Longitudinal data from a large sample of twins participating in the Netherlands Twin Register (n = 42,827, age range 3-16) were analyzed to investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to childhood aggression. Genetic auto-regressive (simplex) models were used to assess whether the same genes are involved or whether new genes come into…

Although spending time in criminogenic settings is increasingly recognized as an explanation for adolescent delinquency, little is known about its determinants. The current study aims to examine the extent to which (change in) self-control and (change in) delinquent attitudes relate to (change in) time spent in criminogenic settings, and the…

This study examined dispositional and situational correlates of donating behavior in a sample of 221 eight-year-old children. Children were shown a promotional clip for a charity, including a donation call. For a random half of the children, the video fragment ended with a probe of a same-sex peer donating money to the charity. Seeing a peer…

Social capital is generally considered beneficial for students' school adjustment. This paper argues that social relationships among pupils generate social capital at both the individual and the class levels, and that each has its unique effect on pupils' performance and well-being. The sample in this study consists of 1036 children in 60…

This study examined the psychological well-being of gifted primary school children. From a screening sample of 233 children in Grades 1 and 2 across five schools in the Netherlands, 35 children achieving high scores on two out of three selection criteria (teacher nomination, creativity, and nonverbal reasoning ability) and 34 typically developing…

Individuals with autistic traits are considered to be prone to develop psychosexual problems due to their limited social skills and insight. This study investigated the longitudinal relation between autistic traits in childhood (T1; age 10-12 years) and parent-reported psychosexual problems in early adolescence (T2; age 12-15 years). In a general…

This study evaluated the ability of the Child Behavior Checklist and the Teacher's Report Form to identify children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), using a sample of children with ASD (n = 458), referred children without ASD (n = 1109) and children from the general population (n = 999). A ten items ASD scale was constructed using half of the…

Background: By interacting with children, group care workers shape daily living environments to influence treatment. Current literature provides little knowledge about the content of youth residential care. Objective: In this study, a questionnaire called the Group care worker Intervention Checklist was developed. Method: Group care workers…

Background: We developed an implementation strategy for the insurance medicine guidelines for depression, which we implemented via a post-graduate course for insurance physicians (IPs). In this study we evaluate the physicians' experiences of the implementation strategy by measuring the following aspects: recruitment and reach, dose delivered and…

This study examines the concurrent and longitudinal relationships between reactive and proactive aggression and children's peer status. Participants were 94 Dutch elementary school-aged boys in self-contained special education classrooms for students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) and 47 boys with no disabilities in general education…

High and stable levels of aggression and the presence of aggressive behaviour in multiple settings according to different informants are risk factors for later problems. However, these two factors have not been investigated in early childhood. The present study investigates trajectories of parent-reported child aggression from 1.5 up to 6 years of…

Aim: General developmental outcome is known to be good in school-aged children who experienced febrile seizures. We examined cognitive and behavioural outcomes in preschool children with febrile seizures, including language and executive functioning outcomes. Method: This work was performed in the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort…

Background: Pragmatic assessment methods are very diverse and differ in informant type. Some rely on parents, others on teachers/professionals and some directly test pragmatic abilities in the children themselves. A widely used pragmatic parent questionnaire is the Children's Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2). However, it is not known how scores…

Background: Various psychiatric and neurological disorders including epilepsy have been associated with language deficits. Pragmatic language deficits, however, have seldom been the focus of earlier studies in children with epilepsy. Moreover, it is unknown whether these pragmatic deficits are related to general intellectual functioning. Both…

Background: Specific language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when a child shows isolated structural language problems. The diagnosis of pragmatic language impairment (PLI) is given to children who show difficulties with the use of language in context. Unlike children with SLI, these children tend to show relatively intact structural language skills…