PhD defence

Young people are particularly susceptible to misleading information on social media. Yet insights from developmental psychology show that they also have unique strengths to build resilience. In new research led by developmental psychologist Ili Ma, scientists, schools, parents and policy makers are…

It may seem as though adolescents do as they please, but they are more sensitive to their parents’ opinions than they would appear. The adolescent brain reacts strongly to parental criticism or praise. These are the results of a study by an interdisciplinary research group of psychologists and neuroscientists…

Depression in young people is often treated as an individual problem. But looking only at the child means that an important part of the story is missed, says PhD candidate Myrthe Veenman: ‘Parents can make a difference.'

Aniek Siezenga is a PhD student at Leiden University and affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for the study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg.

How adolescents perceive parenting is related to their mood. Differences between the perspectives of parents and adolescents are also of importance for adolescents’ mood. That is what research by Loes Janssen and her Leiden University colleagues in Clinical Psychology shows. Open Access publication…

In the online panel discussion of ESOF 2022 ‘The effect of the online world on adolescents’, together with Amy Orben, Professor Eveline Crone, Sterre van Riel, Professor Anne-Laura van Harmelen and Professor Jan Sleutels, Professor Ton Liefaard shared his research on adolescents and the online world…

On 24 and 25 April 2025, the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam — home to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) — hosted an interdisciplinary workshop organized by dr. Rafal Matuszewski, an ancient historian at the Institute for History in Leiden.

During adolescence, some young people have stable best-friend relationships, while others change best friends frequently. Developmental psychologist Lisa Schreuders has studied the brains of young adolescents: ‘It seems that friendships in your early years can have consequences for your friendships…

What impact does growing up in a musical environment or during the COVID-19 pandemic have on the brain development of teenagers? This was the focus of psychologist Lina van Drunen’s PhD research, which studied hundreds of twins. Her findings reveal that practising music slows brain development, presenting…

Sara Velthuizen is a PhD candidate in the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology at Leiden University.

How do digital technologies affect adolescent mental health and resilience? How do we foster a secure online environment? How should we deal with increasing rates of online crimes among adolescents? During the mini-symposium ‘The effect of the online world on adolescents’, presented by the interdisciplinary…

André van der Laan has been appointed Professor by Special Appointment of Juvenile and Adolescent Crime at Leiden University, a chair established by the Leiden University Fund (LUF) and the Dutch Research and Documentation Centre (WODC). It is the first time that a professorship by special appointment…

BrainTrain: an initiative from Leiden University in which a team of students visit high schools to make adolescents more resilient against disinformation on the news and on their socials. In an interactive two-hour guest lesson, high school pupils discover how easily their brains can be tricked into…

Eveline Crone is professor of Developmental Neuroscience in Society at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and a professor in Neurocognitive Developmental Psychology at Leiden University. She is interested in adolescence as a window of social opportunity. Her Brain and Development Lab at Leiden University…

Jiayin Zhao’s research focuses on the friendship and well-being in autistic children and adolescents, aiming to deepen the understanding of how to create inclusive environments that support autistic youth.

Eye contact between parents and children improves their mood and increases feelings of connectedness on both sides; but not in the case of depressed adolescents, Mirjam Wever discovered. Where the parent-child bond has been disrupted, it can be strengthened not only with therapy for the child but also…

When are you (sexually) mature? A KNAW grant will enable associate professor Rafal Matuszewski to organise an interdisciplinary workshop on this question.

Evelien Broekhof is an assistant professor in the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University.

Iris Koele is a PhD candidate at the Developmental and Educational Psychology Unit of Leiden University's Institute of Psychology.

Caroline L. Bokhorst is teaching coordinator of the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University.

Loes Janssen has finished her PhD in the NWO VICI project of Bernet Elzinga, RE-PAIR.

Myrthe Veenman studied Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. She obtained the research master’s degree with the specialisation Psychological Methods and Statistics, and finished the master track Behavioural Data Science (2020). In September 2020, she started her PhD programme with supervisors Prof.…

PhD defence

Taking part in TikTok challenges, online gambling, and forwarding nudes. ‘Why do adolescents take online risks?’, psychologist Neeltje Blankenstein wonders. Her research on online risk taking has been awarded a Veni grant by the Netherlands Research Council (NWO). Read her answers to five questions.

Miranda Sentse is Associate Professor at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology.

Elisabeth Schreuders is an assistant professor in the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University.

Recent studies have shown that Dutch secondary school pupils experience a great deal of stress from school work, and between 2001 and 2007 the number of adolescents experiencing school stress even doubled. The study carried out by Simone Vogelaar focuses on stress factors and the effectiveness of the…

Neeltje Blankenstein receives an LUF grant to conduct research on online risk behaviour among young people. What risks do young people take online and why? 'With this research, we not only want to help prevent serious risk behaviour, but also understand what drives young people to it.'

Esther van den Bos is an assistant professor in the unit Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology at Leiden University. She is interested in social anxiety as well as lighter forms of anxiety experienced by many adolescents, such as public speaking anxiety and test anx…

Jiemiao Chen works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Developmental and Educational Psychology unit. Her research explores dynamics in young people engaging with real-world and digital social environments, with a specific focus on gaze behaviour.

How you think about yourself is important for the choices you make. Adolescents are faced with choosing a study programme that will determine their future, while their self-image is still under development. Tough choice? Research by psychologist Laura van der Aar has shown that taking a training course…

Anna van Duijvenvoorde examines how brain development relates to changes in decision making, risk-taking and social learning during adolescence. She is also a co-founder of the research platform CHANGE Leiden. She is professor Developmental Psychology.

Young people influence one another to take greater risks, although it's not quite that cut and dried. This is what development psychologist Jorien van Hoorn discovered. Peers also have a positive influence on one another, an aspect that has so far been under-researched. PhD defence 12 January.

Anne Miers is Associate Professor at the department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University.