Search

The Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB), a multidimensional self-report measure of difficulty and distress in state assertiveness, was psychometrically evaluated in a large sample comprising 1242 unselected psychiatric inpatients. In addition to an overall measure of assertion, the SIB contains four factorially-derived dimensions: (I) negative assertion, (II) expression of and dealing with personal limitations, (III) initiating assertiveness, and (IV) positive assertion. The factors were originally interpreted in data of 703 members of a society for phobic individuals. Evidence is presented on the factorial constancy of the SIB measuring constructs across samples, biological sex, age, and educational level. Outstanding internal consistency figures are also given. Construct validity is established in a subset of the inpatients in relation to the Assertion Self-Statement Test-Revised. Both descriptive and specialized norms are presented for psychiatric inpatients. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The present study was based on the assumption that people are motivated to gain or maintain their well-being. Being absent from work is conceptualized as a means to this end. We investigated which one of two indicators of subjective well-being - general health assessment versus job satisfaction - is more decisive for the explanation of absenteeism. We expected that the context-independent indicator of psychological and physical well-being would strongly relate to absenteeism whereas the work-specific indicator was expected to show no relationship to self-reported absenteeism. 1410 employees of a telecommunication company were surveyed. Results of hierarchical regression analyses support the expected relationship and give correlative hints for the postulated mechanisms., The present study was based on the assumption that people are motivated to gain or maintain their well-being. Being absent from work is conceptualized as a means to this end. We investigated which one of two indicators of subjective well-being - general health assessment versus job satisfaction - is more decisive for the explanation of absenteeism. We expected that the context-independent indicator of psychological and physical well-being would strongly relate to absenteeism, whereas the work-specific indicator was expected to show no relationship to self-reported absenteeism. 1 410 employees of a teleco

Despite increasing evidence that identity changes in adulthood do take place, there is little knowledge about what the process of change looks like. We perceive identity change as a change in the organization and rules that underlie identity commitments. Based on script theory (Tomkins, 1995) and on notions about the processes in adult development and clinical theories, we developed a conceptualization of this process. Conflicts are seen as the potential trigger of change. People may react to conflicts with assimilation, withdrawal, or accommodation. Accommodation implies identity change. The process of accommodation consists of increasing exploration and knowledge of oneself. We distinguish different steps in this accommodation process. In a case study, empirical evidence for these steps was found.

Hofstede's dimension of national culture termed Masculinity-Femininity [Hofstede (1991). Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill] is proposed to be of relevance for understanding national-level differences in self-assessed agoraphobic fears. This prediction is based on the classical work of Fodor [Fodor (1974). In: V. Franks & V. Burtle (Eds.), Women in therapy: new psychotherapies for a changing society. New York: Brunner/Mazel]. A unique data set comprising 11 countries (total N = 5491 students) provided the opportunity of scrutinizing this issue. It was hypothesized and found that national Masculinity (the degree to which cultures delineate sex roles, with masculine or tough societies making clearer differentiations between the sexes than feminine or modest societies do) would correlate positively with national agoraphobic fear levels (as assessed with the Fear Survey Schedule-III). Following the correction for sex and age differences across national samples, a significant and large effect-sized national-level (ecological) r = +0.67 (P = 0.01) was found. A highly feminine society such as Sweden had the lowest, whereas the champion among the masculine societies, Japan, had the highest national Agoraphobic fear score. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of parental bonding and cognitive coping in the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms in adolescence. A sample of 1310 adolescents attending an intermediate vocational education school filled out a questionnaire. Adolescents with a poor parental bonding relationship seemed to be more vulnerable to depressive symptoms in the face of adverse life events than adolescents with more optimal bonding styles. Cognitive coping strategies seemed to play an even more important role. The use of selfblame, rumination, catastrophizing, positive refocusing, and positive reappraisal appeared to be related to depressive symptoms. In addition, self-blame, rumination, and positive reappraisal seemed to have a moderating role in the relationship between the amount of stress experienced and depressive symptoms. Developing prevention and intervention programs aimed at the formation of optimal bonding relationships and teaching adolescents adaptive cognitive coping strategies seems advisable.

Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from Dutch primary education was used to assess to what extent differences between educationally disadvantaged pupils and other pupils increase during their school careers. For language and arithmetic the differences between pupils with poorly educated and well-educated parents increases, while the disadvantage of Turkish and Moroccan pupils in non-verbal intelligence slightly decreases. Most progress was made in schools and cohorts with a low starting level. Differences in language achievement between schools were greatest where pupils of poorly educated parents were in a setting with many other disadvantaged pupils. Several cohorts per school were included in our analyses so that the development of schools could be examined. However, no significant differences were found between cohorts within schools regarding the size of the Matthew effect.

Item does not contain fulltext

As a supplement to the International Adult Literacy Survey, the Netherlands devoted special attention to the literacy proficiency of older adults. A close look at the literacy skills of older adults and their use in daily life is relevant because demographic developments, individualisation, the position of older employees in the labour market and technological innovations require an increasing level of literacy skills. Accordingly, this chapter compares the literacy skills of older adults with other age groups, and presents an analysis of the determinants of literacy proficiency of older adults. In addition, results from follow-up interviews conducted with 40 older adults who had low proficiency scores in the Netherlands are presented. This includes (a) the kind of problems they experience in daily life, (b) the kind of coping strategies they develop, and (c) their attitude towards educational interventions. The results show that the literacy proficiency of older adults gives reasons for concern. They score significantly lower than other age groups. However, many older adults develop practical coping strategies, such as using social networks, assertiveness in asking for help, etc. Yet, some of the coping strategies are vulnerable because of societal changes such as rationalisation in industry and public services.

This article explores the organisation of work and working times in IT. It builds on case-studies in five European countries: Denmark, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK. At first glance, the organisation of work and working time seems quite traditional: a full-time permanent contract is still the standard. Yet, new forms of employment do occur. Relevant factors in this respect are the nature of the service provided, the nature of the workforce and flexibility requirements.

(2002). The Role of Higher Education in Lifelong Learning: The Dutch Case. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education: Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 37-44.

Relationships between a mathematical measurement model and its real-world applications are discussed. A distinction is made between large data matrices commonly found in educational measurement and smaller matrices found in attitude and personality measurement. Nonparametric methods are evaluated for estimating item response functions and (unconditional and conditional) inter-item covariances.

L’emancipation de clients atteints de maladie mentale severe vue comme un defiLes clients atteints de maladie mentale severe, surtout les clients qui sont aussi toxicomanes, sont reconnus comme un des groupes les plus difficiles a aider. Dans cet article deux projets de recherche-action seront decrits. Le but des deux projets etait de fournir des soins sur mesure et d’ameliorer la coordination entre les membres du personnel soignant concerne. Le chercheur a travaille en etroite collaboration avec les therapeutes dans un processus circulaire d’action, reflexion et changement. La methode « developpement » de gestion des cas s’est averee reussie et adequate pour resoudre le probleme de l’action (l’adequation est l’un des deux criteres pour la qualite d’une recherche-action). Les therapeutes sont devenus des personnages cles dans la reforme du systeme de soins pour les malades mentaux dans la ville de Groningen. Les projets de recherche-action ont contribue a leur emancipation, deuxieme critere de qualite de la recherche-action. Les clients profitent individuellement des resultats des reformes. Les projets n’ont pas reussi dans le processus d’emancipation des clients. L’incapacite a fonctionner au sein d’un groupe entrave ce processus.

La recherche-action, l’emancipation et l’adequation reciproque dans la mise au point d’une methode de reseau pour des refugiesCet article decrit un projet d’action-recherche, au cours duquel une methode de formation a ete mise au point qui permettait a des refugies de construire et de coordonner un reseau de soutien social aux Pays-Bas. Cette methode s’appelle le « modele arbre ». D’abord, nous decrivons la problematique de la recherche, la situation des refugies, et la conception suivant la methodologie de la recherche-action. Ensuite, nous traiterons du processus au cœur de cette recherche-action : l’adequation reciproque et l’emancipation basees sur une confiance reciproque. Dans cette section, l’accent sera mis sur le fait de savoir ce que l’adequation reciproque representait dans cette recherche orientee sur la pratique.Troisiemement, les auteurs presenteront les resultats du processus de recherche, l’issue des differentes activites cooperatives au cours du processus de recherche sur lesquels le modele arbre a ete construit et teste. L’article se termine par quelques remarques en guise de conclusion traitant des questions et reponses sur la theorie et la pratique.

Movement impairments about a single joint in stroke patients may be related to deficits in the central regulation of stretch reflex (SR) thresholds of agonist and antagonist muscles. One boundary of the SR threshold range for elbow flexor and extensor muscles was measured in hemiparetic subjects by analysing electromyographic activity during stretching of relaxed muscles at seven different velocities. For each velocity, dynamic SR thresholds were measured as angles at which electromyographic activity appeared. These data were used to determine the sensitivity of the threshold to velocity and the static SR thresholds for flexors and extensors. In contrast to relaxed muscles in healthy subjects, static flexor and extensor thresholds lay within the physiological range in 11/12 and 4/12 subjects, respectively. This implies that, in the range between the static SR threshold and one of the physiological joint limits, relaxation of the muscle was impossible. Subjects then made slow movements against different loads to determine their ranges of active movement. Maximal flexor and extensor torques were lower in hemiparetic subjects throughout the angular range. In some subjects, ranges were found in which no active torque could be produced in either extensor or both muscle groups. These ranges were related to the boundary values of SR thresholds found during passive muscle stretch. The range in which reciprocally organized agonist and antagonist muscle activity could be generated was limited in all but one subject. When attempting to produce torque from positions outside their measured range of movement, excessive muscle coactivation occurred, typically producing no or paradoxical motion in the opposite direction. Results suggest a relationship between spasticity measured at rest and the movement deficit in stroke by demonstrating a link between motor deficits and control deficits in the central regulation of individual SR thresholds. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.

Objectives. There is good evidence that early rearing experiences affect vulnerability to subsequent psychopathology. Recent research on memories of rearing style have been influenced by attachment theory and have focused primarily on domains of emotional warmth and control. However, early experiences of being shamed, criticized and made to feel inferior, together with believing one's sibling is favoured over oneself, are also likely to play a role in vulnerability. This study therefore explored recall of being shamed and sibling favouritism. Method. A large community sample (N = 638) and a varied non-psychotic patient sample (N = 213) completed two recall of parent rearing scales (the PBI and EMBU). These gave measures of recall of emotional warmth, overprotection control, being shamed and shown up, and self or sibling favouring. Participants also completed the SCL-90-R scale. Results. Patients recalled less warmth, more control, more shame and more favouring of siblings than the community sample. The difference was greatest for shame, and following MANOVA analysis shame remained significantly different between the two groups even after controlling for emotional warmth and control. Similarly, recalling being less favoured than a sibling and shamed had robust associations with indicators of psychopathology and these were only marginally reduced when emotional warmth was controlled for. Moreover, hostility (as measured by the SCL-90-R) was specifically related to recall of being shamed but not emotional warmth. Conclusion. This study suggests that over and above issues of emotional warmth and control, recall of direct experiences of being shamed, feeling inferior and less favoured in a family, may be particularly pathogenic. They operate independently of warmth and may be especially important in proneness to hostile feelings. Given this, therapists may wish to specifically explore shame issues with patients.

The paper presents results of some analyses on a Dutch database that contains disaggregated data on both the traffic system input variables of the driver population (characteristics of drivers, including their annual mileage) and the output variables of the driver population in terms of habitual driving behaviour (operationalised in number of fines) and accident involvement. Accidents increased as annual mileage increased. A relationship between violations and accidents turned out to exist in different classes of annual mileage. Moreover, multivariate analyses showed that-corrected for annual mileage-male and female drivers do not differ in accident involvement; younger drivers have the highest rate of accidents and level of education is not related to accident involvement. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The project described in this article concerns the effects of the operation of in-vehicle information systems on traffic safety. A method is described to track down potential safety effects within a relatively short period of time to support the authorities in the decision to deny or allow the system at hand on the market. Basically the method consists of 3 steps: a checklist, a laboratory test, and guidelines for a final empirical assessment of potential safety hazards.

‘Cerebellum’ is een verkleinwoord en heeft, als alle verkleinwoorden, iets liefkozends. Anders dan de grote hersenen past het cerebellum in de kom van een hand, wat de andere hand vrijlaat het voorzichtig op te nemen, te draaien, met de vingers de kwabben iets uiteen te duwen en het patroon van groeven en spleten van alle zijden te bekijken. Het is een bijna Escherachtig effect dat men dan het orgaan in handen houdt dat bewegingen als deze stuurt: het cerebellum coordineert de motoriek.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded as 12 subjects performed a delayed matching to sample task. We presented two bilateral abstract shapes and cued spatially which had to be memorized for a subsequent matching task: left, right or both. During memorization a posterior slow negative ERP wave developed over the hemisphere contralateral to the memorized shape. This effect was similar in high and low memory load trials while the memory figures were visible (for 1000 ms). As the figures disappeared (for 1500 ms), the effect persisted only in the low memory load conditions. We suggest that the contralateral negativity reflects a visual short-term memory process and that capacity limitation in the high memory load condition causes this process to collapse.

In this article we review studies of situations and situation taxonomies from the perspective of trait psychology. Objections to trait psychology are discussed and several refutations are recapitulated. The relation between traits and situations is analysed, as well as the affinity that both concepts demonstrate. Some taxonomic properties are discussed, exemplified by one of the most common and detailed trait taxonomies to date, the Abridged Big Five Circumplex, and by seven situation taxonomies. Personality psychologists, besides trait psychologists, have stressed the need to no longer debate the existence of traits, but to specify their nature with increasing precision in different situations. What is needed is a taxonomy of personality characteristics that systematically incorporates situational information, so that traits can be questioned in their context, that is, in a context that allows for individual differences in the expression of trait-relevant behaviour. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

mental social psychology (Vol. 21, pp. 181-227). New York: Academic. Tesser, A., & Achee, J. (1994). Aggression, love, conformity, and other social psychological catastrophes. In R. R. Vallacher & A. Nowak (Eds.), Dynamical systems in social psychology (pp. 96-109). San Diego, CA: Academic. Tesser, A., & Beach, S. R. H. (1995). Stressful life events, relationship satisfaction, and negative affect: Some non-linear dynamics. Unpublished manuscript, University of Georgia, Athens. Turing, A. M. (1950). Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind, 59, 433-460. Vallacher, R. R., & Nowak, A. (Eds.). (1994). Dynamical systems in social psychology. San Diego, CA: Academic. Vallacher, R., Nowak, A., & Kaufman, J. (1994). Intrinsic dynamics of social judgement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 20-34. van Geert, P. (1991). A dynamic systems model of cognitive and language growth. Psychological Review, 98, 3-53.

This study examined differences between children with autism and control children in the ability to follow another person's direction of gaze. In Expt 1, children with autism, Down syndrome and normally developing children were given two tasks. The gaze monitoring task (GMT) measured the child's spontaneous tendency to follow gaze direction in response to another person's change of head and eye movement. The visual perspective taking task (VPT) measured the child's ability to compute and report what the other person was looking at, when instructed to do so. Results showed that the majority of Down syndrome and normal children passed both tasks. In contrast, children with autism failed the GMT. This failure could not have been due to a lack of the relevant geometric skill, as they passed the VPT. This geometric skill was examined further in Expt 2, using a fine discrimination task which tested children's ability to discriminate degrees of change in the orientation of gaze. Children with autism were well within their developmental age level on this task. These results indicate a dissociation between (impaired) spontaneous monitoring and (intact) geometric analysis of gaze-direction.

The current study was designed to provide a rigorous investigation of the locus of task-inappropriate (impulsive) responding in ADHD children with and without tics. For this purpose we used a variant of Sternberg's (1969) response bias task. The task measures a set of mental operations, namely, preparing a planned response, carrying out or stopping a planned response, and preparing to execute an alternative response. In the first study, we determined the effect of age in a normal sample. As expected, task performance improved as a function of age. Younger children had problems changing a response set. In the second experiment, we compared ADHD children with and without tics with normal children. Unexpectedly, the noticeable task inefficiency of the patient groups was not related to (a) a hasty scan of the display, (b) an inability to change response set, or (c) a speed-accuracy trade-off. Implications for and a discussion about the response inhibition hypothesis in ADHD are discussed.

The development of the child's `theory of mind' is the subject of considerable research interest. An important part of this work is concerned with children's understanding of mental states and recognition of emotions. Both areas are relevant to how children function in social situations and are likely to play an important role in socially skilled behaviour. We describe an approach in which `theory of mind' ideas are applied in a social skills-intervention programmes. The intervention programme is described, and its evaluation indicates that this type of training has a positive effect on the development of social skills.

Een leven lang leren wordt de laatste jaren onlosmakelijk verbonden met de kennissamenleving. Wie als actief burger of op de arbeidsmarkt wil overleven, dient ook na en naast de initiele opleiding te willen en te kunnen blijven leren. Daarbij gaat het niet alleen en uitsluitend om leren binnen formele onderwijsinstellingen, maar ook om informeel leren in de vriendenkring, bij hobbies of op het werk. Dat werken en leren samen kunnen gaan is niet nieuw, maar allerminst vanzelfsprekend. De werkplek kan een stimulerende leeromgeving bieden, maar ook een geestdodende plek die van kwaad tot erger leidt.

The ASDnavigator is a method that focuses on the support of people with ASD. The method distinguishes itself by emphasizing that a person with ASD is trying to bring order into his chaotic life: the person's self-arrangement. It is important that healthcare professionals take notice of this before they can start setting up the arrangement (structure) they will offer. The ASDnavigaor is a method that is used to chart, analyze and assess a person's self-arrangement and the arrangement of the environment. Advice about the arrangement that must be offered can be given based on all collected, analyzed and assessed data, so that persons with ASD can flourish and develop (further). In the ASDnavigator, the self-arrangement by the person with ASD has a central role. The goal of this research is to prove the effect of the use of the ASDnavigator. The central question in this research is: What effects does the use of the ASDnavigator by the behavioral scientist have on the person with ASD and mild/severe intellectual disabilitys in terms of coping, repetitive behavior and problem behavior and what effects does it have on the support of the person with ASD? In order to answer that question, six hypotheses were tested. The conclusion of this research is that the use of the ASDnavigator has a statistically significant effect on the type of advisement of the behavioral scientist regarding the imaging and the support.

Temporal overlap of cognitive processes occurs when partial information about a stimulus activates associated responses before the stimulus has been fully identified. Recent evidence obtained with psychophysiological measures suggests that such overlap sometimes does, and sometimes does not occur. In this contribution, we argue that in order to understand why, we have to distinguish between selection of partial information for perception and selection of partial information for control over activation of responses. We discuss several mechanisms and factors that may modulate the temporal overlap of mental processes because they selectively influence the perceptual availability or the use of partial information.

Presentation rate of stimuli is a crucial factor in Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), that is, especially in ADHD children without tics ( n = 24), the ability to inhibit a response decreases in conditions with fast and slow presentation rates of stimuli.

Many defences of multiculturalist educational initiatives conjoin a‘liberal’ or ‘radical’ moral/political view—that education should endeavour to treat students with respect, and that respecting non-dominant,‘marginalised’ students requires protecting them from the hegemonic domination of the dominant culture—with what appears to be an equally radical epistemological view, according to which respecting minority students and cultures requires respecting their culturally specific epistemologies, which in turn requires refraining from imposing upon them a dominating hegemonic epistemology concerning the nature of truth, rational justification, and so on. In this paper I argue (1) that this‘radical’ epistemological position is fatally flawed; and (2) that, if true, it would undermine, rather than undergird, the favoured moral l political view. I argue, that is, that proponents of‘radical’ pedagogy would do better to reject the associated‘radical’ epistemological view in favour of a more traditional,‘conservative’ one.

Data concerning 19 health-related behaviours and associated beliefs were collected by questionnaire from 282 students in the Netherlands on two occasions over one year. While all behaviours showed moderate stability, there were variations in the degree of change. The highest stability was reported for sleep time, tooth brushing frequency, seat belt usage and health care service utilization. The least stable behaviours included regular exercise and various dietary measures. Predictors of changes in smoking, dietary fat intake, alcohol consumption and regular exercise were analysed in detail. Beliefs assessed at year 1 in the importance of these activities for health predicted changes in behaviour over the study year independently of prior behaviour levels. Awareness of the risks associated with behaviours, and explicit wishes to modify behaviour patterns (eg stop smoking, exercise more), did not predict change from year 1 to year 2. The results indicated that health behaviours vary in their stabil...

In addition to recent meta‐analyses, the goal of this article is to give a narrative review and a meta‐analysis of 20 studies into the effectiveness of communication skills training programs, using a cumulative microtraining format (CMT). The aims of all training programs are directed at increasing knowledge of social skills, extension of the behavior repertoire and change of experience of communication situations (reduction of anxiousness and improvement of self‐confidence). Four groups of trainees are included in the study: (1) students, (2) paraprofessionals, (3) clients with problems in living, (4) communication skill trainers. The results of our meta‐analysis are comparable with the results of other meta‐analyses. The strongest effect is found for knowledge, but the effects for behavior and experience are also substantial. Explanations for the strong effects are: (1) the careful analysis of communication situations before the development of the training programs; (2) the cumulative character...

L'A. se demande si, comme l'affirme Quine, le naturalisme est la seule option viable pour l'epistemologie. Il examine le rejet de la conception de la philosophie des sciences comme philosophie premiere qui en decoule a partir d'une analyse des conceptions de Quine et Gibson

This article describes trends in the number and severity of road accidents in the Netherlands. From 1980 to 1990, accidents fell so rapidly that traffic deaths dropped 31%. This rate could not be sustained in the following decade, though deaths did fall 23% in this period. From 1998 to 2000, traffic deaths remained stable, as did the number of victims whose injuries required hospitalization, even as travel increased. The Netherlands is among the three safest countries in Europe. The greatest increase in safety has been among pedestrians and cyclists. Van and truck occupants have had a substantial increase in deaths and injuries. The Dutch safety policy is based on the concept of "sustainable safety," which uses intelligent technologies and designs to make the driving environment safer as well as education and enforcement to make drivers safer. It has a target of reducing fatalities by 50% from their 1986 level and injuries by 40% by 2010.

Depression is a chronic illness with a highly recurrent course, since relapse rates rise up to 90% after multiple previous episodes. In the Netherlands the costs originating from depression are high. The current treatment costs accumulate up to 660 million euro's, and the costs related to loss of productivity rise to 950 million euro's each year. The guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association advices therapists to continue treatment until a patient is completely symptom free, since residual symptoms are a known predictor of relapse. However, due to changes in financing the mental healthcare system therapists are stimulated to end treatment soon. By neglecting the risk of relapse, the current treatment of depression is a waste of money. Currently, the most used strategy to prevent relapse in depression is continuation of antidepressants after remission. However, most patients are not able or willing to continue antidepressants lifelong. Cognitive therapy has prophylactic effects beyond the acute phase of depression. Specific preventive cognitive therapy offered after remission, either in group format or via the internet could prove to be a cost-effective alternative for antidepressants in preventing relapse, since it has shown to prevent relapse in previous studies.

Eindrapport met bijlagenboek

Gezin Centraal is een programma dat zich richt op kinderen (6-14 jaar) met ernstige psychosociale problemen en hun gezinnen. Het programma bestaat uit intensieve gezinsbegeleiding, daghulp en residentiële hulp. Vraaggericht en gezinsgericht werken bepalen de methodiek. De dissertatie betreft een praktijkgestuurd effectonderzoek. De algemene vraagstelling is: Hoe verloopt de hulpverlening aan 6-14 jarigen bij het programma Gezin Centraal en welke resultaten worden gehaald in vergelijking met gebruikelijke hulpverlening? Gezin Centraal verleent hulp aan een doelgroep die bij aanvang vergelijkbaar is met de doelgroep van gebruikelijke hulpverlening. Er lijkt bij een deel van de doelgroep onvoldoende inzicht te bestaan in de probleemsituatie en de noodzaak van behandeling. Gezin Centraal onderscheidt zich in het vraaggericht werken en gezinsgericht werken minder van gebruikelijke hulpverlening dan verwacht. Op basis van een pilotstudie blijkt dat cliënten van Gezin Centraal na afloop minder problemen ervaren in het functioneren van het kind. Intern vergeleken is er sprake van minder opvoedingsstress. Meer zicht is verkregen op het proces van het programma. Het onderzoek zet aan tot het expliciteren van normen voor (proces)uitkomsten en het selecteren van de doelgroep.

Het doel van een pleegzorgplaatsing is doorgaans gericht op het zo snel mogelijk herstellen van de oorspronkelijke opvoedingssituatie of het op korte termijn verkrijgen van duidelijkheid omtrent de haalbaarheid hiervan (Hermanns & Horn, 2000). Indien mogelijk heeft de pleegzorgplaatsing een afgebakend en tijdelijk karakter, waarin wordt toegewerkt naar een thuisplaatsing. Blijkt echter herstel van een aanvaardbare pedagogische opvoedingssituatie bij ouders niet mogelijk dan is het doel van de pleegzorgplaatsing gericht op het bieden van een nieuw perspectief voor de opvoeding van het pleegkind (Weterings, 1991, 2005). Ondanks het toenemend aantal jeugdigen dat in de pleegzorg wordt geplaatst is er nog maar weinig kennis over de ontwikkeling van deze jeugdigen tijdens de pleegzorgplaatsing (Lambermon, 2005; Lipscombe, Moyers & Farmer, 2004; Strijker & Zandberg, 2001; Zandberg, Knorth & Strijker, 2007). Daarnaast heeft onderzoek van Strijker en Zandberg (2001) laten zien dat het percentage ongunstig voortijdig beëindigde pleegzorgplaatsingen (breakdown) in Nederland voor de langdurige pleegzorg ongeveer 30% bedraagt. Een breakdown van de pleegzorgplaatsing heeft veelal negatieve gevolgen voor alle betrokkenen van deze plaatsing. Voor het pleegkind zijn dit bijvoorbeeld een verminderde agressieregulatie, een negatief zelfbeeld en een toenemend wantrouwen in (nieuwe) opvoeders (Junger‐Tas, 1981; Van den Bergh & Weterings, 2006). Hierdoor neemt het vermogen van het pleegkind om zich aan (nieuwe) opvoeders te binden verder af (Rosenfeld et al., 1997) en ontstaat er een negatieve spiraal van toenemende gedragsproblemen waarmee het risico op een toekomstige breakdown toeneemt (Newton et al., 2000). Voor het pleeggezin leidt een breakdown veelal tot spanningen in de gezinsrelaties (Gilbertson & Barber, 2003; Redding, Fried & Britner, 2000) en gevoelens van falen bij de pleegouders (Denby, Rindfleisch & Bean, 1999; Minty, 1999). Dat kan leiden tot een burn‐out van het pleeggezin en het verlies van een pleeggezin voor de zorgaanbieder (Strijker & Zandberg, 2001). De prevalentie van breakdown bij adolescente pleegkinderen is in Nederland tot nog toe niet onderzocht. Buitenlandse studies tonen echter voor deze groep pleegkinderen een hoog breakdownpercentage, variërend van 40 tot ruim 50% (Farmer, Moyers & Lipscombe, 2004; Leathers, 2006; Sallnäs, Vinnerljung & Westermark, 2004). Zie verder: Samenvatting.

The present research has been conducted as an additional contribution to the international Reaction Pattern Research (RPR). So far religion and its influence on the rearing and attitude of juveniles with respect to social limits have not received a place of their own within the RPR. The present research puts this right. The main theory to play a role in this research is Travis Hirschi's "bonding theory" or "social control theory" (1969). Hoewever, this theory is used as the foundation of the formulation of the problem and not tested. For the present research is of an explorative nature and consequently knows no testing.

Verward van geest en ander ongerief