... studies the developmental course and dynamics of cognition, self-regulation, and emotional competence, and the implications for educational and clinical practice.

Heightened activation of the striatum that adolescents show in response to reward is often associated with risk-taking and negative health consequences. This article in Nature Communications investigates a potential positive side of this heightened activation. It shows that the activity peak in late…

Fundamental insights into the working of the adolescent brain help lecturers and parents to teach adolescents to function better. Professor Eveline Crone studies executive functions – such as planning and behaviour – in the adolescent brain.

Nowadays children grow up with social media. This may influence the development of brain regions involved in social interaction. In their review article in Nature Communications, Crone and Konijn illustrate how neuroscience can contribute to a better understanding of how media and peers influence adolescents'…

A study on the development of prosocial behaviour.

Serious forms of anxiety concerning other people’s opinions can hinder teenagers at school in social interactions or carrying out tasks. Psychologist Anne Miers is looking for ways to reduce this so-called ‘social anxiety’.

What is the neural basis of social decision-making across childhood, adolescence and adulthood and what are the developmental patterns in terms of behavior and brain activation?

The master's specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology offers intensive studies in developmental psychopathology.

Trust and reciprocity are two important social behaviors that help adolescents to navigate their social world successfully. In their empirical article in Journal of Research on Adolescence, van de Groep, Meuwese, Zanolie, Güroğlu, and Crone describe the development of trust and reciprocity in adolescents…

Adolescents who were more popular among their classmates in junior school are often the ones who are more inclined to share things fairly with others. During this sharing process, 'social' areas of the brain are more strongly activated than in adolescents who are less popular. This is the finding of…

Is blended care a feasible and effective treatment method for social anxiety in adolescence?

In online games conflicts between players may arise. Novin, Bos, Stevenson and Rieffe investigated factors that may explain why some adolescents react more angrily than others in this type of situation. In their realistically designed gaming environment, the (pre-programmed) fellow player suddenly started…

Promotores: C.A.J. Knibbe; J.N. van den Anker, Co-promotores: H.P.A. van Dongen; B. van Ramshorst

Pharmacokinetic studies in obese adolescents and obese adults

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The ultimate aim of the project is to find out whether there are such things as

What are the social and neural mechanisms that contribute to fluctuations in self-esteem in healthy adolescents and adolescents with depression?

Children and adolescents really do use their ‘smart’ brain areas. This has been confirmed by an extensive and long-running study of the brain carried out by developmental psychologist Sabine Peters . Her findings can have important consequences for education. PhD defence 27 January.

Why do children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with acquiring emotion regulation skills; and how is this related to their social impairments and comorbid psychopathology?

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The ‘empathic mind’ in children with Specific Language Impairments (SLI); what can children with SLI understand of other people’s minds and emotions?

The brains of adolescents react more responsively to receiving rewards. This can lead to risky behaviour, but, according to Leiden University research, it also has a positive function: it makes learning easier. Publication in Nature Communications.

How does having limited access to the social world affect Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) children’s emotional development? And in turn, how do impairments in emotional functioning affect social development and the development of psychopathology?

Development and validation of instruments that can measure different aspects of emotional competence in children with normal and atypical development, and in different cultures

Promotores: R. Cramer, A.K. Lenstra, Co-Promotor: B.M.M. de Weger

The overall aim of the project is to investigate effective ways to strengthen vocational identity of at-risk adolescents in order to contribute to a successful transition from late secondary to post secondary lower vocational education or to work.

This page is under construction.

This page is under construction.

Promotores: H.W. Lenstra, A. Lucchini

Under 18, no alcohol. In spite of this slogan, adolescents still have access to alcohol. But how harmful is that one beer for the adolescent brain? Research, including in Leiden, may provide the answer.

There is a link in adolescents between brain connections and impulsiveness. Leiden researchers have discovered that these connections also predict which adolescents will make more impulsive choices two years further on.

Metal-containing molecules combine geometrical features and a reactivity that are inherently different from that of organic molecules. My research focuses on light-activatable metal-based anticancer drugs and metal-functionalized liposomes. Light is a very selective way to activate photosensitive drugs…

Promotor: Prof.dr. P. Stevenhagen, Co-Promotor: Dr. J.H. Evertse

Promotores: Prof.dr. H. van Veen & Prof.dr. W. de Boer (Wageningen University)

Shape and biological function are tightly connected. Physical descriptions are used to connect the shape of a biological system with its function.

Parents often see that when their sweet, socially-minded children become adolescents they change into selfish 'hotel guests' who think only of themselves. But adolescents become increasingly better at weighing up one another's interests. This discovery has been made by development psychologist Rosa…

Promotores: J.A.van Veen, P.L.G.Klinkhamer. Co-promotor: E.E.Kuramae

Promotor: S.J. Edixhoven, Co-promotor: K.J. Batenburg

Promoter: J.G.E.M.Fraaije, Co-promotor: A. Kros

This page is under construction.

Why does social anxiety increase in adolescence and how does it grow out of control in some adolescents?

How are links between macro-invertebrate diversity and ecosystem functioning influenced by anthropogenic pressures?

How do ideas concerning the academic study of religion relate to the socio-cultural and political context in which they are developed?

PhD Defence