Coping and resilience in adults: a cross-sectional network analysis

Background and objectives: Coping and resilience, how we deal with problems and difficulties and recover from misfortune or change, are two well-known interrelated conce

Smart Mobility & Urban Development in Haven-Stad, Amsterdam:

Cities are in transition. Most cities, like Amsterdam, are growing in terms of inhabitants, visitors, and jobs, which cause an increase in the movement of people and goods to, from, and around the city. Next to that, socio-economical factors, new insights, policies, and technology innovations change how we live and work in our cities. Mobility operates as the intersection between the city’s infrastructure and its inhabitants; it is the central link in the well-functioning of a city and a key element in the organization of multi-modal transport. We have seen a rise of, among others, Mobility as a Service (MaaS), ride-sharing, and micro-mobility, and even though not implemented yet, autonomous vehicles are one of the relevant technologies to consider when looking at our future cities. How does mobility in the future impact the way our cities are being developed? Just like cities in general, the area of Haven-Stad is in transition as well. From being a harbor area at the edge of the city center, it will be developed into a mixed-use neighborhood and will be the biggest urban generator for future developments in Amsterdam. To gain insight and to better understand the interrelationships between urban development and urban mobility and to show perspectives on integration of future mobility scenarios in an actual urban environment, we asked each of the three groups to elaborate on a specific part of Haven-Stad. Each group came up with a perspective for their area, while looking at a wide variety of aspects: the role and function of smart urban mobility, including Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and emerging mobility options; the travel behavior of a growing number of users; the sustainability challenges and fairness in transport planning; the public and semipublic spaces (and social dynamics therein); the exploration of alternative, marginal and emerging social uses of urban developments as meeting places and culture; the urban integration in the overall mobility system; the interface between architecture and infrastructure within the urban fabric; the programming of future transport nodes and the access and egress to and from such transport hubs of all types of smart mobilities (e.g. conventional public transport, shared mobility, autonomous taxis, et cetera). As the development of Haven-Stad will take over 30 years, the factor time and phasing in the approaches and scenarios is key in each of the three proposals. The eight-day program covered different didactical components. Firstly, participants were introduced to Amsterdam, the current status of the Haven-Stad project, mobility, and future developments. Through various presentations by city representatives, participants were informed on the history, general information and mobility policies on Amsterdam and Haven-Stad. Next to that, experts from TU Delft gave presentations on smart mobility, different modes of mobility, behavioral aspects, and the state of the art of mobility-related research. During an afternoon bike tour, participants had the chance to explore the area and get a better feeling for its size and current atmosphere of the project location. During intensive and interactive work sessions with the seven tutors, analyses were made and the perspectives, approaches, and scenarios were refined. The three groups presented the final results for a group of visiting critics.  With this publication, we want to show the richness of perspectives and insights on Haven-Stad, that were developed during this short but very intensive Summer School. We are proud to present the three different projects, each with their own focus. The invited experts provided the participants with background knowledge lectures and a workshop. Excerpts of these sessions are included in this publication. We thank all participants, tutors and involved stakeholders for their efforts that have made this Summer School a success

Assessing the temporal stability of a measure of trait emotional intelligence: Systematic review and empirical analysis

Determining the temporal stability of a construct is crucial to establishing its validity and utility in real-world scenarios. To-date, few studies have investigated the test-retest reliability of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI), particularly over extended periods of time. The present study presents relevant data from the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) over variable intervals, ranging from 30 days (one month) to 1444 days (≈ four years). Results provide support for trait EI theory, demonstrating strong temporal stability at all levels of the construct (global, factor, and facet). Future research may focus on extending the test-retest intervals at both ends (i.e., below one month and over four years) as well as on comparisons between different trait EI measures

Model method drawing acts as a double-edged sword for solving inconsistent word problems

Drawing bar diagrams has been shown to improve performance on mathematical word problems wherein the relational keyword is consistent with the required arithmetic operation. This study extends this by testing the effectiveness of bar diagram drawing for word problems with an inconsistent keyword-arithmetic operation mapping. Seventy-five fifth graders solved consistent and inconsistent word problems while encouraged to draw bar diagrams. For each word problem, we assessed problem type (consistent/inconsistent), performance (correct/incorrect), and bar diagrams (accurate/inaccurate/no drawing). Overall, bar diagram drawing was associated with increased performance on both consistent and inconsistent word problems, but the strongest benefits of drawing were found for inconsistent word problems. For inconsistent word problems, bar diagram accuracy was more clearly related to performance (accurate bar diagrams related to correct answers, but inaccurate ones to incorrect answers) than for consistent word problems. We conclude that bar diagram drawing provides an effective graphical support for solving inconsistent word problems

No effect of repetitive tDCS on daily smoking behaviour in light smokers: A placebo controlled EMA study

Introduction The effectiveness of repetitive transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on reducing smoking behaviour has been studied with mixed results. Smoking behaviour is influenced by affect and context, therefore we choose to use mobile ecological momentary assessments (EMA) to measure changes in smoking behaviour after tDCS. Methods In a randomized, placebo-controlled, between subject study, we applied tDCS bilaterally with the anodal electrode targeting the right DLPFC (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03027687). Smokers were allocated to six sessions of either active tDCS (n = 35) or sham tDCS (n = 36) and received two sessions on three different days in one week. They were asked to keep track of their daily cigarette consumption, craving and affect in an application on their mobile phones for three months starting one week before the first tDCS session. Results Number of smoked cigarettes a day p

Cost-Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis:Health-Economic Evaluation Within a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Evidence was found for the effectiveness of virtual reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy (VR-CBT) for treating paranoia in psychosis, but health-economic evaluations are lacking. Objective: This study aimed to determine the short-term cost-effectiveness of VR-CBT. Methods: The health-economic evaluation was embedded in a randomized controlled trial evaluating VR-CBT in 116 patients with a psychotic disorder suffering from paranoid ideation. The control group (n=58) received treatment as usual (TAU) for psychotic disorders in accordance with the clinical guidelines. The experimental group (n=58) received TAU complemented with add-on VR-CBT to reduce paranoid ideation and social avoidance. Data were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 months postbaseline. Treatment response was defined as a pre-post improvement of symptoms of at least 20% in social participation measures. Change in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) was estimated by using Sanderson et al's conversion factor to map a change in the standardized mean difference of Green's Paranoid Thoughts Scale score on a corresponding change in utility. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated using 5000 bootstraps of seemingly unrelated regression equations of costs and effects. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curves were graphed for the costs per treatment responder gained and per QALY gained. Results: The average mean incremental costs for a treatment responder on social participation ranged between €8079 and €19,525, with 90.74%-99.74% showing improvement. The average incremental cost per QALY was €48,868 over the 6 months of follow-up, with 99.98% showing improved QALYs. Sensitivity analyses show costs to be lower when relevant baseline differences were included in the analysis. Average costs per treatment responder now ranged between €6800 and €16,597, while the average cost per QALY gained was €42,030. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that offering VR-CBT to patients with paranoid delusions is an economically viable approach toward improving patients' health in a cost-effective manner. Long-term effects need further research. Trial Registration: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 12929657; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12929657

Behavioural problems of adolescents in secure residential youth care:Gender differences and risk factors

Adolescents in secure residential care mostly suffer from serious behavioural problems, often accompanied by trauma and adverse family circumstances. This paper presents findings of a comparison of behavioural problems and risk factors of 255 boys and girls (aged 12 to 18 years) in secure residential care in the Netherlands and their association with behavioural problems. A cross-sectional design and standardized questionnaires were used to measure behavioural problems and individual and familial risk factors. By using independent-sample t tests, the severity of these factors in boys and girls was compared, and by using structural equation modelling (SEM), associations between these factors and behavioural problems were investigated. The findings of the study show that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, maladaptive emotion regulation, impaired perceived competence and internalizing behavioural problems were more severe in girls than in boys. Boys experienced more severe externalizing behavioural problems and more family problems than girls. Maladaptive emotion regulation, PTSD symptoms, perceived competence and parenting problems were related to behavioural problems. The results indicate that treatment for girls should address PTSD symptoms, perceived competence and maladaptive emotion regulation and that extra attention for family problems in the treatment of boys is warranted

Validation of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire Short Form (MPQ-SF) for use in the context of international education

The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring individuals’ intercultural competences. The original version consists of 91 items, divided into five subscales, and has been shown to predict attitudes, behavior, and outcomes in a variety of intercultural contexts. Recently, a 40-item short form of the MPQ was developed (MPQ-SF), which may be particularly useful in settings in which time or survey space are limited, or where respondent drop-out is likely to occur. For example, the MPQ-SF would be a valuable tool for assessing longitudinal development of multicultural personality traits in training or educational settings. A prerequisite for such research is to establish measurement invariance of the MPQ-SF between different respondent groups, as well as across time points. Using a sample of students in an international university program (n = 519), the present study examines how the scales perform among male and female respondents, between students of Western and Non-Western background, and across two time points, five months apart. Based on our findings, we conclude that all five subscales of the MPQ-SF display sufficient measurement invariance to be reliably used in this and similar contexts, in comparative as well as longitudinal study designs