Catrin Finkenauer

Utrecht University | UU · Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science

Delve into the ideal resource for theory and research on parental monitoring and adolescents' disclosure and concealment from parents. This handbook presents ground-breaking research exploring how adolescents respond to parents' attempts to control and manage their activities and feelings. The chapters highlight how adolescents' responses are as im...

Most research with minors currently requires active caregiver consent. This is important as minors may lack the power, education, and resources to protect themselves. Yet, this approach comes at a big cost: it reduces research quality—reducing participation rates and leading to biased samples—and unduly restrains youth’s right to informed, autonomo...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and related measures to control the spread of the virus have negatively impacted adolescent mental health. However, the pandemic may have been more consequential for the mental health of some adolescents than others. Little is known about the heterogeneity in mental health responses to the pandemic among adolescents...

Background Difficulty with self-control, or the ability to alter impulses and behavior in a goal-directed way, predicts interpersonal conflict, lower socioeconomic attainments, and more adverse health outcomes. Etiological understanding, and intervention for low self-control is, therefore, a public health goal. A prominent developmental theory prop...

Parents who have lost a child to drug-related death are at risk of poorer personal outcomes, such as decreased psychological and physical well-being. However, the loss of a child is rarely experienced alone. In most cases, parents are involved in the bereavement process together, which can affect relational outcomes and potentially impact their rel...

Problematic social media use (PSMU) is a societal problem, which impacts adolescents’ well-being. Fear of missing out (FoMO) has been suggested as a core risk factor predicting both PSMU and adolescents’ well-being. However, longitudinal research on the directionality of these relationships is scarce. The present study aims to fill this knowledge g...

This study examined the relationship between family wealth and school dropout among vocational education students ( n = 1,231; mean age=17.81). It investigated whether (1) family affluence and adolescents’ own perceptions and experiences of their family wealth (i.e., perceived family wealth, financial scarcity) predict dropout, (2) adolescents’ civ...

Although accumulating studies indicate that alcohol-specific self-control can be useful in predicting adolescent alcohol use, little is known about its specificity. This longitudinal study aimed to advance our understanding of domain-specific self-control by examining whether alcohol-specific self-control mediates the effect of general self-control...

Unlabelled: More than 25% of all children grow up with a chronic disease. They are at higher risk for developmental and psychosocial problems. However, children who function resiliently manage to adapt positively to these challenges. We aim to systematically review how resilience is defined and measured in children with a chronic disease. A search...

The social gradient in adolescent mental health is well established: adolescents' socioeconomic status is negatively associated with their mental health. However, despite changes in social cognition during adolescence, little is known about whether social cognitions mediate this gradient. Therefore, this study tested this proposed mediational path...

Background Children of parents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk of adverse psychological outcomes. An important risk mechanism is impaired parental functioning, including negative parenting behavior, perceived incompetence, and lack of social support. Several parenting interventions for trauma-exposed parents and par...

Young minority men from low-income neighbourhoods are often perceived as a uniform, disaffected group with antipathy towards mainstream education and occupations, while their own experiences are generally overlooked. Through in-depth interviews, we investigated how 14 minority young men (aged 16-23) from low-income neighbourhoods experience and nav...

Parental conflicts consistently predict negative outcomes for children. Research suggests that children from high-conflict divorces (HCD) may also experience post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), yet little is known about the association between parental conflicts in HCD families and child PTSS. We investigated this association, hypothesizing that...

In the past 20 years, greater attention has been devoted to the study of self‐regulation in an interpersonal context. This review summarize this work and presents findings on how self‐regulation processes influence close relationship outcomes. The review is organized around the four ingredients of self‐regulation (i.e., standards, monitoring, self‐...

Trust is crucial to the public’s compliance with policies and rules released by governments, particularly in times of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, it remains unclear whether and to what extent late adolescents’ interpersonal and institutional trust fluctuated from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic to the lasting phase of the C...

Purpose: Adolescents might be susceptible to the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown. We assessed changes in mental wellbeing throughout the first year of the pandemic and compared these with prepandemic levels. Methods: This five-wave prospective study among Dutch adolescents aged 12-17 years used data collected before the pandemic (n = 224) (T0),...

While there is evidence that child maltreatment is positively associated with loneliness, the strength of this association is not yet clear. It is also unclear whether the magnitude and statistical significance of this association varies across groups of individuals. Therefore, this meta-analysis examines whether there are differences in loneliness...

This study examined socioeconomic disparities in changes in adolescent mental health between fall 2019 (pre‐COVID‐19), spring 2020 (initial COVID‐19 phase), and fall 2020 (prevailing COVID‐19 phase). Using data from 1,429 adolescents (Mage = 17.9) from tertiary vocational schools in the Netherlands with n=386 participating in all three waves, linea...

Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its lockdowns have changed the current lives of young people drastically. Given the importance of future orientations for young people’s mental well-being, it is important to investigate if and how this lockdown affected young people’s future orientations. In this study, 34 Dutch y...

Trust is crucial to the public’s compliance with policies and rules released by governments, particularly in times of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, it remains unclear whether and to what extent late adolescents’ interpersonal and institutional trust fluctuated from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic to the lasting phase of the C...

Many adolescents worldwide (indirectly) grow up with a chronic disease, which may impact their functioning and wellbeing. The objective of this study is to assess whether adolescents with a (family member with a) chronic disease differ from their healthy counterparts in terms of psychosocial functioning. Data from the Dutch 2013 HBSC-survey were us...

Purpose. The social gradient in adolescent mental health is well established: adolescents’ socioeconomic status (SES) is negatively associated with their mental health. However, de-spite changes in social cognition during adolescence, and theory and evidence that SES, so-cial cognitions, and adolescent mental health are associated, little is known...

Using four waves of longitudinal data collected in 2015–2019 from 1419 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 12.5, 45.9% female, 21.9% immigrant), this study identified trajectories of problematic social media use (SMU) in parallel with trajectories of SMU frequency. Latent class growth analysis identified two subgroups with relatively high levels of problemat...

Using four waves of longitudinal data collected in 2015–2019 from 1419 Dutch adolescents (Mage = 12.5, 45.9% female, 21.9% immigrant), this study identified trajectories of problematic social media use (SMU) in parallel with trajectories of SMU frequency. Latent class growth analysis identified two subgroups with relatively high levels of problemat...

Purpose A social gradient in adolescent mental health exists: adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) have fewer mental health problems than their peers with lower SES. Little is known about whether adolescents’ societal beliefs play a role in this social gradient. Belief in a just world (BJW) may be a mediator or moderator of the social...

Background and aims: There is currently no cross-national validation of a scale that measures problematic social media use (SMU). The present study investigated and compared the psychometric properties of the Social Media Disorder (SMD)-scale among young adolescents from different countries. Design: Validation study. Setting and participants:...

The present study examined five possible explanations for the mixed findings on the association between adolescents' social media use (SMU) intensity and wellbeing. Particularly, it investigated whether the association between SMU intensity and life satisfaction depended on (1) the type of SMU activity the adolescent engaged in, (2) the (non)linear...

Purpose The purposes of this study were to assess whether mental well-being has changed after introduction of the lockdown measures compared with that before, whether this change differs between boys and girls, and whether this change is associated with COVID-19–related concerns. Methods This is a two-wave prospective study among Dutch adolescents...

Different forms of dyadic coping are associated with positive outcomes in partner relationships, yet little is known about dyadic coping in parent-child relationships. The current research explored the association between parent-child dyadic coping and children’s quality of life in 12–18-year old children with a chronic disease (i.e., cystic fibros...

After a divorce, parents and children try to minimize each other’s distress by hiding their feelings and pretending they are doing fine, a coping strategy called protective buffering (PB). Although there is substantial evidence that PB among romantic partners harms both partners’ well-being, the consequences of PB in parent-child relationships rema...

Although previous research established a positive association between perceived social support and adolescent life satisfaction, little is known about the relative importance of different sources of support for adolescent life satisfaction and cross-country variations in this respect. Using large-scale representative samples from the 2017/18 Health...

Large-scale validation research on instruments measuring problematic social media use (SMU) is scarce. Using a nationally representative sample of 6,626 Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 16 years, the present study examined the psychometric properties of the nine-item Social Media Disorder scale. The structural validity was solid, because one underlying...

Large-scale validation research on instruments measuring problematic social media use (SMU) is scarce. Using a nationally representative sample of 6,626 Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 16, the present study examined the psychometric properties of the nine-item Social Media Disorder-scale. The structural validity was solid, because one underlying facto...

We examined the association between normative beliefs about aggression toward police (NBAGG→P) and participation in social protests during 2019–2020 and use of aggression among 1,025 Hong Kong university students. We also investigated the role of ecological risks (i.e., distrust in institutions, exposure to community violence, poor family monitorin...

This study examined socioeconomic disparities in changes in late adolescents’ mental health between fall 2019, spring 2020, and fall 2020. Using data from 1,429 adolescents (Mage = 17.9) from tertiary vocational schools in the Netherlands, linear and latent basis growth curve models were assessed and multigroup analyses conducted. Results showed a...

Social media have become increasingly integrated into the daily lives of adolescents. There are concerns about the potential detrimental effects of adolescents’ social media use (SMU) on their mental health. Using a three-wave longitudinal study among 2,109 secondary school adolescents (Mage = 13.1, SDage = 0.8), the present study examined whether...

The transition to parenthood is both a joyous and a challenging event in a relationship. Studies to date have found mostly negative effects of the birth of the first child on the parental relationship. We propose that partners' pre-pregnancy individual happiness may serve as a buffer against these negative effects. We predicted that parents who are...

Ample social protests occurred in Hong Kong during 2019-2020 to achieve various political goals. One of the goals was to require an investigation of police’s excessive and brutal enforcement while handling the protests. University students were actively involved in the protests. Normative beliefs about aggression toward police (NBAGG→P) play an imp...

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has changed the lives of young people all around the world drastically. Because young people’s future orientations are shaped by current experiences, COVID-19 and its social and economic consequences may impact young people’s future orientations. This study explored whether and how COVID-19 has affected y...

Self-control plays a significant role in child and adolescent development. The school environment is suggested as an important factor associated with individual differences in self-control. Among the many facets of school environment, school discipline is thought of as a critical factor that effectively develops students’ capacities for self-contro...

Family connectedness is key for the development of self-control in early and middle childhood. But is family connectedness still important during the transitional phase of adolescence, when adolescents demand more independence from their parents and rely more on their peers? The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between fa...

In this study, we examined whether regular divorces can be distinguished from complex divorces by measuring the intensity of negative emotions that divorced parents report when thinking about their ex-partner. We recruited two groups of parents: n = 136 in a regular divorce, and n = 191 in a complex divorce. Based on the existing literature, we pre...

In dit onderzoek is de kwaliteit van de moeder-kindrelatie en het verband met psychopathologie na seksueel misbruik onderzocht. Participanten waren 27 kinderen die seksueel misbruik hadden meegemaakt en 58 niet-misbruikte kinderen (7–16 jaar) en hun moeders. Kinderen vulden een vragenlijst in en voerden een impliciete-associatietest uit om de kwali...

Since the growth of research into neighbourhood effects on young people’s health in the 1980s, there have been major societal changes and scientific methodological advancements. In this systematic review we will, therefore, discuss the recent (>2009) literature on the association between neighbourhood deprivation and young people’s (0-19 years old)...

Purpose. A social gradient in adolescent mental health exists: adolescents with higher so-cioeconomic status (SES) have fewer mental health problems than their peers with lower SES. Little is known about whether adolescents’ societal beliefs play a role in this social gradient. Belief in a just world (BJW) may be a mediator or moderator of the soci...

Forgiveness is crucial for establishing coparenting relationships following divorce, yet little is known about the predictors of forgiveness after divorce. In 2 studies, we explore dispositional and divorcespecific factors that correlate with ex-partner forgiveness. In Study 1, we used data from a convenience sample of 136 divorced parents. In Stud...

Forgiveness is crucial for establishing coparenting relationships following divorce, yet little is known about the predictors of forgiveness after divorce. In 2 studies, we explore dispositional and divorce-specific factors that correlate with ex-partner forgiveness. In Study 1, we used data from a convenience sample of 136 divorced parents. In Stu...

Background: Although accumulating studies indicate that alcohol-specific self-control can be useful in predicting adolescent alcohol use, little is known about its specificity. This longitudinal study aimed to advance our understanding of domain-specific self-control by examining whether alcohol-specific self-control mediates the effect of general...

Purpose Adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) report better mental health. The strength of the association—the “social gradient in adolescent mental health”—varies across countries, with stronger associations in countries with greater income inequality. Country-level meritocratic beliefs (beliefs that people get what they deserve) may...

The impetus for this study is the proposition that social network sites (SNSs), like Facebook, can be beneficial for romantic relationships via network support functions. This study investigated a model which proposes that the use of Facebook predicts relationship support from Facebook connections, and this, in turn, predicts relationship stability...

The impetus for this study is the proposition that social network sites (SNSs), like Facebook, can be beneficial for romantic relationships via network support functions. This study investigated a model which proposes that the use of Facebook predicts relationship support from Facebook connections, and this, in turn, predicts relationship stability...

Personality matters for romantic relationships. In this study, we investigated personal growth in couples (the Michelangelo phenomenon) and targeted questions of personality effects. We explored whether traits intrapersonally predict ideal selves as well as whether traits intra- and interpersonally account for why some people are more likely to ben...

Socioeconomic status (SES) affects the development of childhood behavioral problems. It has been frequently observed that children from low SES background tend to show more behavioral problems. There also is some evidence that SES has a moderating effect on the causes of individual differences in childhood behavioral problems, with lower heritabili...

Homesickness is one of the challenges that international students may encounter when they leave home. Homesickness is associated with social interactions and sociocultural adjustment, yet the directions of associations and temporal precedence are not clear. Thus, in this study, we tested a model which proposes that face-to-face (FtF) interaction wi...

Background Given the role of childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) in everyday child development, precise and accurate measurement is critical in clinical practice and research. This study aims to quantify agreement among widely used measures of childhood AGG regarding item content, clinical concordance, correlation, and underlying genetic construct....

Decisions regarding out-of-home placement of children are complicated and of high impact for children and parents. Previous studies show low agreement between professionals on these decisions, and research regarding the influence of characteristics of decision-makers on the content of the decisions taken remains inconclusive. This study explored th...

Cross‐sectional research shows that adolescents’ social media use (SMU) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)‐symptoms are related, but it is unclear whether this relation is explained by SMU intensity or by addiction‐like SMU problems. Also, due to the lack of longitudinal studies, the direction of this relation remains unknown. This...

Collectivistic orientation, which entails interdependent self-construal and concern for interpersonal harmony and social adjustment, has been suggested to be associated with detecting emotional expressions that signal social threat than individualistic orientation, which entails independent self-construal. The present research tested if this detect...

How efficiently one can take the perspective of another might be influenced by individualism (I) and collectivism (C), characterized by whether the self is construed as independent or interdependent. Collectivism can be associated with more accurate and faster inference of others’ mental states because of heightened attention to others’ perspective...

Even in wealthy countries there are substantial socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent mental health. Socioeconomic status (SES) indicators—parental SES, adolescent subjective SES and adolescent educational level—are negatively associated with adolescent mental health problems, but little is known about the interplay between these SES indicators...

Background: Ill decisions and reckless behaviors due to low self-control are concurrently and longitudinally costly, and revealing possible factors contributing to individual differences in self-control is necessary. It is hypothesized that genetically sensitivity interacts with life stressors in the prediction of the development of low self-contro...

Self-control plays a significant role in positive youth development. Although numerous self-control challenges occur during adolescence, some adolescents control themselves better than others. Parenting is considered a critical factor that distinguishes adolescents with good self-control from those with poor self-control, but existing findings are...

We identify the need for a new wave of research on adolescent secrecy in their relationship with parents that relinquishes the focus on the nomothetic objective of finding general principles. This third wave builds on novel insights on three fallacies committed in previous waves of research: (1) between-person effects do not necessarily provide ins...