How does adolescents’ self-concept develop and how do others play a role in getting to know the self?

The Self-Concept project is a sequential longitudinal study that combines hormone data, neuroimaging, behavioral experiments, observations, and questionnaires in adolescents between ages 9-22 to study self-concept development from a brain-behavior perspective.

In this study, we aim to answer several compelling questions related to self-concept because having a positive and stable concept of self is beneficial for mental wellbeing, goal setting, motivation, and necessary to make decisions about the future, such as study direction.

Interested in collaborating? A link to a meta-data file, describing all the Self-Concept measures can be found here. For collaborations, you can contact Yara Toenders: toenders@essb.eur.nl

All peer-reviewed publications from the Self-Concept project can be found here (sort by project Self Concept).

This project was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO-VICI 453-14-001) awarded to Eveline Crone.

Children who show antisocial behavior at an early age often experience a lot of problems later in life, including persistent antisocial behavior. But why do some individuals follow such an antisocial trajectory, while others manage to desist from antisocial behavior in adolescence and young adulthood?

RESIST is a unique five-wave longitudinal cohort study that combines hormone data, neuroimaging, behavioral experiments, clinical interviews, and questionnaires to study antisocial development in individuals who committed a criminal offense before age twelve. Each wave included assessments of antisocial behavior, and MRI data was collected around the ages of 18 and 26 years.

By examining developmental trajectories of individuals who continue their antisocial behavior, desist from it, and a control group, the RESIST project contributes to our understanding of developmental differences in antisocial behavior. This project helps us to understand the best ways that schools, justice systems, and policy makers can approach and help juvenile offenders.

Interested in collaborating? A link to a meta-data file, describing all the RESIST measures can be found here. For collaborations, you can contact Ilse van de Groep: i.vandegroep@essb.eur.nl

All peer-reviewed publications from the RESIST project can be found here (sort by project Resist).

This work was supported by an AMMODO grant awarded to Eveline Crone.
RESIST is also affiliated with the work package of the NeurolabNL Start impulse project, concerning brain development for youth with problematic antisocial behavior.

One of the main challenges of developmental cognitive neuroscience studies is to track changes in brain and behavior longitudinally. In the Braintime study we investigate developmental changes in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood in three domains: cognitive control, impulse regulation, and social-emotional functions.

Braintime is a unique longitudinal study that combines different MRI modalities, hormone data, behavioral experiments, and questionnaires to study behavioral and neural changes from childhood to adolescence and has been one of the first studies to take this approach. Participants were aged 8 – 25 years at the first measurement wave in 2011.

The Braintime participants are currently young adults, which provides important opportunities for assessing how their development relates to outcomes in adulthood. Therefore, an additional data collection wave in 2022-2023 is currently in the works by means of an online survey and lab MRI visit, which will mainly focus on the relation between neurodevelopmental and behavioral trajectories and wellbeing later in life.

Interested in collaborating? A link to a meta-data file, describing all the Braintime measures can be found here. For collaborations, you can contact Kayla Green: green@essb.eur.nl.

All peer-reviewed publications from the Braintime project can be found here (sort by project Braintime).

This project was supported by an Innovative Ideas Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) and the Spinoza Prize, awarded to Eveline Crone, and a VENI grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), awarded to Jiska Peper.

Today’s society is more complex than ever, due to intense globalization and advanced digital technology. How do adolescents and young adults deal with these societal changes, as well as the consequences of multiple crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis?

The Urban Rotterdam Project is an online longitudinal behavioral survey study including adolescents and young adults aged 10 – 25 years living in Rotterdam and surrounding areas with varying socio-economic backgrounds.

This study enables us to understand how the social environment in which one grows up (such as their home environment) interacts with individual characteristics on developmental outcomes such as (mental) well-being, prosocial actions, broader contributing to society, and feeling empowered.

Interested in collaborating? A link to a meta-data file, describing all the Urban Rotterdam Project’s measures can be found here. For collaborations, you can contact Sophie Sweijen: sweijen@essb.eur.nl

All peer-reviewed publications from the Urban Rotterdam project can be found here (sort by project Urban Rotterdam).

This work was supported by an NWO Spinoza grant and an Erasmus Trust Fund grant awarded to Eveline Crone.

How do behaviors that benefit others (i.e., prosocial behaviors, such as giving and helping) develop in young people who transition from childhood into adulthood?

Brainlinks is a three-wave sequential longitudinal study that combines hormone data, neuroimaging, behavioral experiments, observations, and questionnaires in adolescents between ages 9-22 to study prosocial development from a brain-behavior perspective.

We aim to answer several compelling questions in the longitudinal Brainlinks project to ensure that science and society benefit from understanding 1) how we interact with others, and 2) how we can use this knowledge in facing big challenges such as the climate crisis and social inequality.

Interested in collaborating? A link to a meta-data file, describing all the Brainlinks measures can be found here.  For collaborations, you can contact Suzanne van de Groep: s.vandegroep@essb.eur.nl.

A review paper, describing the most important findings so far which stem from the Brainlinks project so far, can be found here.

All peer-reviewed publications from the Brainlinks project can be found here (sort by project Brainlinks).

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ERC CoG PROSOCIAL, grant agreement No. 681632), which was awarded to Eveline Crone.

How do genes and environment influence the way a child develops? What role does the brain play in this? How do parents influence the way children grow up? And how can we foster children’s development?

L-CID is a longitudinal study including same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic twins of 500 families, which allows us to unravel the effects of genetics and shared environment on the development of brain and behavior. The study includes two cohorts: an early childhood cohort (ECC), aged 3-5 at the first wave, and a middle childhood cohort (MCC), aged 7-9 at the first wave. The last two waves of the ECC and the first two waves of the MCC overlap, resulting in a cohort-sequential design covering development between 3-14 years.

In this study, we specifically aim to get a better understanding of social competence and behavioral control using over 90 different measures per individual, using a multi-informant, multi-method, and multi-index approach. We also specifically test why some children are more responsive to their social environment than others, by examining a parental intervention. Ultimately, we want to improve young people’s well-being and learn which conditions are optimal for social development.

Interested in collaborating? A link to a meta-data file, describing all the L-CID measures can be found here. For collaborations, you can contact Michelle Achterberg: achterberg@essb.eur.nl

A review paper, describing the most important findings so far which stem from the L-CID project so far, can be found here.

All peer-reviewed publications from the L-CID project can be found here (sort by project Leiden Consortium Individual Development).

L-CID is part of the National Consortium on Individual Development (CID), a team of scientists under leadership of Chantal Kemner, which is funded by a ‘Gravitation’ grant of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.