Laurence Claes

KU Leuven | ku leuven · Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

Introduction: Although Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) demonstrates clinical utility, its benefits and challenges for treatment-seeking individuals who engage in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) are not well understood. This study evaluates self-reported benefits (i.e. increases in self-insight and self-efficacy) and challenges of EMA (i.e., b...

Mental illness and identity are related, with issues in identity contributing to the development of psychopathology and vice versa. However, little work has examined how mental illness and identity can become interwoven (i.e., mental illness identity). Mental illness identity may be particularly important during adolescence, as this life phase is m...

Importance A major portion of adolescents and adults seeking psychiatric treatment report nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) within the past month, yet the short-term course of NSSI among these patients remains poorly understood. Objective To advance the understanding of the short-term course of NSSI cognitions (ie, thoughts, urges, and self-efficacy...

The present study examines the links between different types of morality and obsessions in university students from Leuven, Belgium ( N = 252) and İstanbul, Turkey ( N = 301) using validated scales for morality and obsessions. Belgium and Turkey were chosen as two exemplar cultural contexts expected, and in the current study found, to differ in the...

The person-centered approach has provided numerous evidence for three clinically relevant personality types: a Resilient, an Undercontrolled, and an Overcontrolled type (RUO). The present study investigated whether (1) the RUO types could be identified within a large, diverse clinical population based upon transdiagnostical temperament factors, inc...

Mental illness and identity are related, with issues in identity contributing to the development of psychopathology and vice versa. However, little work has examined how mental illness and identity can become interwoven (i.e., mental illness identity). Mental illness identity may be particularly important during adolescence, as this life phase is m...

Previous research examined the role of identity confusion and body dissatisfaction in eating disorder symptoms, but an integrative perspective including identity synthesis and positive body image is lacking. The current study used three-wave longitudinal data (T1: N = 403; 52.1% female; Mage = 14.85, SD = 0.89) spanning two years to examine the dir...

Purpose: This study examines nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescent and emerging adult survivors of childhood cancer, aiming to gain a first understanding of the phenomenon, its relation to general and cancer-specific functioning, and the stability of NSSI engagement over time. Methods: Dutch-speaking survivors (n = 125, age range = 14-25 yea...

Personality disorders (PDs) are characterized by problems with identity and self-direction. Since the recent dimensional PD models of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 11th edition, the role of identity and self-d...

Increasing research has indicated a strong association between identity functioning and eating disorder (ED) symptomatology. However, a detailed investigation of identity throughout ED treatment is lacking. The present longitudinal study examined identity in inpatients with an ED and explored its simultaneous change with ED symptomatology throughou...

Objetivo: Tener diabetes tipo 1 (T1D, por sus siglas en inglés) puede complicar la tarea de desarrollo normativo de la formación de la identidad personal en la adolescencia y la edad adulta emergente. Además de explorar y comprometerse con opciones de identidad en diferentes ámbitos de la vida, los jóvenes con T1D necesitan integrar su enfermedad e...

Increasing research has indicated a strong association between identity functioning and eating disorder (ED) symptomatology. However, a detailed investigation of identity throughout ED treatment is lacking. The present longitudinal study examined identity in inpatients with an ED and explored its co-development with ED symptomatology throughout tre...

Up to one in five emerging adults engage in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Providing a better understanding of factors that differentiate between who engages in lifetime NSSI and who is more likely to engage in recent and clinically severe NSSI can provide meaningful information for prevention and intervention of NSSI. The present study (n = 669)...

Eating competence can help adolescents navigate their food choices and attitudes toward eating in a healthy and balanced way. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the Eating Competence Satter Inventory 2.0 TM (ecSI 2.0 TM), which was developed to assess eating attitudes and behaviors. A sampl...

Eating competence can play a role in helping adolescents navigate their food choices and attitudes toward eating in a healthy and balanced way. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Dutch translation of the Eating Competence Satter Inventory 2.0TM (ecSI 2.0TM), which was developed to assess eating attitudes and be...

The intricate relationship between the body and identity has been highlighted in previous studies. However, a holistic approach to the body that focuses on embodiment is lacking in research examining body - identity linkages. The current study (N = 917 adolescents; 58% female; Mage = 16.17, range = 14-19 years) examined the psychometric properties...

Although the literature suggests trait-like differences in affective and cognitive vulnerabilities between individuals with and without a history of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about how these dispositional differences are experienced in the natural environment. The present study compares the intensity, inertia, interaction, an...

Background: With the introduction of non-suicidal self-injury disorder (NSSI-D) in DSM-5, the field obtained a standardised set of criteria to study those engaging in more severe and chronic NSSI. To date, no previous research has studied the development of NSSI-D longitudinally, leaving questions on its stability and potential prospective predict...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

Recent literature highlights the complex relationship between personal identity and body-related pathology, yet there is a lack of integrative longitudinal research on the relationship between identity and somatic symptoms. The present study investigated the longitudinal associations between identity functioning and (psychological characteristics o...

Background: Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health concern. Despite increased research efforts on establishing the prevalence and correlates of the presence and severity of NSSI, we still lack basic knowledge of the course, predictors, and relationship of NSSI with other self-damaging behaviors in daily life. Such information will...

The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), provides a dimensional operationalization of personality disorders and brings into account developmental tasks typical to adolescence, which makes it more suitable to apply to personality disorder sy...

In this cross-sectional study including a heterogeneous Belgian community sample of adults (N=1930), two central questions were addressed pertaining to age differences of self-reported PID-5 maladaptive personality traits: (1) What kind of mean-level changes occur in the PID-5 traits from age 21 to 65?; and (2) What kind of variance-level changes o...

To advance our understanding of adolescents’ identity formation and how it may play into their psychological functioning, this study investigated developmental trajectory classes of adaptive and disturbed dimensions of identity formation, and whether adolescents belonging to different trajectory classes develop differently on self-esteem, resilienc...

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note...

The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales is a self-report measure that assesses neurobiologically defined, primary emotional system activation in a clinically feasible way. The current study introduces the Dutch translation of the Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (BANPS) and investigates its relation with lexical–statistical Fiv...

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health concern. Despite increased research efforts on establishing the prevalence and correlates of the presence or severity of NSSI, we still lack basic knowledge of the course, predictors, and relationship of NSSI with other self-harming behaviors in daily life. Such information will b...

Background: Adolescent and emerging adult survivors of childhood cancer generally adjust well psychologically similar to their peers. Nevertheless, some survivors are at greater risk for developing psychological and physical difficulties. To shed light on the psychosocial functioning of adolescent and emerging adult survivors of childhood cancer,...

Background and objectives This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self-compassion, imagery rescripting focusing on mastery, and a positive memory control condition on (1) emotional responses towards the memory (one day after), (2) changes in the believability of negative core beliefs, and dysfunctional eating behaviors (on...

As developmental and clinical research on identity has largely developed in disconnect, scholars recommend adopting a developmental psychopathology perspective on identity, which considers adaptive and pathological identity functioning. Such a perspective has also been introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed....

Emerging evidence highlights the intricate link between identity and one’s body, however, integrative longitudinal research on this identity-body interplay is lacking. The current study used three-wave longitudinal data (Time 1: N = 403; 52.1% female; Mage = 14.85, SD = 0.89, range = 13–19 years) spanning two years (2019–2021; T1 and T2 being pre-p...

Although the literature suggests trait-like differences in affective and cognitive vulnerabilities between individuals with and without a history of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about how these dispositional differences are experienced in the natural environment. In the present study, we compare the intensity, stability, interac...

Background Although non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is known typically to begin in adolescence, longitudinal information is lacking about patterns, predictors, and clinical outcomes of NSSI persistence among emerging adults. The present study was designed to (1) estimate NSSI persistence during the college period, (2) identify risk factors and high...

Identity development is a prominent task during adolescence, and the way adolescents develop their identity is an important factor in psychopathology. The present study aimed to identify different identity trajectory classes and investigated how these classes are related to psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depressive symptoms; eating disorder sym...

Background Both the ICD-11 classification of Personality Disorders and the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (DSM-5 AMPD) conceptualize personality pathology in a dimensional way, but differ in the way they carve up their respective pathological personality domains. Recently, a combination of ICD-11 and DSM-5 AMPD descriptive pathol...

Experiencing the death of a loved one increases the risk of developing mental health problems. Students are vulnerable to developing mental health problems, to which substance use can contribute. Still, few studies have examined substance use in bereaved students. Using an online survey, we collected data about the impact of the death of a loved on...

Many emerging adults experience the death of a loved one while they are enrolled as a student in higher education. Bereavement increases the risk of long-term adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Still, as most studies have focused on psychological aspects of grief, little is known about the impact of grief on somatic complaints in students...

Introduction COVID19 lockdown is having a significant impact on mental health, patients with eating disorders (ED) are particularly vulnerable. Objectives 1) To explore changes in eating and other psychological features due to confinement in patients with ED from various European and Asian countries; and 2) to assess differences related to diagnos...

Background and aim: Temperament and personality traits are important factors underlying the vulnerability for both initiation and continuation of addictive behaviors. In SUDs there is a high comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders and personality disorders. As there is a growing interest in the possible transdiagnostic role of Effortful Control...

Many students have experienced the death of a loved one, which increases their risk of grief and mental health problems. Formal and social support can contribute to better coping skills and personal growth in bereaved students. The purpose of this study was to examine the support that students received or wanted to receive and its relation to stude...

Background This study compared the effect of imagery rescripting (ImRs) of early autobiographical memories to ImRs of intrusive images and a no task control condition on eating disorder (ED) related core beliefs and ED symptoms in individuals at risk of developing an eating disorder. We qualitatively explored the content of ImRs scripts. Method Pa...

This study aimed to assess the characteristics and content of intrusive images in patients with eating disorders, and test the relations between intrusive images, core beliefs and autobiographical memories. As an exploratory aim, patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders were compared on the level of dissociation as...

In Section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – fifth edition (DSM-5), an Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) is proposed, including a criterion for personality functioning impairment (Criterion A) to assess severity of personality pathology. The present study examined the structure, reliability, and con...

Background Prior work suggests that an unstable identity is an important developmental factor impacting risk for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), partly because it can foster lowered self-esteem and self-blame coping styles. Theoretical models suggest that how one regards the self, including experiences of and reactions to one's body (e.g., body re...

Experiencing the death of a loved one can have a substantial negative impact on the grief and mental health of students. However, the bereavement can also lead to personal growth. We investigated the association between personal growth and support, grief, and distress. Bereaved students (N = 666) at Flemish universities and colleges (Belgium) compl...

Obesity is a complex and multifaceted condition that requires multidisciplinary assessment and treatment. This article gives an overview of the definition, prevalence, risk and protective factors in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity, the associated medical and psychosocial health burden and comorbidity, psychological assessm...

The present paper includes two studies examining how identity functioning is related to (psychological characteristics of) somatic symptoms. Study 1 examined associations between identity and somatic symptoms, whereas Study 2 additionally examined associations between identity and psychological characteristics of somatic symptoms and investigated t...

Event centrality is defined as the extent to which a memory of a traumatic event forms a reference point for people’s identity and attribution of meaning to other experiences in their life. Event centrality is typically measured with the Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen & Rubin, 2006 ). The present study’s first aim was to investigate the u...

Temperament and personality traits are important factors underlying the vulnerability for both the initiation and continuation of addictive behaviors. We investigated the influence of reactive and regulative temperament and their interaction in relation to clinical symptomatology and personality disorders (PDs) in a sample of 841 inpatients (68.1%...

Background: The COVID-19 lockdown has had a significant impact on mental health. Patients with eating disorders (ED) have been particularly vulnerable. Aims: (1) To explore changes in eating-related symptoms and general psychopathology during lockdown in patients with an ED from various European and Asian countries; and (2) to assess differences...

Purpose The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the effect of hydrodilatation in frozen shoulder patients on objective indices of shoulder functionality and subjective outcomes of pain, mobility, kinesiophobia, depression, and anxiety, and (2) progress knowledge about the reciprocal temporal relationship between psychological parameters at b...

In the present study, we investigated the relationship between friendship quality (dimensions) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as well as the moderating role of gender and age in this relationship. The sample consisted of 463 children and adolescents (50.10% female, age range: 9-17 years). Friendship quality and NSSI were measured using the Fri...

Objectives. Individuals develop a narrative identity through constructing and internalizing an evolving life story composed of significant autobiographical memories. The ability to narrate these memories in a coherent manner has been related to psychological well-being, identity functioning, and personality pathology. Previous studies have particul...

Introduction This study investigated the link between trauma and self‐harming behaviors in South African high school students, and examined the mediating role of identity formation. Traumatic experiences have been commonly associated with self‐harming behaviors in adolescents. However, research addressing this association in non‐Western countries i...

Psychological mechanisms play a crucial role in explaining weight gain. Aim of the present study was to identify subtypes in youngsters with obesity in line with these mechanisms. Defining homogeneous clusters within this heterogeneous group provides relevant information for personalized treatments. Data were collected in N = 572 participants (51%...

Although it has been postulated that eating disorders (EDs) and obesity form part of a broad spectrum of eating- and weight-related disorders, this has not yet been tested empirically. In the present study, we investigated interindividual differences in sensitivity to punishment, sensitivity to reward, and effortful control along the ED/obesity spe...

The detrimental impact of sociocultural pressures on adolescents’ body image has been widely established. However, it remains unclear why or for whom such pressures lead to increased appearance ideals internalization and appearance comparison. This cross-sectional study investigated moderating and indirect effects of identity confusion/synthesis in...

Background Although non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an issue of major concern to colleges worldwide, we lack detailed information about the epidemiology of NSSI among college students. The objectives of this study were to present the first cross-national data on the prevalence of NSSI and NSSI disorder among first-year college students and its a...

Identity difficulties have been associated with various psychiatric conditions and are considered a central issue in personality pathology. Following the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders forwarded in Section III of DSM-5, measures of self- and interpersonal functioning have been developed. Although these measures were intended to be sepa...

Introduction: Adolescence is the most critical life period for the development of eating disorder (ED) symptomatology. Although problems in identity functioning and emotion dysregulation have been proven important risk and maintaining factors of ED symptomatology, they have never been integrated in a longitudinal study. Methods: The present study i...

Background and Aims In the present study, we investigated differences in obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms in patients with an eating disorder (ED) with or without recent/lifetime impulsive non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI). We included 429 female inpatients with an ED, of whom 31.9% engaged in recent impulsive NSSI and 56.4% in lifetime impulsive N...

Fear of weight gain is a cardinal feature of eating disorders, including Anorexia Nervosa (AN). This fear motivates behaviors aimed at avoiding weight gain, such as restricting food intake. Of note, avoidance in AN is not confined to food-related items but extends to intense emotional states. Despite the presence of several forms of excessive avoid...

Introduction One in three adolescents frequently consume unhealthy snacks, which is associated with negative developmental outcomes. To date, it remains unclear how intrapersonal factors account for food choices in adolescents. Guided by the dual-pathway model, the current study aimed to: (1) examine the joint contribution of inhibitory control and...

Research on the validity of the behavioral inhibition system/behavioral approach system (BIS/BAS) scales focused on adolescent, student and adult populations. This study is the first to examine the psychometric properties of the BIS/BAS scales in a community (n = 368) and a clinical sample (n = 160) of older adults. Exploratory structural equation...

In 2013, DSM-5 urged for further research on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and defined NSSI disorder (NSSI-D) for the first time separate from borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, research on the comorbidity between NSSI-D and BPD symptoms is still scarce, especially in adolescent populations. The current study selected 347 adolescents...

We report on two individuals presenting for treatment as part of everyday clinical practice, comparing their pathological personality traits through the lens of the ICD-11 trait qualifiers and the DSM-5 Section III personality trait model. We compare higher order pathological personality domains and lower order pathological personality trait facets...