Forschung
Warum leiden manche Kinder unter Ängsten, andere nicht? Wie entstehen psychische Störungen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen? Warum verschwinden sie nicht wieder von alleine? Und wie genau wirkt Psychotherapie?
In unserer Forschung konzentrieren wir uns auf den Beginn psychischer Störungen – das Kindes- und Jugendalter – sowie die erste Kernfrage, unter welchen Bedingungen sich subklinische Symptome zu psychischen Störungen entwickeln und welche Faktoren diese aufrechterhalten (Grundlagenforschung). Eine zweite Kernfrage betrifft die Erforschung von Wirkmechanismen der Psychotherapie (Interventionsforschung), um die langfristige Entwicklung einzelner Patient*innen positiv zu beeinflussen sowie die Behandlung zu verbessern. Unser Forschungsansatz ist experimentell, multimodal und multimethodal ausgerichtet, um alle Ebenen biopsychosozialer Ätiologiemodelle zu beschreiben. Methodisch arbeiten wir sowohl mit peripherphysiologischen Parametern (z.B. Herzrate, Hautleitfähigkeit, Stimme), hormonellen Faktoren (z.B. Cortisol), Selbstbericht sowie behavioralen Daten (z.B. Performanz, Interaktion). In der Regel werden in den Studien immer auch Bezugspersonen zentral mit einbezogen. Ein weiterer Teilbereich liegt in der ambulanten Feldforschung, um die ökologische Validität von Forschungsergebnissen und somit die Translation in die Anwendung zu fördern. In der Psychotherapieforschung untersuchen wir, welche zuvor als dysfunktional eingestuften Faktoren durch kognitive Verhaltenstherapie verändert werden können.
► Informationen für Teilnehmer*innen
Weitere Informationen zur Teilnahme an unseren Forschungsprojekten und zu unserem Team finden Sie hier.
► Laufende Forschungsprojekte
Focus on social anxiety (disorder)
Title: Changing cognitive processes based on internal and external cues in children with social anxiety disorder
Duration: 2019-2023
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Status: ongoing (participation possible via www.kinderprojekte-psychologie.de)
Contact: Nadine Vietmeier & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen Caffier (U Freiburg)
Models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adults have focused on cognitive biases before, during and after social situations, which might lead to a negative self-concept in patients with diagnosed SAD. It could be shown that patients with SAD report more anxiety and worries even before a social situation (anticipatory rumination). During a social situation, patients with SAD often focus more prominently on themselves (e.g., feelings, bodily perceptions, thoughts; self-focused attention). After the situation, rumination processes are found with a focus on negative aspects of the social situation (post-event processing). How these factors are influenced and how they interact – possibly a shift of attention towards internal signals – has not yet been fully clarified, especially in children. Furthermore, based on theoretical models it can be expected that buffer effects are possible (e.g., by social support or positive self-instructions) leading to less generation of negative thoughts. However, these effects have not yet been examined in children with SAD.
Based on current theoretical assumptions of maintenance of SAD (in adulthood), two experimental studies examine children’s reaction towards internal signals and the influence of social and self-support on cognitive processes during social stress.
The project will offer important insights into factors of maintaining SAD in childhood and add to considerations, if theoretical models of SAD in adulthood can provide explanations for SAD in childhood.
More information: here
Title: Hello anxiety! Recognizing social anxiety [Hallo Angst! Soziale Ängste erkennen]
Duration: 2021-2022
Funding: X-Student Research Groups (Berlin University alliance)
Status: ongoing (participation possible via www.kinderprojekte-psychologie.de)
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Hanna Drimalla (U Bielefeld)
How can we improve the recognition of social anxiety, maybe even remotely? A video-based interaction task strives to reconize social anxiety in a short interaction task, based on vocal and facial expressions. The task is currently piloted in children with and without social anxiety disorder.
Contact: Nadine Vietmeier & Julia Asbrand
More information: here
Focus on new assessment strategies
Title: The body image project [DaKS - Das KörperSchema-Projekt]
Duration: 2021-2022
Funding: internal
Status: ongoing (participation possible via www.kinderprojekte-psychologie.de)
Contact: Paula Gebauer, Lucy Fischer, Anelja Kasenow, Nadine Vietmeier & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen Caffier (U Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Jennifer Svaldi (U Tübingen)
A negative body image or body dissatisfaction is a crucial risk factor for developing eating disorders and other psychopathology. However, assessment is not easy, especially in younger children. Building on an earlier dissertation project, we aim to apply measures of body dissatisfaction in children from age 8 to 13 to re-evaluate their psychometric properties. Further, relations to other relevant factors such as psychopathology but also social media and internet usage are assessed.
More information: here
Title: Upside down - Children report on the ups and downs of everyday life [Alles steht Kopf - Kinder berichten über Höhen und Tiefen im Alltag]
Duration: 2022-2023
Status: in preparation
Contact: Julia Reiners, Nele Dippel & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Hanna Christiansen (U Marburg) & Prof. Dr. Martina Zemp (U Wien)
Economic screening for child psychopathology is relevant in both research and the clinical setting. The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a screening instrument already widely used in the English-speaking world for a broad spectrum of mental abnormalities or difficulties in childhood and adolescence. The aim of this study is to examine the German-language PSC self-report for children and adolescents with regard to the psychometric quality criteria, to test its validity, and also to standardize it.
More information: here.
► Abgeschlossene Studien in Auswertung (keine Teilnahme mehr möglich)
New assessment strategies/Title: Feelings in Balance - New methodological approaches in childhood and youth [Gefühle im Gleichgewicht - GIG]
Duration: 2021-2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Laura Slysz & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen Caffier (U Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Julian Schmitz (U Leipzig)
How we deal with feelings in the moment influences how we feel in the long term: Can we reduce or endure fear, for example? Or does it overwhelm us? Of course, this coping or regulation of emotions does not only affect adults, but also children and adolescents. However, the assessment of so-called emotion-regulation is still lacking in children and adolescents. Additionally, children and youths' emotion regulation is highly dependent on the social environment. Therefore, parents' influences on their offspring's emotion regulation is further examined. The study is conducted as an experimental online study using case vignettes with children and youth between 10 and 17 years.
More information: here
New assessment strategies/Title: Memorylane
Duration: 2021-2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Avgustina Kayumi & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Matthias Ziegler (HU Berlin)
In addition to negative parenting behaviors such as overprotection, which seem to facilitate to anxiety (disorders), other behaviors are discussed as potential protective factors. One of these facets is challenging parenting behavior (CPB), which is defined as creating challenges for the child and adolescent, thus creating learning opportunities for new behavior. To date, CPB has been discussed primarily in relation to anxiety. It is questionable to what extent this behavior can also be protective for symptoms regarding other areas (sleep disorders, eating disorders, depressive symptoms, etc.). In an online study with young adults this question will be investigated.
COVID-19 related/Title: Stressfrei nach Corona: ein psychologisches Hilfsprogramm
Duration: 2020-2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Ulrike Lüken & Julia Asbrand
Psychological distress in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic may be caused by many sources such as threat to physical health (i.e. the virus itself), restriced social interactions, restricted civil rights, long crisis duration and high economic uncertainty. Evidence from other traumatic and catastrophic events suggest that the "incubation time" of psychological problems and symptoms caused by the current crisis will expand to the post-pandemic time, i.e. months to years following the event. Information about the nature and amount of mental problems is urgently needed to inform health care providers about the need for psychological treatments targeting the sequelae of this pandemic. We aim to map the unique psychological signature of this novel event, its impact on individuals and societies from a clinical perspective and to apply a stepped-care approach with a scalable online treatment, followed by a group face-to-face intervention for individuals presenting with residual symptoms.
More information: www.corona-stressfrei.de
Publications:
COVID-19 related/Title: Gesichter lesen - Reading Faces
Duration: 2021-2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Kari Fischer, Theresa Stange, Till Kastendieck, Ursula Hess & Julia Asbrand
During the pandemic, covering part of the face (i.e., wearing a mask) has become the new normal in public places such as supermarkets, offices and schools. This is a big change. We will therefore investigate how people encounter each other when they wear a mask. This will be analyzed in both children and adults, dependent on psychopathological symptoms and attitudes.
More information: here.
► Kommende Studien (Start ab Frühjahr 2023)
Title: Mastermind
Duration: 2022-2023
Funding: internal
Status: pending
Contact: N.N. & Julia Asbrand
Our voice is central in conveying information about the speaker's emotional state. However, little is known about the relation between vocal and emotional regulation, especially in relation to psychopathological symptoms. An experimental stress task will be conducted in young adults to assess potential effects of conscious regulation of vocal and emotional arousal in a social stress task.
► AKTUELL: Kindgerechte Informationen zu COVID-19 / Corona-Virus
Die Abteilung Klinische Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychologie und -psychotherapie möchte hier Kinder, Jugendliche, Eltern und Therapeut*innen zur psychischen Seite von Corona zu informieren. Aktuelle Videos, Stellungnahmen und Ratgeber sollen Ihnen in dieser schwierigen Seite Unterstützung bieten.
[Seite aktualisiert am 25.03.2022]