Maarten De Schryver

Norms of valence, arousal, dominance, and age of acquisition for 4,300 Dutch words

This article presents norms of valence/pleasantness, activity/arousal, power/dominance, and age of acquisition for 4,300 Dutch words, mainly nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. The norms are based on ratings with a 7-point Likert scale by independent groups of students from two Belgian (Ghent and Leuven) and two Dutch (Rotterdam and Leiden-Amsterdam) samples. For each variable, we obtained high split-half reliabilities within each sample and high correlations between samples. In addition, the valence ratings of a previous, more limited study (Hermans & De Houwer, Psychologica Belgica, 34:115-139, 1994) correlated highly with those of the present study. Therefore, the new norms are a valuable source of information for affective research in the Dutch language.

Forced conscription of children during armed conflict: experiences of former child soldiers in northern Uganda.

OBJECTIVEnChild soldiering can be considered as one of the worst practices of institutionalized child abuse. However, little is known about the scope and nature of this abuse and the consequent experiences of children enrolled in an armed faction. This research aims at enriching the knowledge on the experiences of child soldiers in the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda.nnnMETHODSnThe databases of 4 former Interim Care Centres for returned child soldiers in northern Uganda, comprising socio-demographic information of 8,790 returnees, and additional data from the Rachele Rehabilitation Centre on war-related experiences of 1,995 former child soldiers, are analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of covariance and regression analysis.nnnRESULTSnDuring on average 1.5 years in captivity, nearly all participants had various war-related experiences, whereby 88% witnessed and 76% forcibly participated in atrocities. Variations in exposure to warfare appear to be mainly associated with age of abduction, duration of captivity, location of captivity, being military trained, and being a rebels wife.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThese findings testify to the vastness of abuse lived through by the child soldiers in this study. They fulfilled a multifaceted position in the LRA, which delivers a range of potential direct and indirect consequences. The variables decisive in differential experiences unveil trends in the strategic abduction by the LRA and in differential exposure to warfare among child soldiers.nnnIMPLICATIONSnThe variation in exposure to warfare urges for an individualized approach and monitoring of returning child soldiers. In order to address the potential indirect impact of child soldiering, support also needs to be oriented towards the childs network, based on a socio-ecological approach.

Do CS-US Pairings Actually Matter? A Within-Subject Comparison of Instructed Fear Conditioning with and without Actual CS-US Pairings

Previous research showed that instructions about CS-US pairings can lead to fear of the CS even when the pairings are never presented. In the present study, we examined whether the experience of CS-US pairings adds to the effect of instructions by comparing instructed conditioning with and without actual CS-US pairings in a within-subject design. Thirty-two participants saw three fractals as CSs (CS+1, CS+2, CS−) and received electric shocks as USs. Before the start of a so-called training phase, participants were instructed that both CS+1 and CS+2 would be followed by the US, but only CS+1 was actually paired with the US. The absence of the US after CS+2 was explained in such a way that participants would not doubt the instructions about the CS+2-US relation. After the training phase, a test phase was carried out. In this phase, participants expected the US after both CS+s but none of the CS+s was actually paired with the US. During test, self-reported fear was initially higher for CS+1 than for CS+2, which indicates that the experience of actual CS-US pairings adds to instructions about these pairings. On the other hand, the CS+s elicited similar skin conductance responses and US expectancies. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

The interplay between cognitive risk and resilience factors in remitted depression: A network analysis

BACKGROUNDnIndividuals in remission from depression are at increased risk for developing future depressive episodes. Several cognitive risk- and resilience factors have been suggested to account for this vulnerability. In the current study we explored how risk- and protective factors such as cognitive control, adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation, residual symptomatology, and resilience relate to one another in a remitted depressed (RMD) sample.nnnMETHODSnWe examined the relationships between these constructs in a cross-sectional dataset of 69 RMD patients using network analyses in order to obtain a comprehensive, data-driven view on the interplay between these constructs. We subsequently present an association network, a concentration network, and a relative importance network.nnnRESULTSnIn all three networks resilience formed the central hub, connecting perceived cognitive control (i.e., working memory complaints), emotion regulation, and residual symptomatology. The contribution of the behavioral measure for cognitive control in the network was negligible. Moreover, the directed relative importance network indicates bidirectional influences between these constructs, with all indicators of centrality suggesting a key role of resilience in remission from depression.nnnLIMITATIONSnThe presented findings are cross-sectional and networks are limited to a fixed set of key constructs in the literature pertaining cognitive vulnerability for depression.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThese findings indicate the importance of resilience to successfully cope with stressors following remission from depression. Further in-depth studies will be essential to identify the specific underlying resilience mechanisms that may be key to successful remission from depression.

The inverse relation between psychopathy and faking good: Not response bias but true variance in psychopathic personality

The possibility to assess psychopathy through self-report is debated, amongst others, because psychopathic individuals may deliberately underreport psychopathic features (fake good). Meta-analytic research has shown an inverse relation between faking good and self-reported psychopathy, possibly indicating that faking good lowered psychopathy scores (response bias). Low faking good scores, could, however, also reflect true variance in psychopathic personality to the extent that it reflects a disregard of social conventions. Through a secondary analysis (n = 675), we show that controlling for faking good significantly weakens, rather than strengthens, the associations between psychopathy scores and antisocial behavior (alcohol and drug abuse, indirect aggression, and delinquency). These findings indicate that the inverse relation between faking good and self-reported psychopathy reflects true variance in psychopathy personality (i.e. low social desirability), not a response bias.

Mental health of victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo: associations with daily stressors, stigma, and labeling

BackgroundThe conflict-ridden context of eastern Congo has set the scene for grueling human rights violations, with sexual violence as one of the ‘weapons of war’. Currently, sexual violence continues, with a considerable increase in civilian perpetrators. However, little is known regarding the particular impact of different experiences of sexual violence on adolescents’ mental health. This study therefore investigates the impact of sexual violence on eastern Congolese adolescents’ mental health and its differing associations with daily stressors, stigma, and the labeling of sexual violence (as ‘rape’ or ‘non-consensual sexual experience’).MethodsA cross-sectional, population-based survey design was implemented in 22 secondary schools, randomly selected from a stratified sample, in Bunia, eastern Congo, a region extensively affected by war. A total of 1,305 school-going adolescent girls aged 11 to 23 participated. Self-report measures of mental health symptoms, war-related traumatic events, experiences of sexual violence, daily stressors, and stigmatization were administered. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic experiences and daily and social stressors between types of sexual violence (rape, non-consensual sexual violence, no sexual violence) were explored through statistical analysis. ANCOVA analyses investigated associations between those risk factors and adolescents’ mental health.ResultsMore than one third of eastern Congolese adolescent girls reported experiences of sexual violence. Elevated levels of daily stressors, experiences of stigmatization, and stressful war-related events were found amongst girl victims of sexual violence, with the highest levels for girls who labeled the sexual violence as rape. Daily stressors, stigmatization, and war-related events showed a large impact on the girls’ mental health. Last, girls who labeled the sexual violence as non-consensual sexual experiences reported more post-traumatic hyper-arousal and intrusion symptoms compared to those labeling the sexual violence as rape.ConclusionsThese findings point to the important association between how war-affected adolescent girls label sexual violence (rape or non-consensual sexual experiences) and their mental health. This study also documents the large impact of sexual violence on other stressors (daily stressors, stigmatization, and stressful war events) and the impact of these stressors on girl victims’ mental health. It discusses important implications for addressing sexual violence and its consequences in war-affected contexts.

Challenges Faced by Former Child Soldiers in the Aftermath of War in Uganda

PURPOSEnWarfare takes a profound toll of all layers of society, creating multiple and multilevel challenges that impinge on the psychosocial well-being of affected individuals. This study aims to assess the scope and salience of challenges confronting former child soldiers and at identifying additional challenges they face compared to non-recruited young people in war-affected northern Uganda.nnnMETHODSnThe study was carried out with a stratified random sample of northern Ugandan adolescents (n = 1,008), of whom a third had formerly been recruited (n = 330). The mixed-method comparison design consisted of a constrained free listing task to determine the challenges; a free sorting task to categorize them into clusters; and statistical analysis of their prevalence among formerly recruited youth and of how they compare with those of nonrecruited youth.nnnRESULTSnAltogether, 237 challenges were identified and clustered into 15 categories, showing that formerly recruited participants mainly identified emotional and training and skills-related challenges. Compared with nonrecruited counterparts, they reported significantly more emotional and fewer social and relational challenges, with the exception of stigmatization. Overall, there was similarity between the challenges reported by both groups.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe challenges confronting formerly recruited youths reach well beyond the effects of direct war exposure and emerge mainly from multiple influence spheres surrounding them. These challenges are largely shared in common with nonrecruited youths. This multidimensional and collective character of challenges calls for comprehensive psychosocial interventions through which healing the psychological wounds of war is complemented by mending the war-affected surroundings at all levels and in all life areas.

Implicit associations between pain and self-schema in patients with chronic pain.

Summary Current research, using the implicit Association Test, indicates that patients with chronic pain show a stronger association between self‐ and pain‐schema than healthy people. Abstract Chronic pain often interferes with daily functioning, and may become a threat to an individual’s sense of self. Despite the development of a recent theoretical account focussing upon the relationship between the presence of chronic pain and a person’s self, research investigating this idea is limited. In the present study we aimed to (1) compare the strength of association between self‐ and pain schema in patients with chronic pain and healthy control subjects and (2) research whether the strength of association between self‐ and pain‐schema is related to particular pain‐related outcomes and individual differences of patients with chronic pain. Seventy‐three patients with chronic pain (Mage = 49.95; SD = 9.76) and 53 healthy volunteers (Mage = 48.53; SD = 10.37) performed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess the strength of association between pain‐ and self‐schema. Patients with chronic pain also filled out self‐report measures of pain severity, pain suffering, disability, depression, anxiety, acceptance, and helplessness. Results indicated that the pain‐ and self‐schema were more strongly associated in patients with chronic pain than in healthy control subjects. Second, results indicated that, in patients with chronic pain, a stronger association between self‐ and pain‐schema, as measured with the IAT, is related to a heightened level of pain severity, pain suffering, anxiety, and helplessness. Current findings give first support for the use of an IAT to investigate the strength of association between self‐ and pain‐schema in patients with chronic pain and suggest that pain therapies may incorporate techniques that intervene on the level of self‐pain enmeshment.

Unpacking constructs: a network approach for studying war exposure, daily stressors and post-traumatic stress disorder

Conflict-affected populations are exposed to stressful events during and after war, and it is well established that both take a substantial toll on individuals’ mental health. Exactly how exposure to events during and after war affect mental health is a topic of considerable debate. Various hypotheses have been put forward on the relation between stressful war exposure (SWE), daily stressors (DS) and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This paper seeks to contribute to this debate by critically reflecting upon conventional modeling approaches and by advancing an alternative model to studying interrelationships between SWE, DS, and PTSD variables. The network model is proposed as an innovative and comprehensive modeling approach in the field of mental health in the context of war. It involves a conceptualization and representation of variables and relationships that better approach reality, hence improving methodological rigor. It also promises utility in programming and delivering mental health support for war-affected populations.

Suppressing the truth as a mechanism of deception: Delta plots reveal the role of response inhibition in lying.

Lying takes more time than telling the truth. Because lying involves withholding the truth, this lie effect has been related to response inhibition. We investigated the response inhibition hypothesis of lying using the delta-plot method: A leveling-off of the standard increase of the lie effect with slower reaction times would be indicative of successful response inhibition. Participants performed a reaction-time task that required them to alternate between lying and truth telling in response to autobiographical questions. In two experiments, we found that the delta plot of the lie effect leveled off with longer response latencies, but only in a group of participants who had better inhibitory skills as indexed by relatively small lie effects. This finding supports the role of response inhibition in lying. We elaborate on repercussions for cognitive models of deception and the data analysis of reaction-time based lie tests.