Completed Projects

Duration: 2021 - 2022
Funding: X-Student Research Groups (Berlin University alliance)
Status: ongoing (participation possible via www.kinderprojekte-psychologie.deExternal link)
Contact: Nadine VietmeierExternal link & Prof. Dr. Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Hanna DrimallaExternal link (U Bielefeld)

How can we improve the recognition of social anxiety, maybe even remotely? A video-based interaction task strives to recognize 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.

More information: hereExternal link

Duration: 2019 - 2023
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Status: ongoing (participation possible via www.kinderprojekte-psychologie.deExternal link)
Contact: Nadine VietmeierExternal link & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen CaffierExternal link(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: hereExternal link

Duration: 2022 - 2023
Status: participation closed
Contact: Nora Spirkl, Lina Spangenberg, Naomi ShibataExternal link, Nele DippelExternal link & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: not applicable.

Given the climate change, many people feel concerns and uncertainties for their own and others' future as well as peaceful coexistence on Earth. In the Fighting for Future project, the coping mechanisms of adolescents and young adults (aged 15-25) with the stress caused by the consequences of the climate crisis will be examined.

More information: hereExternal link.

Duration: 2021-2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Kari Fischer, Theresa StangeExternal link, Till KastendieckExternal link, Ursula HessExternal link & 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: hereExternal link.

Duration: 2023
Status: participation closed
Contact: Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Claudia CalvanoExternal link (FU Berlin) & Prof. Dr. Aleksandra KaurinExternal link (U Wuppertal)

Societal challenges such as the climate crisis, racism, sexism potentially have an impact on psychotherapy and access to treatment. So far, no study has strategically examined psychotherapists' privileges and views on these topics and their relevance in Germany. In a nationwide survey, certified psychotherapists and psychotherapists in training were asked how they perceive these topics in regards to their own person and their job.

More information: hereExternal link.

Duration: 2022 - 2023
Status: participation closed
Contact: Julia Reiners, Nele DippelExternal link & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Hanna ChristiansenExternal link (U Marburg) & Prof. Dr. Martina Zemp External link(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: hereExternal link

Duration: 2021 - 2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Paula Gebauer, Lucy Fischer, Anelja Kasenow, Nadine VietmeierExternal link & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen CaffierExternal link (U Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Jennifer SvaldiExternal link (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: hereExternal link

Duration: 2021 - 2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Nadine VietmeierExternal link, Leonore Horváth & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation Partners: Prof. Dr. Brunna Tuschen CaffierExternal link (U Freiburg), Prof. Dr. Julian SchmitzExternal link (U Leipzig), Prof. Dr. Matthias ZieglerExternal link (HU Berlin)

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: hereExternal link 

Duration: 2021 - 2022
Funding: internal
Status: participation closed
Contact: Avgustina Kayumi & Julia Asbrand
Cooperation partners: Prof. Dr. Matthias ZieglerExternal link (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.