How mental health affects families and spans generations
Colleagues from various institutes within FSW came together on 11 June 2026 to discuss the theme ‘Mental Health across the Generations’. The focus was on how mental health affects families and spans generations — and where opportunities lie to break that cycle.
The meeting was moderated by Renate Buisman, theme lead, together with Anke Klein, faculty lead of the Leiden Healthy Society Center. The meeting proved to be a highly successful launch for a new series of Health and Well-being Lunchmeetings: attendance was good and there was an open, energetic and engaged atmosphere from the outset.
In three short, accessible, and thought-provoking presentations, researchers Leonie Vreeke, Hannah Spencer, and Wilma Wentholt demonstrated just how broad — and at the same time how interconnected — this theme is.
The effect of stress on empathy and sensitivity
Hannah Spencer took the audience into the lab, presenting research on how stress affects empathy and sensitivity. Her talk offered a fascinating glimpse into the neurobiological mechanisms involved in parenting and showed how stress can influence parental responses in subtle but meaningful ways. This added an important experimental and mechanistic perspective to the programme.
The complexity of family dynamics
Wilma Wentholt contributed with research on adolescence and on the challenge of disentangling different family perspectives. Drawing on both observational methods and self-report data, she illustrated how complex family dynamics can be, and how important it is to include multiple perspectives in order to understand them more fully.
Interventions to reduce anxiety in toddlers and pre-school children
Finally, Leonie Vreeke discussed interventions that can help parents prevent or reduce anxiety in toddlers and preschool-aged children. She discussed which components of these interventions have been shown to be effective, which families they are aimed at, and why early childhood is such a critical phase for creating lasting impact. Her presentation highlighted the importance of early identification and prevention in family-focused mental health research and practice.
Strong attendance, lively discussion, and meaningful overlap
What made this lunch meeting especially strong was the combination of these three contributions. The presentations clearly differed in target group, method, and research focus — ranging from early intervention to lab-based research, and from young children to adolescents — yet they also resonated with one another in striking ways. This led to rich discussions, thoughtful questions, and lively exchange among those present. Participants actively reflected on the talks, asked follow-up questions, and built connections across the different lines of research.
Afterwards, one attendee summed up the spirit of the meeting perfectly: "Different themes, but a lot of overlap as well." That remark captured exactly what made the session so valuable. The meeting showed that researchers within FSW may approach mental health from different angles, disciplines, methods, or developmental stages, while still engaging with closely related questions. By making those connections visible, the session created space for new conversations and future collaboration.
As such, the first lunch meeting of the year was not only intellectually stimulating, but also meaningful in a broader sense. It underlined the value of creating more opportunities for FSW researchers to connect with one another, to learn from each other’s work, and to approach themes such as mental health not only within separate research areas, but also across disciplinary boundaries. It was an inspiring start to the series — and one that clearly left participants wanting more.
Upcoming Health & Well-being events
- 25 June, 12:00–13:00 – Health & Well-being lunch meeting | Theme: Health Promotion & Resilience | Location: Living Lab, Agora
- 27 June, 12:00–16:00 – Leiden Gezond Festival | Location: City Hall and City Hall Square, Leiden
- October (exact date to be announced) – Health & Well-being lunch meeting | Theme: Inequality and Health
- 29 September, 15:30–18:00 – LHSC Knowledge Café Expectations | Location: Agora
- 10 November – Health Event | Location: Agora