What drives 'soft deportation'? Understanding the rise in Assisted Voluntary Return among rejected asylum seekers in the Netherlands

States experience difficulties in realizing the return of rejected asylum seekers, but migration control policies are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Against this background, we consider explanations for the increase in Assisted Voluntary Return from the Netherlands in the 2005-2011 period. Both macro-level factors (source country societal conditions and characteristics of the Dutch "deportation regime") and individual-level factors (applicants' demographic characteristics and variation in status determination time) are examined. The study, which is based on a unique multilevel dataset (N = 15,682) with data from governmental and other sources (including International Organisation for Migration), is the first to quantitatively test assumed Assisted Voluntary Return determinants and contributes to the study of policy effects in migration studies. We find that states are capable of increasing return rates by expanding the use of "hard" and "soft" power. We propose the term "soft deportation" as a way to go beyond the dichotomy of "voluntary" and "forced" return

Decision making in flood situations for boezem systems: GDH boezem

The Automated Flood Scenario (Geautomatiseerd Draaiboek Hoogwater (GDH) is an automated substitution for current paper based flood scenario’s. The software is originally developed for river systems and support decision makers in taking operational decisions in extreme situations. - It improves control in flood and calamity situations. - It structures actions and information, showing only the relevant information. - It operates on input-parameters (e.g. waterlevel). The GDH concept has been made applicable for boezem systems (Bijlsma, 2005, Bijlsma et al. 2005). The overall question to the research was which adaptations are required to make GDH river suitable for use in boezem systems. Special attention was focused on the question: What information does the boezem manager need as a minimum to take good decisions

Home alone: Social functioning as a transdiagnostic marker of mental health in youth, exploring retrospective and daily life measurements

Purpose: Early detection and intervention of mental health problems in youth are topical given that mental disorders often start early in life. Young people with emerging mental disorders however, often present with non-specific, fluctuating symptoms. Recent reports indicate a decline in social functioning (SF) as an early sign of specific emerging mental disorders such as depression or anxiety, making SF a favorable transdiagnostic approach for earlier detection and intervention. Our aim was to investigate the value of SF in relation to transdiagnostic symptoms, and as a predictor of psychopathology over time, while exploring traditional retrospective versus innovative daily diary measurements of SF in youth. Method: Participants (N = 75) were 16–25 years of age and presented early stage psychiatric symptomatology. Psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety and depression, as well as SF -both in retrospect and in daily life- were assessed at two time points and analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: A significant and negative association between SF and all psychiatric symptoms was found, and SF was a significant predictor of change in general psychiatric symptoms over time. Results were only significant when SF was measured traditionally retrospective. Conclusion: This study confirms a distinct relation between SF and transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms in youth, even in a (sub)clinical population, and points towards SF as a predictor of transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms. Further research is needed to learn more about the added value of daily life versus retrospective measurements

Home alone:Social functioning as a transdiagnostic marker of mental health in youth, exploring retrospective and daily life measurements

Purpose: Early detection and intervention of mental health problems in youth are topical given that mental disorders often start early in life. Young people with emerging mental disorders however, often present with non-specific, fluctuating symptoms. Recent reports indicate a decline in social functioning (SF) as an early sign of specific emerging mental disorders such as depression or anxiety, making SF a favorable transdiagnostic approach for earlier detection and intervention. Our aim was to investigate the value of SF in relation to transdiagnostic symptoms, and as a predictor of psychopathology over time, while exploring traditional retrospective versus innovative daily diary measurements of SF in youth. Method: Participants (N = 75) were 16–25 years of age and presented early stage psychiatric symptomatology. Psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety and depression, as well as SF -both in retrospect and in daily life- were assessed at two time points and analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: A significant and negative association between SF and all psychiatric symptoms was found, and SF was a significant predictor of change in general psychiatric symptoms over time. Results were only significant when SF was measured traditionally retrospective. Conclusion: This study confirms a distinct relation between SF and transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms in youth, even in a (sub)clinical population, and points towards SF as a predictor of transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms. Further research is needed to learn more about the added value of daily life versus retrospective measurements

The validity of the DSM-IV diagnostic classification system of non-affective psychoses

Objective: The schizophrenia and other non-affective disorders categories listed in the DSM-IV, are currently under revision for the development of the fifth edition. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the validity of these categories by investigating possible differences between diagnostic patient subgroups on various measures. Methods: 1064 patients with a diagnosis of non-affective psychosis (schizophrenia N = 731 (paranoid type 82%), schizoaffective N = 63, schizophreniform N = 120, psychosis not otherwise specified/brief psychotic disorder N = 150) participated in this study. Dependent variables were demographic and clinical characteristics, severity of psychopathology, premorbid and current functioning, and indicators of quality of life. Results: Within the diagnostic group of schizophrenia, no significant differences were observed between paranoid schizophrenia, disorganized, and undifferentiated schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia experienced more severe psychopathology and had poorer levels of current functioning compared to patients with psychosis not otherwise specified or brief psychotic disorder. Differences between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were less clear. Conclusion: Our results do not support the validity of schizophrenia subtypes. Schizophrenia can be distinguished from brief psychotic disorder and psychotic disorder not otherwise specified. These findings may fuel the actual DSM-V discussion