F C Verhulst

Publications (219)657.4 Total impact

• Article: Cannabis Use and Vulnerability for Psychosis in Early Adolescence - a TRAILS Study.

  M F H Griffith-Lendering, J T W Wigman, A Prince van Leeuwen, S C J Huijbregts, A C Huizink, J Ormel, F C Verhulst, J van Os, H Swaab, W A M Vollebergh
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  ABSTRACT: AIMS: To examine the direction of the longitudinal association between vulnerability for psychosis and cannabis use throughout adolescence. DESIGN: Cross-lagged path analysis was used to identify the temporal order of vulnerability for psychosis and cannabis use, while controlling for gender, family psychopathology, alcohol use and tobacco use. SETTING: A large prospective population study of Dutch adolescents [the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) study]. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2,120 adolescents with assessments at (mean) age 13.6, age 16.3 and age 19.1. MEASUREMENTS: Vulnerability for psychosis at the three assessment points was represented by latent factors derived from scores on three scales of the Youth Self Report and the Adult Self Report, i.e. Thought Problems, Social Problems and Attention Problems. Participants self- reported on cannabis use during the past year at all three waves. FINDINGS: Significant associations (r=.12-.23) were observed between psychosis vulnerability and cannabis use at all assessments. Also, cannabis use at age 16 predicted psychosis vulnerability at age 19 (z=2.6, p<.05). Furthermore, psychosis vulnerability at ages 13 (z=2.0, p<.05) and 16 (z=3.0, p<.05) predicted cannabis use at, respectively, ages 16 and 19. CONCLUSIONS: Cannabis use predicts psychosis vulnerability in adolescents, and vice versa which suggests that there is a bi-directional causal association between the two.
  Addiction 12/2012; · 4.31 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Tamara van Batenburg-Eddes

  Article: Parental depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and attention problems in children: a cross-cohort consistency study.

  T Van Batenburg-Eddes, M J Brion, J Henrichs, V W V Jaddoe, A Hofman, F C Verhulst, D A Lawlor, G Davey Smith, H Tiemeier
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  ABSTRACT: Background:  Maternal depression and anxiety during pregnancy have been associated with offspring-attention deficit problems. Aim:  We explored possible intrauterine effects by comparing maternal and paternal symptoms during pregnancy, by investigating cross-cohort consistency, and by investigating whether parental symptoms in early childhood may explain any observed intrauterine effect. Methods:  This study was conducted in two cohorts (Generation R, n = 2,280 and ALSPAC, n = 3,442). Pregnant women and their partners completed questionnaires to assess symptoms of depression and anxiety. Child attention problems were measured in Generation R at age 3 with the Child Behavior Checklist, and in ALSPAC at age 4 with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results:  In both cohorts, antenatal maternal symptoms of depression (Generation R: OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.05-1.43; ALSPAC: OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.19-1.48) and anxiety (Generation R: OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.06-1.46; ALSPAC: OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.19-1.47) were associated with a higher risk of child attention problems. In ALSPAC, paternal depression was also associated with a higher risk of child attention problems (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00-1.24). After adjusting for maternal symptoms after giving birth, antenatal maternal depression and anxiety were no longer associated with child attention problems in Generation R. Moreover, there was little statistical evidence that antenatal maternal and paternal depression and anxiety had a substantially different effect on attention problems of the child. Conclusions:  The apparent intrauterine effect of maternal depression and anxiety on offspring-behavioural problems may be partly explained by residual confounding. There was little evidence of a difference between the strength of associations of maternal and paternal symptoms during pregnancy with offspring-attention problems. That maternal symptoms after childbirth were also associated with offspring-behavioural problems may indicate a contribution of genetic influences to the association.
  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 12/2012; · 4.28 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Esther Nederhof

  Article: Plasticity Genes Do Not Modify Associations Between Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms.

  N Stavrakakis, A J Oldehinkel, E Nederhof, R C Oudevoshaar, F C Verhulst, J Ormel, P de Jonge
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  ABSTRACT: Objective: Physical activity is inversely associated with depression in adolescents, but the overall associations are fairly weak, suggesting individual differences in the strength of the associations. The aim of this study was to investigate whether plasticity genes modify the reciprocal prospective associations between physical activity and depressive symptoms found previously. Methods: In a prospective population-based study (N = 1,196), physical activity and depressive symptoms were assessed three times, around the ages of 11, 13.5, and 16. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine reciprocal effects of physical activity and depressive symptoms over time. The plasticity genes examined were 5-HTTLPR, DRD2, DRD4, MAOA, TPH1, 5-HTR2A, COMT, and BDNF . A cumulative gene plasticity index consisting of three groups (low, intermediate, and high) according to the number of plasticity alleles carried by the adolescents was created. Using a multigroup approach, we examined whether the associations between physical activity and depressive symptoms differed between the three cumulative plasticity groups, as well as between the individual polymorphisms. Results: We found significant cross-sectional and cross-lagged paths from physical activity to depressive symptoms and vice versa. Neither the cumulative plasticity index nor the individual polymorphisms modified the strengths of these associations. Conclusion: Associations between adolescents' physical activity and depressive symptoms are not modified by plasticity genes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
  Health Psychology 10/2012; · 3.87 Impact Factor
• Article: Een cross-culturele vergelijking van emotionele problemen en gedragsproblemen bij Nederlandse kinderen en Turkse migrantenkinderen

  A. A. M. Crijnen, F. C. Verhulst
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  ABSTRACT: Werkers in de somatische en geestelijke gezondheidszorg moeten hun methoden, kennis en vaardigheden aanpassen om adequate zorg te verlenen aan migrantenkinderen en hun ouders. Onderzoek naar de prevalentie van emotionele stoornissen en gedragsstoornissen in verschillende culturen, en naar de factoren die het risico op deze stoornissen verhogen of juist verlagen, ondersteunt het klinisch denken en handelen. Beschreven worden twee studies waarin de prevalentie van deze stoornissen en de risicofactoren in verschillende culturen vergeleken worden, gebruikmakend van de Child Behavior Checklist ( CBLL), een oudervragenlijst die probleemscores oplevert. Nederlandse kinderen en adolescenten vertonen weinig emotionele stoornissen en gedragsstoornissen in vergelijking met kinderen in elf andere landen, gemeten met dezelfde methodologie. Nederland springt er echter negatief uit met het niveau van aandachtsproblemen, dat boven het gemiddelde van alle kinderen in alle culturen tezamen ligt. Zweden en Duitsland scoren in alle gevallen lager, hetgeen aangeeft dat er ook voor de Nederlandse jeugd nog ruimte is om het niveau van emotionele problemen en gedragsproblemen te verlagen. Turkse migrantenkinderen en adolescenten in Nederland scoren hoger dan Nederlandse kinderen op zowel internaliseren als externaliseren en hoger dan kinderen in Turkije op externaliseren, alle gemeten met de cbcl. Het verschil tussen migrantenkinderen en Nederlandse kinderen is groter dan het verschil tussen migrantenkinderen en kinderen in Turkije. Uitgesproken zijn de verschillen op het cbcl–syndroom angstig/depressief, waar migrantenkinderen het hoogst scoren. Ondersteuning wordt gevonden voor de gedachte dat toename van de integratie leidt tot reductie van problemen. Psychische stoornissen bij de ouders, veroordelingen en gevangenschap, echtelijke problemen, armoede en overbelasting van de moeders verhogen het risico op emotionele problemen en gedragsproblemen bij migrantenkinderen aanzienlijk. Professionals in somatic and mental health care have to adjust their methods, knowledge and skills to the needs of immigrant children and their parents in order to provide adequate care. Cross-cultural comparisons on the prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems and the factors that increase or reduce the risks for these problems will support clinical reasoning and practice. Described are two studies in which the prevalence of and risk factors for emotional and behavioral problems in multiple cultures are compared while using the Child Behavior Checklist, a parent checklist that produces problem scores. Dutch children and adolescents show low levels of emotional and behavioral problems in comparison to children in eleven other cultures measured with similar methodology. However, Dutch adolescents score remarkably high on attention problems and this score is above the omni-cultural mean. Sweden and Germany score lower on all syndromes indicating that opportunities exist for Dutch youth to reduce the levels of emotional and behavioral problems. Turkish immigrant children and adolescents score higher than Dutch children on internalizing and externalizing and higher than Turkish children on externalizing. The difference between Turkish immigrant children and Dutch children is larger than the difference between immigrant and Turkish children. Marked are these differences on the cbcl syndrome anxious/depressed where immigrant children score the highest. Support is found for the notion that increase in integration will lead to reduction in levels of problems in immigrant children and adolescents. Mental disorders in parents, convictions and incarceration, marital problems, poverty, and overburdening of mothers increase the risk for emotional and behavioral problems.
  Tijdschrift voor kindergeneeskunde 04/2012; 69(5):56-62.
• Article: Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms predict child problem behaviour: The Generation R Study.

  R A M Cents, S Diamantopoulou, J J Hudziak, V W V Jaddoe, A Hofman, F C Verhulst, M P Lambregtse-van den Berg, H Tiemeier
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: It is unclear how the course of maternal depressive symptoms affects child development. We modelled trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms from mid-pregnancy to 3 years after childbirth to better determine their associations with child problem behaviour.Method Mother-child dyads (n=4167) participated in a population-based prospective cohort in The Netherlands. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Brief Symptom Inventory during pregnancy and at 2, 6 and 36 months postnatally. When children were 3 years old, problem behaviour was assessed with the Child Behaviour Checklist completed by each parent. A group-based modelling technique was used to model trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and to examine their association with child problem behaviour. The added value of trajectory modelling was determined with successive linear regressions. RESULTS: We identified four trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms; 'no' (34%), 'low' (54%), 'moderate' (11%) and 'high' (1.5%). Child problem behaviour varied as a function of maternal trajectory membership. Whether rated by mother or father, children of mothers assigned to higher trajectories had significantly more problem behaviours than children of mothers assigned to lower trajectories. The model including trajectories had additive predictive value over a model relying only on a summed repeated measure of severity and a predefined chronicity variable. CONCLUSIONS: Depending on their course, maternal depressive symptoms have different effects on child problem behaviour. More information is gained by studying trajectories of symptoms, than only predefined measures of severity and chronicity. Moreover, trajectories can help identifying clinically depressed mothers who are possible candidates for early interventions.
  Psychological Medicine 04/2012; · 6.16 Impact Factor
• Article: Early trauma and familial risk in the development of the extended psychosis phenotype in adolescence.

  J T W Wigman, R van Winkel, J Ormel, F C Verhulst, J van Os, W A M Vollebergh
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  ABSTRACT: Wigman JTW, van Winkel R, Ormel J, Verhulst FC, van Os J, Vollebergh WAM. Early trauma and familial risk in the development of the extended psychosis phenotype in adolescence. Objective:  Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in the development of psychotic outcomes; however, their respective contributions over time, including possible developmental interactions, remain largely unknown. Method:  The contribution of parental general and psychotic psychopathology as proxies of genetic risk to the development of subthreshold psychosis and its hypothesized interaction with childhood trauma were studied in a general population sample of 2230 adolescents, followed from age 10-16 years. Outcome measures were: i) level of psychotic experiences at age 16 years and ii) persistence of such experiences over the total follow-up period. Results:  General parental psychopathology was associated with CAPE score (OR = 1.08; P < 0.043 for highest quintile) and suggestively predicted psychosis persistence (OR, 1.16; P < 0.072). Psychotic parental psychopathology was suggestively associated with CAPE score (OR, 2.25; P < 0.063 for highest quintile), predicted membership of the Persistent group (OR, 3.72; P < 0.039) and suggestively predicted membership of the Decreasing group (OR 2.04; P < 0.051). Childhood trauma was associated with CAPE score and with all developmental trajectories of subclinical psychosis. No evidence was found for an interaction between trauma and parental psychopathology. Conclusion:  The development and persistence of subthreshold psychotic symptoms may be conditional on non-interacting proxy genetic and environmental influences.
  Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 04/2012; 126(4):266-273. · 4.22 Impact Factor
• Article: Attachment insecurity predicts child active resistance to parental requests in a compliance task.

  R Kok, M H van Ijzendoorn, M Linting, M J Bakermans-Kranenburg, A Tharner, M P C M Luijk, E Székely, V W V Jaddoe, A Hofman, F C Verhulst, H Tiemeier
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  ABSTRACT: Aim  We studied the effects of early mother-child relationship quality and child temperament on the development of child compliance and active resistance in a large population-based cohort study (n= 534). Background  Parenting and the quality of the parent-child relationship can either hamper or support the development of child compliance directly or in interplay with child temperament. Methods  Mother-infant dyads were observed at 14 and 36 months and maternal and child behaviours were independently coded. The quality of compliance was assessed at 36 months in a clean-up task. Child behaviour was coded using a system differentiating between two dimensions: Compliance and Active Resistance. Results  Controlling for concurrent maternal sensitivity, child temperament, and gender children with a more insecure attachment relationship showed higher levels of active resistance during Clean-Up than more securely attached children. The effect was stronger for boys than for girls and mainly driven by attachment avoidance. Conclusions  Early attachment is an important contributor to child socialization of moral behaviour.
  Child Care Health and Development 03/2012; · 1.20 Impact Factor
• Article: Symptom-specific associations between low cortisol responses and functional somatic symptoms: The TRAILS study

  K.A.M. Janssens, A.J. Oldehinkel, F.C. Verhulst, J.A.M. Hunfeld, J. Ormel, J.G.M. Rosmalen
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  ABSTRACT: Background: Functional somatic symptoms (FSS), like chronic pain and overtiredness, are often assumed to be stress-related. Altered levels of the stress hormone cortisol could explain the association between stress and somatic complaints. We hypothesized that low cortisol levels after awakening and low cortisol levels during stress are differentially associated with specific FSS. Methods: This study is performed in a subsample of TRAILS (Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey) consisting of 715 adolescents (mean age: 16.1 years, SD = 0.6, 51.3% girls). Adolescents' cortisol levels after awakening and during a social stress task were assessed. The area under the curve with respect to the ground (AUCg) and the area under the curve above the baseline (AUCab) were calculated for these cortisol levels. FSS were measured using the Youth Self-Report and pain questions. Based upon a factor analysis, FSS were divided into two clusters, one consisting of headache and gastrointestinal symptoms and the other consisting of overtiredness, dizziness and musculoskeletal pain. Results: Regression analyses revealed that the cluster of headache and gastrointestinal symptoms was associated with a low AUCg of cortisol levels during stress (beta = -.09, p = .03) and the cluster of overtiredness, dizziness and musculoskeletal pain with a low AUCg of cortisol levels after awakening (beta = -.15, p = .008). All these analyses were adjusted for the potential confounders smoking, physical activity level, depression, corticosteroid use, oral contraceptive use, gender, body mass index and, if applicable, awakening time. Conclusion: Two clusters of FSS are differentially associated with the stress hormone cortisol. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
  Psychoneuroendocrinology 01/2012; 37(3):332-340. · 5.81 Impact Factor
• Article: Early trauma and familial risk in the development of the extended psychosis phenotype in adolescence

  J.T.W. Wigman, R. van Winkel, J. Ormel, F.C. Verhulst, J. van Os, W.A.M. Vollebergh
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  ABSTRACT: Wigman JTW, van Winkel R, Ormel J, Verhulst FC, van Os J, Vollebergh WAM. Early trauma and familial risk in the development of the extended psychosis phenotype in adolescence. Objective: Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in the development of psychotic outcomes; however, their respective contributions over time, including possible developmental interactions, remain largely unknown. Method: The contribution of parental general and psychotic psychopathology as proxies of genetic risk to the development of subthreshold psychosis and its hypothesized interaction with childhood trauma were studied in a general population sample of 2230 adolescents, followed from age 1016 years. Outcome measures were: i) level of psychotic experiences at age 16 years and ii) persistence of such experiences over the total follow-up period. Results: General parental psychopathology was associated with CAPE score (OR = 1.08; P < 0.043 for highest quintile) and suggestively predicted psychosis persistence (OR, 1.16; P < 0.072). Psychotic parental psychopathology was suggestively associated with CAPE score (OR, 2.25; P < 0.063 for highest quintile), predicted membership of the Persistent group (OR, 3.72; P < 0.039) and suggestively predicted membership of the Decreasing group (OR 2.04; P < 0.051). Childhood trauma was associated with CAPE score and with all developmental trajectories of subclinical psychosis. No evidence was found for an interaction between trauma and parental psychopathology. Conclusion: The development and persistence of subthreshold psychotic symptoms may be conditional on non-interacting proxy genetic and environmental influences
  Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 01/2012; 126(4):266-273.
• Article: [Symptoms of anxiety in adolescents. Findings from the TRAILS-study]Angstsymptomen bij adolescenten; bevindingen uit de TRAILS-studie

  F. V. van Oort, J. Ormel, F. C. Verhulst
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Dutch TRAILS-study focuses on development from early adolescence into adulthood. An important aspect of this development is the development of anxiety. Hitherto little has been known about typical development of symptoms of anxiety during adolescence. AIM: To describe both the normative development of anxiety during adolescence, and the risk indicators for high levels of anxiety in adolescents. METHOD: Studies were embedded in trails, a large cohort study that followed children from the age of 10 to adulthood. RESULTS: Our results showed that, on average, levels of anxiety decrease in early adolescence and subsequently increase in middle or late adolescence, depending on the subtype of anxiety involved. Child-, parent- and peer-factors at age 10-12 years were related to higher subsequent anxiety levels. Some factors, such as the style of upbringing, were related to higher anxiety levels solely in early adolescence, whereas other factors such as being bullied by peers were related to continuing higher anxiety levels throughout adolescence, irrespective of later victimisation. CONCLUSION: Our study should, we hope, lead to a better understanding of the normative development of anxiety in the general adolescent population.
  Tijdschr Psychiatr. 01/2012; 54(5):463-9.
• Article: [Symptoms of anxiety in adolescents. Findings from the TRAILS-study].

  F V A van Oort, J Ormel, F C Verhulst
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  ABSTRACT: The Dutch TRAILS-study focuses on development from early adolescence into adulthood. An important aspect of this development is the development of anxiety. Hitherto little has been known about typical development of symptoms of anxiety during adolescence. To describe both the normative development of anxiety during adolescence, and the risk indicators for high levels of anxiety in adolescents. Studies were embedded in trails, a large cohort study that followed children from the age of 10 to adulthood. Our results showed that, on average, levels of anxiety decrease in early adolescence and subsequently increase in middle or late adolescence, depending on the subtype of anxiety involved. Child-, parent- and peer-factors at age 10-12 years were related to higher subsequent anxiety levels. Some factors, such as the style of upbringing, were related to higher anxiety levels solely in early adolescence, whereas other factors such as being bullied by peers were related to continuing higher anxiety levels throughout adolescence, irrespective of later victimisation. Our study should, we hope, lead to a better understanding of the normative development of anxiety in the general adolescent population.
  Tijdschrift voor psychiatrie 01/2012; 54(5):463-9.
• Article: Risk indicators of anxiety throughout adolescence: the TRAILS study.

  F V A van Oort, K Greaves-Lord, J Ormel, F C Verhulst, A C Huizink
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  ABSTRACT: The aim was to identify risk indicators from preadolescence (age period 10-12) that significantly predict unfavorable deviations from normal anxiety development throughout adolescence (age period 10-17 years). Anxiety symptoms were assessed in a community sample of 2,220 boys and girls at three time-points across a 5-year interval. Risk indicators were measured at baseline and include indicators from the child, family, and peer domain. Associations with anxiety were measured with multilevel growth curve analyses. A stable difference in anxiety over adolescence was found between high and low levels of a range of child factors (frustration, effortful control), family factors (emotional warmth received from parents, lifetime parental internalizing problems), and peer factor (victims of bullying) (P <.001). In contrast, the difference in anxiety between high and low levels of factors, such as self-competence, unfavorable parenting styles, and bully victims, decreased over adolescence (P <.001). For other family factors, associations were weaker (.05 <P <.001). Associations with parental education and family composition were not significant. Adjustment for concurrent depressive symptoms attenuated the associations, but those that were significant at P <.001 remained to be so. Specificity for anxiety subtypes (generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, panic, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms) was reported for each association. Several child, family, and peer factors measured in preadolescence were risk indicators of high levels of anxiety symptoms throughout adolescence. Some factors (such as rejective parenting) were vulnerability indicators for anxiety in early adolescence only, whereas other factors (such as peer victimization) were indicators of long-term elevated anxiety levels.
  Depression and Anxiety 06/2011; 28(6):485-94. · 4.18 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: S.A. Reijneveld

  Article: Evidence for a persistent, environment-dependent and deteriorating subtype of subclinical psychotic experiences: a 6-year longitudinal general population study.

  J T W Wigman, R van Winkel, Q A W Raaijmakers, J Ormel, F C Verhulst, S A Reijneveld, J van Os, W A M Vollebergh
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  ABSTRACT: Research suggests that subclinical psychotic experiences during adolescence represent the behavioral expression of liability for psychosis. Little is known, however, about the longitudinal trajectory of liability in general population samples. Growth mixture modeling was used to examine longitudinal trajectories of self-reported positive psychotic experiences in the Youth Self Report (YSR), completed three times over a period of 6 years by a general population cohort of adolescents aged 10-11 years at baseline (n=2230). Four groups with distinct developmental trajectories of low, decreasing, increasing and persistent levels of mild positive psychotic experiences were revealed. The persistent trajectory was associated strongly with cannabis use, childhood trauma, developmental problems and ethnic minority status, and consistently displayed strong associations with factors known to predict transition from subclinical psychotic experience to clinical psychotic disorder (severity of and secondary distress due to psychotic experiences, social and attentional problems and affective dysregulation) and also with high levels of parental-reported psychotic experiences and use of mental health care at the end of the follow-up period. Progressively weaker associations were found for the increasing, decreasing and low trajectories respectively. The results suggest that the outcome of early developmental deviation associated with later expression of psychotic experiences is contingent on the degree of later interaction with environmental risks inducing, first, persistence of psychotic experiences and, second, progression to onset of need for care and service use. Insight into the longitudinal dynamics of risk states in representative samples may contribute to the development of targeted early intervention in psychosis.
  Psychological Medicine 04/2011; 41(11):2317-29. · 6.16 Impact Factor
• Article: Risk Indicators of Anxiety Throughout Adolescence: the Trails Study

  F.V.A. van Oort, K. Greaves-Lord, J. Ormel, F.C. Verhulst, A.C. Huizink
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  ABSTRACT: Background: The aim was to identify risk indicators from preadolescence (age period 10-12) that significantly predict unfavorable deviations from normal anxiety development throughout adolescence (age period 10-17 years). Methods: Anxiety symptoms were assessed in a community sample of 2,220 boys and girls at three time-points across a 5-year interval. Risk indicators were measured at baseline and include indicators from the child, family, and peer domain. Associations with anxiety were measured with multilevel growth curve analyses. Results: A stable difference in anxiety over adolescence was found between high and low levels of a range of child factors (frustration, effortful control), family factors (emotional warmth received from parents, lifetime parental internalizing problems), and peer factor (victims of bullying) (P <.001). In contrast, the difference in anxiety between high and low levels of factors, such as self-competence, unfavorable parenting styles, and bully victims, decreased over adolescence (P <.001). For other family factors, associations were weaker (.05 < P <.001). Associations with parental education and family composition were not significant. Adjustment for concurrent depressive symptoms attenuated the associations, but those that were significant at P <.001 remained to be so. Specificity for anxiety subtypes (generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, panic, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms) was reported for each association. Conclusions: Several child, family, and peer factors measured in preadolescence were risk indicators of high levels of anxiety symptoms throughout adolescence. Some factors (such as rejective parenting) were vulnerability indicators for anxiety in early adolescence only, whereas other factors (such as peer victimization) were indicators of long-term elevated anxiety levels. Depression and Anxiety 28:485-494, 2011. (C) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc
  Depression and Anxiety 01/2011; 28(6):485-494. · 4.18 Impact Factor
• Article: Social Skills as Precursors of Cannabis Use in Young Adolescents: A Trails Study

  M.F.H. Griffith-Lendering, S.C.J. Huijbregts, A.C. Huizink, H. Ormel, F.C. Verhulst, W.A.M. Vollebergh, H. Swaab
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  ABSTRACT: Social skills (cooperation, assertion, and self-control) were assessed by teachers for a longitudinal cohort of (pre) adolescents, with measurements at average ages 11.1 (baseline) and 16.3 years (follow-up). Prospective associations with participants' self-reported use of cannabis, (age of) onset of cannabis use, and frequency of use at follow-up were examined using multinomial logistic regression analyses. Teacher-reported social skills predicted different aspects of cannabis use independent of better known factors such as presence of externalizing behavior and use of other substances. The direction of associations depended on the type of social skill. Good cooperation skills during early adolescence were associated with a reduced risk of lifetime cannabis use and a reduced risk of using cannabis on a regular basis. On the other hand, assertion at age 11 increased the risk of lifetime cannabis use and of using cannabis on an experimental basis
  Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 01/2011; 40(5):706-714. · 1.92 Impact Factor
• Article: Mental health problems during puberty: Tanner stage-related differences in specific symptoms. The TRAILS study

  A.J. Oldehinkel, F.C. Verhulst, J. Ormel
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  ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between specific mental health problems and pubertal stage in (pre)adolescents participating in the Dutch prospective cohort study TRAILS (first assessment: N = 2230, age 11.09 +/- 0.56, 50.8% girls; second assessment: N = 2149, age 13.56 +/- 0.53, 51.0% girls). Mental health was assessed by the Youth Self-Report, pubertal (Tanner) stage by parent-rated drawings of secondary sex characteristics. Overall, higher Tanner stages were related to more reported tiredness, irritability, rule-breaking behaviors, and substance use; and fewer fears and somatic complaints. Girls showed increases in social uncertainty, depressed mood, and worries; boys a decrease in self-criticism. Increasing problems during puberty were mostly related to the process of physical maturation, whereas decreasing problems were rather related to general age-related developments. Pubertal timing was associated with different symptoms than pubertal status or age. Puberty seems to affect girls more negatively than boys. (C) 2010 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
  Journal of Adolescence. 01/2011; 34(1):73-85.
• Article: Generation of Interpersonal Stressful Events: The Role of Poor Social Skills and Early Physical Maturation in Young Adolescents-The TRAILS Study

  M.P. Bakker, J. Ormel, S. Lindenberg, F.C. Verhulst, A.J. Oldehinkel
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  ABSTRACT: This study developed two specifications of the social skills deficit stress generation hypothesis: the "gender-incongruence" hypothesis to predict peer victimization and the "need for autonomy" hypothesis to predict conflict with authorities. These hypotheses were tested in a prospective large population cohort of 2,064 Dutch young adolescents. Social skills and pubertal timing were measured when the sample was about 11 years old, and stressful life events were measured 2.5 years later at follow-up. As predicted by the gender-incongruence hypothesis, poor assertion in boys and poor self-control in girls were associated with peer victimization. Consistent with the need for autonomy hypothesis, poor self-control was associated with conflict with authorities, in both boys and girls. Furthermore, early physical maturation exacerbated the effect of poor self-control on conflict with authorities for both genders. These specific associations provide more insights in the pathways that result in the experience of interpersonal stressors in young adolescents
  The Journal of Early Adolescence 01/2011; 31(5):633-655. · 2.30 Impact Factor
• Article: When Parent and Teacher Ratings Don't Agree: The Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS)

  D.C. Rettew, F.V.A. van Oort, F.C. Verhulst, J.K. Buitelaar, J. Ormel, C.A. Hartman, R. Veenstra, R.R. Althoff, J.J. Hudziak
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  ABSTRACT: Objectives: A commonly encountered situation for evaluating clinicians is a history of significant problems in one setting with little or no difficulties in another. This study aims to describe this phenomenon and to examine its relations with other child and family characteristics. Method: A total of 1,730 children (mean age 11.05 years) was studied from the first wave of the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a large population-based study of Dutch youth. Parent and teacher ratings of aggression, rule breaking, inattention, and hyperactivity were obtained. Children were assigned to groups according to the presence of clinically relevant problems at home only, at school only, or in both settings. The rate of setting specific problems was calculated and comparisons between groups were made. Results: Setting specific, especially home-specific, problems were quite common. Among children whom parents rated as having at least borderline-clinical problems, teachers reported clear or very clear behaviors at school at the following rates: aggression (22%), rule breaking (12.5%), inattention (55%), and hyperactivity/impulsivity (33%). Compared with the school-specific group, the home-specific group contained a significantly higher percentage of girls with regard to inattention or hyperactivity and a significantly lower percentage of girls with regards to rule breaking. Logistic regression analyses revealed that home-versus school-specific problems were related to sex, child effortful control, and parental stress. Conclusion: Externalizing problems are frequently encountered only in one setting between home and school and are related to sex, child effortful control, and parental stress
  Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 01/2011; 21(5):389-397.
• Article: Long‐term intellectual functioning and school‐related behavioural outcomes in children and adolescents after invasive treatment for congenital heart disease

  A. W. Spijkerboer, E. M. W. J. Utens, A. J. J. C. Bogers, F. C. Verhulst, W. A. Helbing
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  ABSTRACT: In this study, long-term intellectual functioning and school-related behavioural outcomes were assessed in a patient sample that underwent invasive treatment for congenital heart disease (ConHD) between 1990 and 1995. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised was used to measure intellectual functioning and the Teacher's Report Form to assess teacher-reported behavioural and emotional problems. Overall, patients had IQ scores that fell within the normal range. The total sample of ConHD children (N = 117, 7–16 years old), however, obtained significantly lower mean scores on Verbal IQ and Verbal Comprehension than reference children. When compared with same-aged reference peers from the general population, 7–11-year-old ConHD children obtained significantly lower mean scores on Total IQ, Verbal IQ, Verbal Comprehension, and Perceptual Organization. In contrast, scores of 12–16-year-old ConHD children appeared to be significantly lower on Verbal Comprehension only and significantly higher on Performance IQ. No significant differences were found in intellectual functioning between ConHD boys and girls, nor between different diagnostic groups. The school-related behavioural and emotional adjustment of this sample of children with treated ConHD was favourable. Overall, this sample of recently treated ConHD children, and especially children aged 7–11 years, showed poorer intellectual functioning in several areas. These findings deserve further attention.
  British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 12/2010; 26(4):457 - 470.
• Article: DRD2 and DRD4 in relation to regular alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents: does parenting modify the impact of genetic vulnerability? The TRAILS study.

  H E Creemers, Z Harakeh, D M Dick, J Meyers, W A M Vollebergh, J Ormel, F C Verhulst, A C Huizink
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  ABSTRACT: The aims of the present study were to determine the direct effect of DRD2 and DRD4, as well as their interaction with parenting (i.e. rejection, overprotection and emotional warmth), on the development of regular alcohol and cannabis use in 1192 Dutch adolescents from the general population. Information was obtained by self-report questionnaires. Perceived rejection, overprotection and emotional warmth were assessed at age 10-12. Regular alcohol and cannabis use were determined at age 15-18 and defined as the consumption of alcohol on 10 or more occasions in the past four weeks, and the use of cannabis on 4 or more occasions in the past four weeks. Models were adjusted for age, sex, parental alcohol or cannabis use, and externalizing behavior. Carrying the A1 allele of the DRD2 TaqIA polymorphism, or the 7 repeat DRD4, was not directly related to regular alcohol or cannabis use. In addition, adolescent carriers of these genetic risk markers were not more susceptible to the influence of less optimal parenting. Main effects for parenting indicated that overprotection increased the risk of regular alcohol use, whereas the risk of cannabis use was enhanced by parental rejection and buffered by emotional warmth. Our findings do not support an association between DRD2/DRD4 and regular alcohol and cannabis use in adolescents. Given the substance-specific influences of rejection, overprotection and emotional warmth, these parenting factors might be promising candidates for prevention work.
  Drug and alcohol dependence 11/2010; 115(1-2):35-42. · 3.60 Impact Factor