Newsitems Archive

Listening to each other, being connected, reduced performance pressure and attention to mental health in education: according to young people, these are essential conditions for maintaining good mental health.

On February 4, the YoungXperts team formally presented the PRAATPOWER report to the State Secretary for Youth, Prevention and Sport Judith Tielen. The report is based on 180 interactive brainstorm sessions with more than 3000 young people, facilitated and supervised by MIND Us. These sessions addressed a wide range of topics related to mental health, from performance pressure and stigma to everyday challenges such as social media use and financial stress.

The YoungXperts team systemically analyzed and translated the extensive input from young people into concrete take actions. This resulted in a set of concrete policy recommendations, translating young people’s lived experiences into actionable and evidence-informed perspectives for policy.

PRAATPOWER was initiated by MIND Us, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, and developed in close collaboration with the youth participation platform YoungXperts, with contributions from many partners and stakeholders.

The project team is proud of this collaboration and grateful to all involved, especially to the young people who shared their experiences, ideas and solutions. Their voices are at the heart of the PRAATPOWER report.

Read the report here or watch the video.

Since 2023, our lab has proudly participated in Expeditie NEXT every year, and this year, we were there again at the library in Roermond.

At this national science festival for children, we host an interactive stand where kids can learn through play about the science behind behavior, emotions, and brain development. Join us to play the board game ‘Het Breinpaleis’, take part in ‘Teken je toekomst’, and explore many other hands-on activities that let you become a researcher for a day!

Although the joint MRI scanner of Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC has been in use for almost a year, the facility was officially opened last week. An important moment to showcase what interdisciplinary collaboration is already delivering.

Thanks to the collaboration between ESSB, RSM, and Erasmus MC, innovative research is being conducted on the relationship between brain and behavior – ranging from brain development in young people to decision-making and responses to stress.

Within ESSB, several MRI projects are currently underway, and multiple research teams are preparing new studies.

Read the full news item on the ESSB website here.

Can adolescents be gamechangers for 21st century societal challenges? From October 8 to 10, a diverse group of scientists, practitioners, creatives, and youth representatives gathered for the Healthy Start Transformative Research Meeting (www.rethinkingdevelopment.nl) at Het Meisjeshuis in Delft to think about this question.

This meeting was filled with inspiring talks and commentaries, creative and interactive intermezzos, and perhaps most importantly space for genuine exchange and connection. Check out the meeting recap written by Judith van de Wetering. This Healthy Start Transformative Research Meeting clearly demonstrated the power of bringing together passionate people from different countries, disciplines, and professions who share a common goal: shaping a healthier start for the next generation. And this is only the beginning—we are excited to keep building on the ideas and collaborations that emerged during these inspiring days.

During the meeting, we recorded a podcast with some of our guests and adolescents to spread the message. The podcast is available on Spotify!

This meeting was organized by Lysanne te Brinke, Eveline Crone, Ron Dahl, Suzanne van de Groep and Judith van de Wetering and made possible by the Healthy Start-Convergence program and the Sector Plan Youth Resilience from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Yara Toenders has been awarded a KNAW Early Career Award by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, as one of just twelve researchers to receive this prestigious honor. The award recognizes her innovative combination of transdisciplinary methods with fundamental brain research. By not only studying young people’s mental wellbeing, but also working with young people themselves, Yara bridges scientific insights with the lived experiences of youth.

On September 26^th Judith van de Wetering defended her dissertation entitled “Frontrunners for the Future: Understanding and Promoting Adolescents’ Pro-Environmental Engagement” at Utrecht University. Judith studied how adolescents are impacted by and can contribute to the climate crisis.

If we want to secure a habitable planet for future generations, we must rapidly and extensively change our behavior. While this is a great challenge, Judiths dissertation shows that, from a young age, people are motivated to adopt pro-environmental behaviors when they perceive such efforts as aligned with their personal motives. Judiths dissertation offers a novel approach to promoting adolescent behavior change in the context of climate change. She found that climate change communication that resonates with adolescents’ key developmental motives to establish autonomy and gain peer status motivates them to adopt pro-environmental behaviors. She also found that communication that is attuned to adolescents’ motives generally elicits more positive and activating emotions (e.g., hope) while reducing negative and deactivating emotions (e.g., hopelessness).

In collaboration with Studio Wetenschap, Judith published an accessible magazine on her dissertation (in Dutch) here.

The full dissertation is available (in English) here.

On September 12, Sophie Sweijen successfully defended her PhD dissertation entitled “The Power of Prosociality: How Adolescents Contribute to Their Social Environment.”

In her dissertation, Sweijen examined the development of prosocial behaviors during adolescence, which are behaviors that benefit others, such as helping, sharing, comforting, or donating to charitable causes. She investigated the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms of different dimensions of prosocial behavior.

Her research highlights three key insights. First, adolescent prosocial behavior extends beyond close social circles, such as friends, and can also be directed toward broader societal goals. Second, prosocial behavior undergoes qualitative changes during adolescence, which are not only related to chronological age but are also strongly linked to pubertal development. Third, helping others, particularly through everyday and small acts, can also have positive effects on adolescents’ own wellbeing.

Sophie continues her research as a postdoctoral researcher within the PRAATPOWER project, a collaborative initiative between MIND Us and YoungXperts. The project facilitates societal dialogues with young people and aims to translate scientific insights into innovative “take actions” that empower youth and support their mental health.

Promotors: Eveline Crone, Suzanne van de Groep and Lysanne te Brinke

You can find an interview with Sophie regarding her dissertation here.

SYNC wrapped 2025 is now available! Our annual SYNC wrapped offers an overview of the past year at the Erasmus SYNC lab, including key events, photos, quotes, and news. Explore and look back with us on our year!

You can find SYNC wrapped 2025 here (in Dutch).

Explore how the brain works – from baby to old age

Eveline Crone’s new book A Day in Our Brain, co-authored with Eva Munnik, is out now! Based on over 25 years of brain research, the book follows 11 characters through 24 hours to reveal how our brains function in daily life – from infancy to old age.

Meet Jimmy the teenager, sporty dad Ashwin, new mother Maud, and Grandpa Kenneth, each offering insights into different stages of brain development.

Published by Uitgeverij Lannoo, the book is now available in stores and online.

A must-read for anyone curious about the human brain!

Op 24 maart vond bij Albeda mbo een bijzondere bijeenkomst plaats: de maatschappelijke promotie van Kayla Green. Na haar cum laude promotie aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR) op het thema jongerenwelzijn, bracht Kayla haar onderzoek nu ook naar een breder publiek – in samenwerking met praktijkpartners en beleidsmakers. Deze unieke samenwerking tussen Albeda en de EUR laat zien hoe wetenschap en samenleving hand in hand kunnen gaan.

In haar onderzoek staat centraal hoe jongeren en jongvolwassenen opgroeien in een wereld vol complexe uitdagingen: klimaatverandering, armoede, oorlog en de nasleep van een pandemie. Deze wereldproblemen kunnen invloed hebben op het welzijn van jongeren, maar die impact verschilt per individu. Kayla onderzoekt welke jongeren extra kwetsbaar zijn, welke sociaaleconomische factoren hieraan bijdragen én welke beschermende factoren juist positief werken. De stem van jongeren staat hierin centraal: zij worden niet alleen onderzocht, maar ook actief betrokken bij het onderzoek. Door hen actief te betrekken, wordt jongerenparticipatie een krachtig middel om wetenschap en samenleving dichter bij elkaar te brengen.

Tijdens de maatschappelijke verdediging werd de relevantie van haar werk krachtig onderstreept door onder andere Wethouder Faouzi Achbar (gemeente Rotterdam), Jantine Schuit (Rector Magnificus EUR) en Simone Fredriksz (lid college van bestuur Albeda).

De commissie van de maatschappelijke verdediging bestond uit praktijkdeskundigen: Gamze Karaca Cobanoglu (Onderwijsleider bij Albeda College Economie en Ondernemen), Puck de Gier (Beleidsmedewerker ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap), Bianca Boender (Voorzitter BVjong beroepsvereniging kind- en jongerenwerk, oprichter You!ng) en Thijs Launspach (Schrijver, psycholoog, spreker).

Als kers op de taart werd aangekondigd dat Kayla de nieuwe Practor Gelijke Kansen wordt bij Albeda. In deze rol zal zij haar onderzoeksfunctie aan de EUR combineren met haar rol binnen het practoraat. Een mooie stap richting meer gelijke kansen voor jongeren in Rotterdam en daarbuiten.