover, for several psychopathological symptoms, children that received cochlear implants were comparable to normally hearing children, which is a very positive outcome for the cochlear implant children. Thirdly, several factors that impacted levels of psychopathology were identified. For example, children at mainstream schools using well-developed spoken language, have low risks for developing psychopathology. On the basis of this thesis, it was concluded that it is not the severity of hearing loss that contributes to the genesis of psychopathology, but many other factors. This necessitates clinicians to always consider the heterogeneity of the HI population, in order to improve personalized screening and treatment trajectories. Show less
Hubers, A.A.M.; Duijn, E. van; Roos, R.A.C.; Craufurd, D.; Rickards, H.; Landwehrmeyer, G.B.; ... ; REGISTRY Investigators European Hu 2013
