Studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic children's psychosocial outcomes have shown mixed results. In the current study we aimed to gain a better insight into the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic by comparing psychosocial outcomes collected pre-pandemic with data collected during the pandemic. We used the Strengths and…

Children exposed to family violence (i.e. child abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence) are often emotionally insecure in their relationship with their parents, and develop psychosocial problems. Emotional insecurity increases the likelihood of psychosocial problems, and may affect adjustment in other contexts (e.g., school). Among…

To explore associations between autism traits and family functioning over time, we studied longitudinal data of a mixed group of 168 clinically referred autistic and non-autistic children. Cross-lagged models showed a significant association between fewer autism traits at the diagnostic assessment and better family functioning 1 year later for the…

This preregistered study examined whether child temperament and executive functions moderated the longitudinal association between early life stress (ELS) and behavior problems. In a Dutch population-based cohort (n = 2803), parents reported on multiple stressors (age 0-6 years), child temperament (age 5), and executive functions (age 4), and…

Background and aims: Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have difficulties in executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). These difficulties might be explained by the theory that children's conceptual understanding changes over five stages of word meaning structure, from concrete and context-dependent to abstract and…

This multicenter randomized controlled trial investigated whether interactive virtual reality enhanced effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to reduce children's aggressive behavior problems. Boys with aggressive behavior problems (N = 115; M[subscript age] = 10.58, SD = 1.48; 95.7% born in Netherlands) were randomized into three…

Child temperament has long been viewed as a potential susceptibility factor in the link between parenting and child disruptive behavior (CDB). Specifically, the idea is that children with higher negative emotionality, surgency, and lower effortful control are more affected by their received parenting, but experimental evidence is scarce. Also,…

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits predict behavioral problems in adolescence. But little is known about early modulatory factors. Behavioral Inhibition (BI) in particular has been suggested to protect against the development of CU-traits. This temperamental predisposition is characterized by heightened environmental sensitivity. The current…

Maternal anxiety and depression symptomatology are risk factors for the development of children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. However, it is still unclear whether chronic and transient symptoms relate differently to child behavior. The aim of this prospective longitudinal study (N = 193) was to investigate the associations…

This study examined which factors were related to placement choices for inclusive regular education or exclusive special education for Dutch students with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD). Students aged 6-11 in three subgroups participated: 45 included and 17 excluded students with SEBD (i.e., educated in regular education…

This study investigated potential differences in the processes of solving analogies between gifted and average-ability children (aged 9-10 years old) in a dynamic testing setting. Utilizing a pre-test-training-post-test control group design, participants were split in four subgroups: gifted dynamic testing (n = 24), gifted control (n = 26),…

Research talks about the importance of the family in the development of social and emotional competencies of children. In this paper, we wanted to explore whether the Friendship cards (FC) (a theoretically derived preventive educational game) helped to improve the relationship between the participants and their children and whether it helped in…

Although the link between self-esteem and psychopathology has been well established, studies on self-esteem in individuals with autism spectrum disorder are lacking. In this study, we aimed to (1) compare explicit and implicit self-esteem of youth with autism spectrum disorder to typically developing peers and to (2) explore relationships of…

Using evidence-based guidelines to interview children is an important means to obtain complete and accurate accounts. In the current study, we examined the quality of child investigative interviewing in the Netherlands. To examine this, we compared the Dutch Scenario Model with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol…

Objective: The Taxonomy of Care for Youth was developed to gather information about the care offered to children and adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems in various care settings. The aim was to determine similarities and differences in the content of care and thereby to classify the care offered to these children and youth within…