Hans Koot

• Professor Emeritus at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Background For the prevention and reduction of potentially harmful effects of childhood trauma, systematic screening for PTSD is a useful first step. Recently, the parent-reported versions of the widely used Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES-P13/8) were evaluated with promising results in children aged 8–18 years. The present study ps...

A book by Robert Plomin, “Blueprint. How DNA Makes Us Who We Are”1 makes some read-ers suggest that we have to say goodbye to previous optimism about what a loving family environment can do for a family member with “wrong” genes. And indeed, based on fig-ures arising from the literature, multiple geneticists seem to be quite pessimistic regarding t...

This cross-sectional study aimed to address the association between parental and family characterics as risk factors for emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) and quality of life (QoL), and the potential moderation of these associations by adolescents’personal characteristics. A total of 533 households from Central Kenya with adolescents between...

This longitudinal study investigated whether classroom norm salience toward aggression moderated the association between parental education and children’s overt aggressive behavior development from third to sixth grade of elementary school. Children ( N = 1,205, 51% girls) from 46 Dutch elementary schools were annually followed from third to sixth...

Measurement and construct-level invariance of the Dutch Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale’s test scores (RCADS) across gender and ethnic (minority) backgrounds of the four largest ethnic groups of children living in the Netherlands (i.e., native Dutch; Moroccan; Turkish; or Surinamese/Antillean) was evaluated. Symptoms of generalized anxie...

Background: Studies in high-income countries have reported that school-aged children who survive neonatal jaundice (NNJ) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) develop long-term neurocognitive problems. However, less is known about the patterns of functioning in school-aged survivors of NNJ and HIE in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined patt...

This is the first Dutch study investigating symptoms of five DSM-IV-classified anxiety disorders and depression in a large sample of pre-adolescent children with and without a migration background, adjusting for socioeconomic position (SEP) and social preference. Both are potential explanatory factors for differences in mental health among migrant...

Background: Children of lower-educated parents and children in schools with a relatively high percentage of peers with lower-educated parents (lower parental education schools) are more likely to develop emotional and behavioural problems compared to children in higher-educated households and schools. Universal school-based preventive intervention...

Background Problem Management Plus (PM+) is a psychological intervention that seeks to address common mental disorders among individuals exposed to adversity. Thus far, the potential for delivering PM+ by mobile phones has not been evaluated. Aims To adapt PM+ for telephone delivery (ten weekly sessions of about 45 min each) and preliminarily eval...

Measurement and construct-level invariance of the Dutch Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale’s test scores (original version; RCADS) across gender and ethnic (minority) background of the four largest ethnic groups of children living in the Netherlands (i.e., native Dutch, 52% girls, SES = 0.41; Moroccan, 53% girls, SES = -1.66; Turkish, 49% g...

Manuscript filesMeasurement and construct-level invariance of the Dutch Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale’s test scores (original version; RCADS) across gender and ethnic (minority) background of the four largest ethnic groups of children living in the Netherlands (i.e., native Dutch, 52% girls, SES = 0.41; Moroccan, 53% girls, SES = -1.66...

This study examined (a) whether growing up with lower-educated parents and attending lower parental education schools associated with children's problem development within the behavioral, emotional, and peer relationship domains; and (b) whether the association of lower individual-level parental education with children's development within these th...

We examined the mental health and quality of life (QoL) outcomes and their correlates of school-aged survivors of neonatal jaundice (NNJ), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and a comparison group. The Child Behavior Checklist and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory were administered to assess the mental health and QoL of 375 children (134...

Impaired social-emotional reciprocity is a defining feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Deficits in reciprocity can be difficult to assess, particularly in adults with average or above average intelligence. The recently developed Interactive Drawing Test (IDT) measures reciprocity in children and adolescents with and without ASD based on spo...

Kinderen met een migratieachtergrond worden op school vaker gepest en afgewezen dan andere kinderen. Deels verklaart dit dat zij vaker gedragsproblemen hebben. Hun achterblijvende schoolprestaties zijn hierdoor echter niet te verklaren; wel door verschillen in taalvaardigheid, werkgeheugen en aandachtsproblemen.

Background Clinicians increasingly serve youths from societal/cultural backgrounds different from their own. This raises questions about how to interpret what such youths report. Rescorla et al. (2019, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 1107) found that much more variance in 72,493 parents’ ratings of their offspring’s mental health proble...

Adolescents’ developing empathy may be associated with a shift towards more constructive behaviors in conflict with parents. Two empathy dimensions, affective empathic concern and cognitive perspective taking, may have common and unique developmental associations with the conflict behaviors adolescents use. This six-year longitudinal study (ages 13...

Background In sub-Saharan Africa, there is little data on the challenges faced by young people living with HIV transitioning into adult life. Adapting the socio-ecological framework, this qualitative study investigated the challenges faced by emerging adults living with HIV from a rural Kenyan setting. Additionally, the study explored support syste...

Pakistan is considered to be relatively unsafe for journalists; however, little is known about how working in situations that involve a high risk of trauma exposure and personal threat impacts journalists’ mental health. The present study aimed to examine the associations among reporting on topics that carry a high risk of trauma exposure; work‐rel...

Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, there is paucity of research on substance use patterns among young people living with HIV (YLWH). To address the gap, we sought to: i) determine the prevalence of substance use, specifically alcohol and illicit drug use, among YLWH compared to their HIV-uninfected peers; ii) investigate the independent ass...

Introduction Common mental disorders (CMDs) particularly depression and anxiety, are highly comorbid with HIV also in young people living with HIV (YLWH). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where most YLWH reside, there are limited summary data on CMDs among these youths, yet there are previous systematic reviews summarizing data on CMDs among adults livi...

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, there is little data on the challenges faced by young people living with HIV transitioning into adult life. Adapting the socio-ecological framework, this qualitative study investigated the challenges faced by emerging adults living with HIV from a rural Kenyan setting. Additionally, the study explored support syst...

Abstract Background In sub-Saharan Africa, common mental disorders (CMDs) like depression and anxiety are under-investigated amongst young people living with HIV (YLWH). To address the gap, in Kenya we: a) determined the prevalence of CMDs among YLWH compared to their uninfected peers; b) investigated HIV status as an independent predictor of CMDs...

Background There is little data on the long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes among school-aged survivors of neonatal jaundice (NNJ) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in Africa. This study investigates the long-term neurocognitive and educational outcomes and the correlates of these outcomes in school-aged survivors of NNJ or HIE...

Background Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is under-investigated in people living with HIV/AIDS from sub-Saharan Africa. In part, this is due to paucity of culturally appropriate measures for GAD which are psychometrically robust. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability, factorial structure, and validity of Swahili version of the 7-item GAD...

Background: Depression remains under-investigated in people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa due to paucity of adequately validated measures. This study aimed to validate an adapted version of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) among adults living with HIV compared to those from the community in Kilifi, Kenya. Methods: Analysis...

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important metric of perceived wellbeing in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). However, research on HRQoL among PLWHA in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. This study investigates factors associated with HRQoL among PLWHA in Kilifi, coast of Kenya. Methods: Between February and April 2018, 45...

Background The Millennium Developmental Goals ensured a significant reduction in childhood mortality. However, this reduction simultaneously raised concerns about the long-term outcomes of survivors of early childhood insults. This systematic review focuses on the long-term neurocognitive and mental health outcomes of neonatal insults (NNI) survivo...

The current study had three aims: (1) to explore whether there is over-time change in adolescent delinquency and negativity in the parent–adolescent, sibling and marital relationships during adolescence; (2) to examine the interactions of negativity across subsystems; and (3) to examine whether levels and changes in adolescent delinquency are predi...

Background: Studies in high-income countries have reported that school-aged children who survive neonatal jaundice (NNJ) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) develop long-term neurocognitive problems. However, less is known about the patterns of functioning in school-aged survivors of NNJ and HIE in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined patt...

Background Neonatal jaundice (NNJ) is common in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), and it is associated with sepsis. Despite the high incidence, little has been documented about developmental impairments associated with NNJ in SSA. In particular, it is not clear if sepsis is associated with greater impairment following NNJ. Methods We followed up 169 parti...

This study aimed to identify factors that predict quality of life (QoL), over and above potential improvements in QoL related to a decrease in psychopathology, in children and adolescents with psychiatric problems. Two hundred and thirty one referred children and adolescents, aged 7–19 years, were followed up across a 1-year period. QoL and psychop...

IntroductionImpaired reciprocity is a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD, DSM‑5; APA 2013). This study introduces a new test for reciprocal behaviour in children and adolescents with ASD, namely the interactive drawing test (IDT, Backer van Ommeren et al. 2017a).Method The quality of reciprocal behaviour was assessed in 392 youngster...

This commentary is on the original article by Boldyreva et al. on pages 609–614 of this issue.

Purpose To investigate, in adolescents referred for psychiatric services, the associations of initial self-esteem and family functioning with level and change of quality of life (QoL) over a 3-year period, over and above the effect of their emotional problems. Methods Of 1648 eligible 13–18 years old patients attending the child and adolescent psy...

Objective: The study evaluated the efficacy of phototherapy and 20% albumin infusion to reduce total serum bilirubin (TSB) in neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia. The primary outcome was a reduction of TSB at the end of treatment. The secondary outcomes were the need for exchange transfusion, inpatient mortality, neurological outcomes at disch...

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show atypical social behavior but vary in their social interaction style (SIS), ranging from social aloofness to awkward social approaches. In a 4‐year follow‐up study, we examined longitudinal stability and change of SIS in children and adolescents with ASD and a normal intellectual ability (n = 55; mea...

This 4-year longitudinal study examined over-time associations between adolescents’ educational identity, perceived best friends’ balanced relatedness, and best friends’ educational identity. Adolescents (N = 464, Mage = 14.0 years at baseline, 56.0% males, living in the Netherlands) and their self-nominated best friends reported on their education...

Background: Studies in high-income countries have reported that school-aged children who survive neonatal jaundice (NNJ) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) develop long-term neurocognitive problems. However, less is known about the patterns of functioning in school-aged survivors of NNJ and HIE in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined patt...

The sibling relationship has an important impact on children’s emotional functioning, but it is yet unclear whether and how sibling relationship quality affects adolescent depressive symptoms over time. This study contributes to existing knowledge by examining the relative importance of three aspects of sibling relationship quality (i.e., support,...

Purpose To assess the quality of life (QoL) of children and adolescents in Kenya as rated by parents and youth themselves, and examine how QoL is related to emotional and behavioral problems (EBP). Method QoL and EBP reports were obtained from 1022 Kenyan parents and 533 adolescents living in the country’s Central Province. Parents with children b...

In this study, we examined the efficacy of heart rate variability (HRV)-biofeedback on stress and stress-related mental health problems in women. Furthermore, we examined whether the efficacy differed between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Fifty women (20 pregnant, 30 non-pregnant; mean age 31.6, SD = 5.9) were randomized into an intervention (n...

Although the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is involved in aggression and social affiliation, it has not been examined in gene-environment interaction studies. This longitudinal study examined the effect of genetic variants in OXTR and its gene-environment interaction with perceived deviant peer affiliation in the trajectories of antisocial behavior...

One particular developmental task during adolescence is to regulate fluctuating moods to successfully transition through this period. The aim of this person-centered study was to identify distinct developmental trajectories of adolescent mood variability and to compare adolescents in different trajectories on changes in depressive symptoms, delinqu...

Samen met onderzoekers van de VU ontwikkelde klinisch psychologe en behandelaar Tineke Backer van Ommeren de interactieve tekentest (IDT).¹ Een artikel over de meerwaarde van deze nieuwe, veelbelovende autismetest.

The present study investigated the unique association between five types of childhood abuse and neglect and 18 lower-order dimensions of personality pathology and using latent classes analysis (LCA) explored patterns of childhood abuse or neglect experiences. Further differences across latent classes on personality pathology traits, personality dis...

The single nucleotide polymorphism rs53576 of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene is involved in forming and maintaining relationships in various social contexts. However, this has not been studied in the childhood peer context. The present study followed 359 children (51.6% girls) from age 9 to 12 to explore associations between OXTR rs53576 genotyp...

In this study we examined the association between Arab mothers’ self-efficacy and parenting attitudes and their children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and whether these associations are mediated by the use of corporal punishment. Further, we examined whether the child’s gender moderates these associations. We included 2380 mothers of...

Emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) during childhood and adolescence are a common concern for parents and mental health stakeholders. However, little has been documented about their prevalence in Kenyan children and adolescents. This study aimed to close this gap. The study included Child Behavior Checklist reports from 1022 Kenyan parents on t...

Background and aims Cannabis is one of the most commonly used substances among adolescents and young adults. Earlier age at cannabis initiation is linked to adverse life outcomes including multi‐substance use and dependence. This study estimated the heritability of age at first cannabis use and identify associations with genetic variants. Methods...

Although adolescents’ prosocial behavior is related to various positive outcomes, longitudinal research on its development and predictors is still sparse. This 6-wave longitudinal study investigated the development of prosocial behavior across adolescence, and examined longitudinal associations with perspective taking and empathic concern. Particip...

Dutch Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004), validated for use with adolescents in Neumann, van Lier, Gratz & Koot, 2010

Holding a low social position among peers has been widely demonstrated to be associated with the development of depressive and aggressive symptoms in children. However, little is known about potential protective factors in this association. The present study examined whether increases in children’s prosocial behavior can buffer the association betw...

Holding a low social position among peers has been widely demonstrated to be associated with the development of depressive and aggressive symptoms in children. However, little is known about potential protective factors in this association. The present study examined whether increases in children’s prosocial behavior can buffer the association betw...

A central assumption of identity theory is that adolescents reconsider current identity commitments and explore identity alternatives before they make new commitments in various identity domains (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1966). Yet, little empirical evidence is available on how commitment and exploration dynamics of identity formation affect each oth...

Background: For many women, pregnancy-related sleep disturbances and pregnancy-related anxiety change as pregnancy progresses and both are associated with lower maternal quality of life and less favorable birth outcomes. Thus, the interplay between these two problems across pregnancy is of interest. In addition, psychological resilience may explai...

Support is key to healthy family functioning. Using the family social relations model (SRM), it has already been shown that variability in perceived support is mostly attributed to individual perceiver effects. Little is known, however, as to whether those effects are stable or occasion-specific. Several methods have been proposed within the struct...

Empathy plays a key role in maintaining close relationships and promoting pro-social conflict resolution. However, research has not addressed the potential emotional cost of adolescents’ high empathy, particularly when relationships are characterized by more frequent conflict. The present six-year longitudinal study (N = 467) investigated whether c...

This study examined whether being poorly preferred by peers may partially explain why boys with oppositional behaviour develop more conduct problems than girls. Children from the general Dutch population attending regular elementary schools (N = 759, 50.3% boys) were followed annually from age 7 to 10 years. Teachers-rated externalizing behaviour a...

Differences in the social limitations of girls compared to boys on the autism spectrum are still poorly understood. Impaired social-emotional reciprocity is a core diagnostic criterion for an autism spectrum disorder. This study compares sex differences in reciprocal behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorder (32 girls, 114 boys) and in ty...

The assessment of autism in individuals with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) is complicated because of the overlap between autistic traits and intellectual limitations. Impaired social emotional reciprocity is a core diagnostic criterion for autism. However, it is unknown whether reciprocal behaviour differs between MID individuals with or wit...

Despite evidence of a positive link between depressive symptoms and violent behaviors, the pathways underlying this longitudinal association remain unknown. Depressive symptoms might drive and reinforce victimization which in turn could increase risk of individuals becoming violent towards others. Thus, we tested whether victimization mediated the...

Empathy plays a key role in maintaining close relationships and promoting prosocial conflict resolution. However, research has not addressed the potential emotional cost of adolescents’ high empathy, particularly when relationships are characterized by more frequent conflict. The present 6-year longitudinal study (N = 467) investigated whether conf...

This RCT investigated whether the effect of a Theory of Mind (ToM) intervention for children with ASD was moderated by parental education level and employment, family structure, and parental ASD. Children with autism aged 8-13 years (n = 136) were randomized over a waitlist control or treatment condition. At posttest, children in the treatment cond...

A substantive body of literature suggests that those involved in bullying as perpetrators but particularly victims are at greater risk for psychological maladjustment. In comparison, relatively little is known about associations between bullying-victimization and perpetration and mastery of early adult tasks in domains including romantic relationsh...

This six-wave multi-informant longitudinal study on Dutch adolescents (N 1⁄4 824; age 12 e18) examined the interplay of socioeconomic status with parental monitoring in pre- dicting minor delinquency. Fixed-effects negative binomial regression analyses revealed that this interplay is different within adolescents across time than between adolescents...

We examined cross-cultural differences in (1) sibling power balance and (2) the associations between sibling power balance and internalizing and externalizing problems in three separate cross-cultural studies (early childhood, late childhood, and adolescence). The early childhood samples consisted of 123 Turkish and 128 Dutch mothers (mean age for...

Op Amsterdamse basisscholen wordt al jaren gewerkt met een van oorsprong Australisch programma voor kinderen die verhoogde angst- of depressieve klachten hebben. En met succes. Op langere termijn hebben de kinderen die eraan meedoen niet meer klachten dan ‘gewone’ kinderen.

This study investigated 3 developmental pathways involving the peer environment that may explain how certain temperamental dispositions in childhood may become manifested in later antisocial behavior and substance use. A total of 411 (52% boys) Canadian children were followed annually from ages 6 to 15 years. The study tested whether the temperamen...

The Pregnancy Experience Scale - Brief version (PES-Brief) assesses the frequency and intensity of the hassles and uplifts of pregnancy. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Dutch PES-Brief-Beleving van Zwangerschap Schaal - verkorte versie (BZS-K)-in a sample of healthy Dutch pregnant women. Participants (n=115) completed...

Using data from 2 large and overlapping cohorts of Dutch adolescents, containing up to 7 waves of longitudinal data each (N = 2,230), the present study examined Big Five personality trait stability, change, and codevelopment in friendship and sibling dyads from age 12 to 22. Four findings stand out. First, the 1-year rank-order stability of persona...

PURPOSE: Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are understood to experience a reduced quality of life compared to typically developing (TD) peers. The evidence to support this has largely been derived from proxy reports, in turn which have been evaluated by Cronbach's alpha and interrater reliability, neither of which demons...

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) symptoms demonstrate a marked persistence over time, but little is known empirically about short-term processes that may account for this long-term persistence. In this study, we examined how self-reported and physiological stress reactivity were associated with persistence of SAD symptoms from early to late adolescenc...

We assessed the implementation characteristics and children's appraisal of FRIENDS for Life, a school-based prevention program targeting childhood anxiety and depression, and its relation to program outcomes. Prevention workers delivered the program using specific therapeutic skills, but did not adhere completely to the protocol. However, this appe...

Using data from two large and overlapping cohorts of Dutch adolescents, containing up to seven waves of longitudinal data each (N = 2,230), the present study examined Big Five personality trait stability, change, and codevelopment in friendship and sibling dyads from age 12 to 22. Four findings stand out. First, the one-year rank-order stability of...

PURPOSE: Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are understood to experience a reduced quality of life compared to typically developing (TD) peers. The evidence to support this has largely been derived from proxy reports, in turn which have been evaluated by Cronbach's alpha and interrater reliability, neither of which demons...

This 6-year longitudinal study examined the relation between 3 conflict management styles (i.e., problem solving, conflict engagement, and compliance) and depressive symptoms in adolescent-best friend relationships. Participants were 479 Dutch adolescents and their best friend who reported annually on depressive symptoms and conflict management sty...

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the normative declines in adolescent disclosure and maternal knowledge over the course of adolescence, by assessing the underlying monitoring processes. Multilevel structural equation models were applied to 15 assessments among 479 families across 5 years (13 years at T1, 57% boys, 11% low socioeco...

Identity formation is one of the key developmental tasks in adolescence. According to Erikson (1968) experiencing identity uncertainty is normative in adolescence. However, empirical studies investigating identity uncertainty on a daily basis are lacking. Hence, studying individual differences in daily certainty (i.e., identity commitment levels) a...

In adolescence, youth antisocial behaviors reach a peak. Parents can use different strategies, such as parental solicitation and control, to monitor their children’s activities and try to prevent or reduce their antisocial behaviors. However, it is still unclear if, and for which adolescents, these parental monitoring behaviors are effective. The a...

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of depressive symptoms. Lower quality of the parent-adolescent relationship has been consistently associated with higher adolescent depressive symptoms, but discrepancies in perceptions of parents and adolescents regarding the quality of their relationship may be particularly important to conside...

Early recognition of childhood mental-health problems can help minimise long-term negative outcomes. Recognition of mental-health problems, needed for referral and diagnostic evaluation, is largely dependent on health-care professionals’ (HCPs) judgement of symptoms presented by the child. This study aimed to establish whether HCPs recognition of m...

Many stress-related parameters have been associated with antisocial behavior, including low cortisol awakening responses (CAR), as well as low cortisol and alpha-amylase reactivity to stress. These parameters reflect different, yet interrelated components of the stress system, yet it remains to be determined whether they exert joint or independent...

Important linkages between daily mood and identity formation have been theorized, but have not been empirically tested as of yet. The present study provided a first examination of these linkages within individuals (N = 392; 55.1% boys; Mage at T1 = 13.24, SD = 0.44) across 15 series of 5 days distributed over five years. Results revealed negative w...

This four-year longitudinal study attempted to test person-environment interaction theory and biological sensitivity theory by assessing whether individuals’ biological stress activity CARAUCg (Cortisol Awakening Response Area Under the Curve with respect to ground) moderates the effects of neighbourhood density on the development of adolescent ext...

In expressed emotion (EE) theory, it is held that high EE household environments enhance adolescent psychopathological distress. However, no longitudinal study has been conducted to examine if either the mother's EE or the adolescent's perception of EE predicts adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptom dimensions (an EE effect model) or vi...