Stefan Bogaerts

Tilburg University | UVT · Department of Developmental Psychology

Participation in sports varies considerably among individuals, with many changing their chosen sports over time. This raises critical questions regarding which types of sports, and at what life stage, contribute most to mental health. To address this, we used latent class analysis to identify unobserved classes of individuals based on their sports...

This study investigated longitudinal networks of risk and protective factors and treatment motivation among forensic psychiatric patients (FPPs) with and without substance use disorder (SUD) at admission (T1) and unconditional release (T2). The sample consisted of 468 FPP (Mage = 53.97, SDage = 9.99, 86.5% male, 34.6% SUD), and networks were estima...

Objective: Psychopathic traits (callousness, egocentricity, and antisociality) have been long associated with aggression, but these relationships may vary depending on the type of aggression (proactive or reactive). Additionally, the experience of guilt, shame, and moral disengagement may help explain these associations. The present study examined...

Although studies examined depressive symptoms across adolescence, the impact of school transitions is often neglected. This study examined trajectories of depressive symptoms surrounding the transition to vocational education. Additionally, it examined gender differences and co‐occurring trajectories of parental emotional support and adolescents’ s...

While psychopathy has been a topic of interest in the psychological field for a long time, it is still unclear which developmental factors are related to its onset. Theories have suggested that experiencing trauma in childhood may contribute to the development of psychopathic traits. Experiencing trauma may also contribute to the development of an...

This study investigated the moderating role of sports participation types (no sport, individual sport, and team sport) on the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and reactive and proactive aggression in 593 individuals (69.0%females) from the community. ACEs positively influenced both types of aggression, with a stronger effect...

Tijdschrift voor Forensische Psychiatrie en Psychologie, 2024-01. De effectiviteit van behandeling in de klinische forensische zorg is niet onomstotelijk bewezen. Vanuit de maatschappij wordt dit wel verlangd en wordt er soms met verbazing gereageerd dat we hier nog onvoldoende over weten. Het is echter ingewikkeld om behandeleffectiviteit goed te...

Introduction Forensic psychiatric patients receive treatment to address their violent and aggressive behavior with the aim of facilitating their safe reintegration into society. On average, these treatments are effective, but the magnitude of effect sizes tends to be small, even when considering more recent advancements in digital mental health inn...

Transgressive incidents directed at staff by forensic patients occur frequently, leading to detrimental psychological and physical harm, underscoring urgency of preventive measures. These incidents, emerging within therapeutic relationships, involve complex interactions between patient and staff behavior. This study aims to identify clusters of tra...

This study assessed psychometric qualities of indirect measures assessing Implicit Theories (ITs) of sexual offending: Implicit Association Task (IAT), Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP), and Relational Responding Task (RRT). For comparison reasons, aggressive behavior was also assessed. In a male sample from the general population ( N...

Background: The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) is a recently developed instrument for assessing the “dark” personality traits of psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism. We aimed to examine the SD4’s psychometric properties, adapting it into Spanish and exploring its structure, gender invariance, reliability, concurrent validity, and nomolog...

Since the publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), identity impairment has become a diagnostic criterion for all personality disorders. The current study examined the occurrence of identity dimensions, clinically relevant identity impairments and personality pathology, and associations b...

High sensitivity is often considered a characteristic of giftedness, but scientific evidence for this is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether gifted children rate themselves higher in sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) than their peers. A total of 882 children from Grades 4, 5, and 6 of primary school participated. They all...

Objective: Despite accumulating evidence of significant albeit moderate associations between childhood trauma and psychopathy, little is known about the potential moderators of these associations. To advance knowledge in this area, the present study investigated the moderating role of resilience in the childhood trauma–psychopathy link. Method: A c...

This study investigated the effect of the poly-victimization pattern of traumatic childhood experiences on aggression via the impulsivity traits positive urgency, negative urgency, lack of perseverance, lack of premeditation, and sensation-seeking in 102 poly-victims of childhood trauma (71.57% were females; Mage = 35.76; SDage = 15.91). Analyses w...

Introduction Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and self-reported aggression have often been associated, however, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. In addition, less is known about potential factors that could serve as protection against the development of aggressive behavior. In this st...

Introduction Children’s development into healthy well-functioning adults can be negatively affected by adversity. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to lead to a variety of poor life outcomes, ranging from mental health problems (e.g., anxiety or suicidality) through problematic health behaviors to serious physical diseases and ev...

Background: Radicalization, violent extremism, and terrorism are risks to societal security. Although research on terrorism-related behaviors is increasing, thorough empirical studies are rare. Methods: This study investigates radicalization processes and transitions in a matched sample of female and male terrorist suspects and convicts (N = 26)...

This dissertation explores the possibilities of a personal-centered social network approach to support forensic psychiatric treatment decisions. Personal social network approaches contribute to the understanding of how people (inter)act within a specific context and their own social environment (McCarty, Lubbers, Vacca, & Molina, 2019; Wasserman &...

Purpose To replicate and extend research on psychopathy and intrinsic interpersonal preferences under the broader umbrella of affiliation, intimacy and antagonism, this paper aims to examine motivational correlates of psychopathy in a nonclinical sample ( N = 125). Design/methodology/approach We used a multimethod design, including self-reports, a...

Objective: Developing good interpersonal relationships is one of the main impediments for people with an antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). However, in treatment of psychiatric disorders, establishing a strong therapeutic alliance (TA) is important for effective treatment. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge on how to establish this TA wi...

Single case research is a viable way to obtain evidence for social and psychological interventions on an individual level. Across single case research studies various analysis strategies are employed, varying from visual analysis to the calculation of effect sizes. To calculate effect sizes in studies with few measurements per time period (<40 data...

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate by means of a case study how HKT-R Spider reference profiles of recidivists and non-recidivists may be supportive in leave decisions. Design/methodology/approach The authors describe what is known for recidivists and non-recidivists about changes in risk factors during treatment. The HKT-R Spider is introduced...

Background Because of the heterogeneity of forensic groups, latent class analysis (LCA) can allow for the formation of stronger homogeneous patient classes, which can improve the predictive validity of forensic risk assessment tools, such as the Historical Clinical Future – Revised (HKT-R), which was used in this study. In particular, dynamic clini...

The central question of this study is whether buffering, boosting and exacerbating effects of the Big Five personality factors extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism can be demonstrated in the relationship between two job demands (i.e., work pressure and working overtime) and both burnout and work eng...

In this study, we investigated the potential moderating role of instability in living arrangements in the association between 14 clinical factors of the Historical Clinical Future Revised (HKT-R) and 5-year violent recidivism. The sample included 316 male forensic psychiatric patients who were unconditionally released from Dutch forensic psychiatri...

Narcissism is often seen as a unidimensional construct, however, more recently, a plethora of studies have pointed to its multidimensional nature. Despite this, the role of narcissism as a multifaceted construct in the quality of interpersonal relationships has rarely been tested. In addition, less is known about what mechanisms may underly this as...

Purpose With the increased attention to the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP), social workers are challenged to adapt their daily interventions accordingly when treating clients. They usually work with individual clients, all with their own specificities. Single-Case Experimental Designs (SCEDs) can be used to inform a social worker about...

We aimed to examine determinants of criminal victimization (i.e. both personal and property crime victimization) in outpatients with severe mental illness.Data was collected using a multisite epidemiological survey including a random sample of 956 adult outpatients with SMI. Data on 12-month victimization prevalence and frequency were obtained usin...

Background Because of the heterogeneity of forensic groups, latent class analysis (LCA) can allow for the formation of stronger homogeneous patient classes, which can improve the predictive validity of forensic risk assessment tools, such as the Historical Clinical Future – Revised (HKT-R), which was used in this study. In particular, dynamic clini...

An important step in understanding violent extremist behavior is to identify its underlying motivations. Insights into what drives violent extremists to their behavior may indicate what is needed to reduce existing risk factors. To this end, this study investigated violent extremist motivations in 124 male jihadi suspects and convicts residing in D...

Empirical studies on the longitudinal change of risk factors during treatment of forensic psychiatric patients are scarce. Therefore, in the current study, changes in risk factors of 341 high-security forensic psychiatric patients in Flanders were investigated using latent growth curve analyses. Annual assessments of the Historical Clinical Future-...

In recent years, the number of detainees confined for terrorism-related offenses has increased worldwide and across Europe. To understand the factors related to terrorism and its underlying motives, this study provides insights into violent extremism by assessing risk- and protective factors based on the Violent Extremism Risk Assessment-2R (VERA-2...

Accurate risk assessment and insight into which factors are associated with recidivism are essential for forensic correctional practice. Therefore, we investigated whether the Historical, Clinical, and Future–Revised (HKT-R [Historisch Klinisch Toekomst–Revised]) risk assessment instrument could predict violent recidivism over a 2-year follow-up pe...

Recent research emphasizes the importance of personalized treatment in forensic psychiatry. However, the heterogeneity of forensic patients regarding psychopathology, offenses and risk and protective factors makes it difficult to provide personalized treatment. To facilitate the treatment indication process, previous research has developed patient...

Previous research on workplace victimization has often disregarded forensic psychiatric populations and not yet been extended to the coronavirus pandemic. The present study expected the isolation of the government-issued lockdown to increase aggressive behavior in forensic patients, ultimately decreasing the general well-being of victimized forensi...

In this exploratory, correlational study, several psychophysiological measures were assessed and the relation between these measures and an experimental self-report questionnaire to measure the seven implicit beliefs of sexual offenders (the Questionnaire for Implicit Theories of Sexual Offenders (QITSO)) was established in a sample of Dutch partic...

Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a trait characterized by stronger sensitivity to the environment, both for better and for worse. The present study used the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to judge this environment in terms of basic psychological needs met in a school context. This study aimed to gain insights into the moderating role of SPS...

Introduction Why are women (not) romantically attracted to dark personalities or villains, which might be a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization? In the current study, it is opted to investigate how adult attachment, maladaptive personality traits, and acceptance of couple violence in women predict romantic attraction to he...

The aim of this two-wave study is to investigate whether burnout, work engagement and workaholism can be empirically distinguished in one model and whether this model shows structural stability over a period of 2 years (i.e. whether the distinguishability between the constructs holds across time). The study was conducted among 118 judges in the Net...

This study investigated which risk and protective factors, based on the 14 clinical indicators of the Historical-Clinical-Future Revised, significantly predicted violent recidivism in a sample of 315 male forensic psychiatric patients. Additionally, it was investigated whether these associations were moderated by intellectual ability. Regarding ris...

The construct of self-regulation is of particular interest to the forensic psychiatric practice due to its associations with both clinical and criminal outcomes, as well as recidivism. However, research on different components of self-regulation within forensic psychiatric practice is rare. The current study aimed to gain knowledge on the construct...

The Historical Clinical Future-Revised [HKT-R] is a risk assessment tool to support forensic psychiatric professionals in their clinical decisions to prevent future recidivism. A self-report version and App has been developed in co-creation with patients and professionals, the so-called HKT-R Spider App. This App aims to helps patients understand t...

Psychiatric patients are often victims of crime and discrimination and are often socially withdrawn. This has negative consequences for their health and recovery. We examined whether such discrimination mediates the association between victimization and social withdrawal, and whether these associations differ between men and women. We also determin...

Self-regulation is a multifaceted construct that is defined as the ability to change thoughts, emotions, and behavior to achieve a desired state or effect. Despite its relevance for forensic psychology and other fields within psychology, its complexity and varied operationalization make it difficult to compare and draw conclusions from research. Th...

Background Although systematic research on narcissism has been conducted for over 100 years, researchers have only recently started to distinguish between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in relation to criminal behavior. In addition, there is some evidence suggesting that identity integration and self-control may underlie this association. Ther...

In the past decades, Europe has been shocked repeatedly by terrorist crimes. This has led to an influx of suspects and convicts of terrorism in the prison system. The aim of this study is to provide insight into socio-demographic, psychopathological and criminal background characteristics of convicted violent extremists. Retrospective analyses were...

The long-term changes of dynamic risk and protective factors have rarely been studied in forensic psychiatric patients. We utilized a latent growth curve analysis to investigate trajectories of risk and protective factors over time in all 722 male forensic psychiatric patients who were unconditionally released between 2004 and 2014 from any of 12 D...

Forensic psychiatric patients form a very heterogeneous population regarding psychopathology, criminal history, and risk factors for reoffending. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether there are more homogeneous classes of forensic patients based on DSM-IV-TR Axis I and II diagnoses and previously committed offenses, by means of...

Background Violent criminal offenders with personality disorders (PD's) can cause immense harm, but are often deemed untreatable. This study aimed to conduct a randomized clinical trial to test the effectiveness of long-term psychotherapy for rehabilitating offenders with PDs. Methods We compared schema therapy (ST), an evidence-based psychotherap...

Forensic healthcare workers deal with patients with severe psychiatric and behavioral problems that put them at an increased risk of developing work-related stress and burnout. Working with this target group of patients during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic with far-reaching restrictive measures can negatively affect the psycholog...

In forensic psychiatry, it is common practice to use an unstructured clinical judgment for treatment evaluation. From risk assessment studies, it is known that the unstructured clinical judgment is unreliable and the use of instruments is recommended. This paper aims to explore the clinical judgment of change compared to the calculated change using...

Background: Sheltered housing is associated with quality-of-life improvements for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). However, there are equivocal findings around safety outcomes related to this type of living condition. Aims: We aimed to investigate raw differences in prevalence and incidence of crime victimisation in sheltered housi...

Structured assessment of aggressive behavior in forensic psychiatry is needed. This study investigated staff-observed and self-reported measures to map prevalence and characteristics of aggressive behavior in forensic inpatients and aimed to identify early signs of aggressive outbursts. In this longitudinal study, 120 forensic psychiatric inpatient...

Despite increased prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), victimization through DVA often remains undetected in mental health care. To estimate the effectiveness of a system provider level training intervention by comparing the detection and referral rates of DVA of intervention community mental health (CMH) teams with rates in control CMH...

Purpose Given the complex association between substance use disorders (SUD), comorbid mental health problems and criminal recidivism in forensic patients, homogenous patient classes can contribute to a refined treatment. This paper aims to construct those classes in forensic patients (N = 286) diagnosed with SUD, unconditionally released between 20...

Early childhood adversity can cause an imbalance in the autonomic function, which may in turn lead to the development of trauma-spectrum disorders and aggressive behavior later in life. In the present study, we investigated the complex associations between early adversity, heart rate variability (HRV), cluster B personality disorders, and self-repo...

Early childhood adversity can cause an imbalance in the autonomic function, which may in turn lead to the development of trauma-spectrum disorders and aggressive behavior later in life. In the present study, we investigated the complex associations between early adversity, heart rate variability (HRV), cluster B personality disorders, and self-repo...

People from all over the world pay for live streaming video images of minors, also called webcam child sex tourism (WCST). Although there is an increase in research about online sexual offending, relatively few studies have investigated the approaches used by people who have committed WCST offenses (PWCST). In addition, these studies describe these...

Samenvatting Een groot gedeelte van de daderpopulatie in de forensische psychiatrie betreft daders met ADHD, maar behandeling van dergelijke daders is een grote uitdaging vanwege hoge uitval en lage behandelmotivatie. Om meer inzicht te krijgen in het verbeteren van behandeling, is eerst nader onderzoek verricht naar de link tussen ADHD en delictge...

Cliënten in de forensische verslavingszorg vormen een heterogene groep met complexe problematiek. Door afgebakende cliëntprofielen op te stellen kan onderscheid worden gemaakt in de cliëntenpopulatie, waardoor behandelplannen doelgerichter kunnen worden toegespitst op de eigenschappen en behoeften vanuit elk profiel. Dit rapport biedt een verkennen...

Background Pregnancy is characterised by many biological and psychosocial changes. Adequate maternal thyroid function is important for the developing fetus throughout gestation. Latent class analyses recently showed three different patterns of change in thyroid function throughout pregnancy with different associations with obstetric outcome. Matern...

Rationale: Despite interventions to improve detection rates, domestic violence, and abuse (DVA) remains largely undetected by healthcare services. We therefore aimed to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability of an intervention aiming to improve DVA detection rates, which included a clear referral pathway (i.e., the BRAVE interve...

Psychopathy is associated with profound emotional disturbances. Yet little is known about associations between psychopathic traits and what individuals want to feel (i.e., emotion goals). Associations between psychopathy and emotion goals were investigated in two studies with nonclinical samples (N = 148 undergraduate students; N = 520 community sa...

Patient violence against staff members in forensic psychiatric institutions is highly prevalent. To date, little is known about individual characteristics that increase the likelihood of being victimized. Therefore, the current cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the extent to which staff members' Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)...

In opdracht van Kwaliteit Forensische Zorg (KFZ) werd de interbeoordelaarsbetrouwbaarheid, de convergente validiteit, de veranderbaarheid, de predictieve validiteit en de praktische bruikbaarheid van de Forensische Ambulante Risico Evaluatie (FARE) onderzocht. De data werden verzameld in de periode 1 maart 2017 tot 1 september 2019 en zijn afkomsti...

Self-regulation is considered a major predictor of crime and deviant behavior. However, longitudinal research investigating these associations, frequently looked only at the effect of self-regulation on deviant behavior, but not the other way around. The current study argued that deviance may contribute to later problems in self-regulation, and exa...

Many forensic psychiatric inpatients have difficulties regulating aggressive behavior. Evidence of effective aggression treatments is limited. We designed and investigated the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic application of a virtual reality aggression prevention training (VRAPT). In this randomized controlled trial at four Dutch forensic psychia...

Objectives To provide more insight into treatment and research responsivity in offenders with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method Via self‐reports and patients' scores on cognitive computer tasks, it was examined whether poorer cognitive‐motivational, interpersonal, and behavioral functioning were related to treatment no‐shows...