Yara Jo Toenders

The association between adolescents’ screen time, and mood are central to ongoing scientific inquiry and heated public debate, yet the mechanistic effect of sleep in their dynamic interplay remains insufficiently understood. In the current study, 196 adolescents (Mage=15.63, SD=0.83) were followed for 17 consecutive days during which they reported daily measures of sleep and screen time, and momentary mood six times a day. Dynamic structural equation models were used to examine the within-person associations. Associations between screen time and mood were concurrent, while sleep and mood showed bidirectional within-person associations. A mediating role of sleep duration was found: a one-hour increase in social screen time compared to usual predicted a 5-minute longer subsequent sleep duration, which preceded higher energetic mood the following day. Together, these findings point to a dynamic regulatory process in which sleep functions as a mechanism through which adolescents recover from periods of increased social screen use.

The association between adolescents’ screen time, and mood are central to ongoing scientific inquiry and heated public debate, yet the mechanistic effect of sleep in their dynamic interplay remains insufficiently understood. In the current study, 196 adolescents (M _age =15.63, SD = 0.83) were followed for 17 consecutive days during which they reported daily measures of sleep and screen time, and momentary mood six times a day. Dynamic structural equation models were used to examine the within-person associations. Associations between screen time and mood were concurrent, while sleep and mood showed bidirectional within-person associations. A mediating role of sleep duration was found: a one-hour increase in social screen time compared to usual predicted a 5-minute longer subsequent sleep duration, which preceded higher energetic mood the following day. Together, these findings point to a dynamic regulatory process in which sleep functions as a mechanism through which adolescents recover from periods of increased social screen use.

Developmental cognitive neuroscience research seeks to understand how the brain develops from childhood to adulthood. Because developmental trajectories may vary across sociodemographic groups, the inclusion of diverse samples is crucial for generating accurate and generalizable findings. Yet, cognitive neuroscience research still faces challenges in achieving heterogenous samples. In the present paper, we present the recruitment strategy of GUTS, a ten-year multi-site longitudinal study in the Netherlands, which aims to examine how young people with varying opportunities grow up in contemporary society. Our efforts to recruit a diverse population are highlighted along with two overarching barriers: (i) distance to science (e.g., mistrust and reduced access to science), and (ii) practical constraints (e.g., transportation and time effort). A core conclusion of our strategy is that integrating community-based approaches and partnering with organizations beyond academia throughout the recruitment process is key for achieving diverse and inclusive samples depends. We provide suggestions for future research on how to implement these strategies.

Social rejection is a critical risk factor for adolescents’ mental health, yet adolescents differ markedly in how emotionally they respond to everyday rejection. This preregistered study examined adolescents’ emotional responses to everyday social rejection, and whether these responses are moderated by neurodevelopmental changes across childhood and cognitive emotion regulation (CER). Dutch adolescents (N=195, aged 15–17) completed a 17-day Experience Sampling Method (ESM) protocol with six assessments per day, reporting perceived social rejection and momentary affect (loneliness, irritation, cheerfulness) across offline and online social contexts. Longitudinal changes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation across childhood and CER were assessed as moderators of within-person rejection–affect associations. Daily social rejection was prevalent but typically low in intensity. When adolescents experienced more rejection than usual, they reported increased loneliness and irritation and decreased cheerfulness. These associations were stronger for offline than online rejection and were amplified when rejection occurred across both contexts. Importantly, maladaptive CER strengthened rejection-related loneliness, whereas stronger developmental increases in DLPFC activation across childhood attenuated adolescents’ loneliness responses to rejection. Our findings show that the emotional impact of everyday social rejection reflects individual differences in neurodevelopmental maturation and highlight emotion regulation as a potential mechanism underlying adolescents’ social sensitivity.

Young people can be agents of change for urgently needed sustainable transitions. We combine survey data from the Urban Rotterdam Project (2021 sample: N = 1152, age range = 12–28 years, M _age = 19.07, SD _age = 2.87, 54% female, 16% bi‐ or multicultural background; 2023 sample: N = 327, age range = 13–28, M _age = 19.24, SD _age = 2.86, 67% female, 24% bi‐ or multicultural background) with youth participatory data (2024 sample: N = 114, age range = 16–26, M _age = 20, 51% female, 37% bi‐ or multicultural background) to examine youths’ climate‐related worry, affective wellbeing, motivations for pro‐environmental behavior and preferences for climate change communication. First, drawing on self‐determination theory, we tested whether associations between climate‐related worry, pro‐environmental behavior, and affective wellbeing depend on the quality of youths’ motivation to engage in pro‐environmental behavior. We found that climate‐related worry was associated with increased pro‐environmental behavior for youth who acted out of interest and enjoyment (i.e., intrinsic motivation) or internal pressure (i.e. introjected motivation). Youth who had internalized pro‐environmental behavior as personally important (i.e. identified motivation) showed high levels of pro‐environmental behavior regardless of worry. Climate‐related worry was also robustly associated with reduced affective wellbeing, irrespective of motivation type. Additionally, adopting a youth participatory approach, we explored youths’ preferences for climate change communication and pro‐environmental behaviors. We found that youth were more motivated by collective‐systemic than individual pro‐environmental actions because of benefits for motivation (“Alone it feels useless”), affective wellbeing (“Doing something together gives me hope”), and sustainability (“Cheaper public transport would make my choices matter”). We also found that youth preferred risk‐emphasizing, positive, and empowering communication strategies over approaches including humor and purely factual information. Overall, our research illustrates the importance of supporting youths' motivation to help them turn their climate‐related worry into pro‐environmental behavior, presents youths' perspectives on what motivating climate communication and action pathways might look like, and highlights the value of involving youth as active contributors to research and evidence‐informed climate action. Summary: The present study combined survey and participatory methods to examine youths' climate‐related worry, affective wellbeing, motivations for pro‐environmental behavior and preferences for climate change communication. Climate‐related worry was more strongly linked to pro‐environmental behavior when youth were motivated by interest and enjoyment (intrinsic) or by internal pressure such as guilt (introjected), though introjected motivation may carry wellbeing costs. Youth who had internalized pro‐environmental behavior as personally important (identified motivation) engaged in more pro‐environmental behavior regardless of their worry levels. Climate‐related worry was robustly associated with reduced affective wellbeing, irrespective of motivation type. Youth preferred collective‐systemic over individual pro‐environmental behaviors, while also recognizing the interconnectedness between the two. Youth preferred climate communication that is direct, positive, and empowering.

Hormonal contraceptives (HCs) contain synthetic gonadal hormones that act on receptors widely distributed throughout the brain, thereby altering the body’s endogenous hormonal milieu in ways that may influence brain and behaviour. Although HCs are among the most commonly prescribed medications for female adolescents, their effects on the developing brain and mental health remain poorly understood. This gap is concerning given that adolescence is marked by substantial hormonal change, neurodevelopment, and a sharp rise in depression risk among females. In this review, we synthesize current evidence on associations between adolescent HC use, depression risk, and brain structure and function. Epidemiological studies consistently report associations between HC use during adolescence and increased depression risk, but causal interpretation is limited by residual confounding. Neuroimaging research remains scarce, particularly in adolescents, and rarely accounts for heterogeneity in HC formulations and characteristics of use or for endogenous hormonal variation related to puberty or the menstrual cycle. We outline three considerations to guide future research: accounting for HC heterogeneity, incorporating developmental features of adolescent menstrual cycles, and situating HC use within its broader developmental and sociocultural context. We conclude by emphasizing the need for rigorous, developmentally sensitive research to counter misinformation and better support adolescents’ reproductive and mental health care needs.

The understanding of how antidepressant (AD) use is associated with brain structure in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) remains incomplete. We aimed to examine the association between AD medication use and brain morphology in relation to age and sex by pooling structural neuroimaging and clinical data from 32 cohorts within the ENIGMA-MDD working group. Interaction effects of group (2076 cases with current AD use (AD), 1495 cases not currently taking AD (nAD) and 5125 healthy controls (HC)) with age and sex, and main effects of group on regional brain structure (cortical surface area and thickness, and subcortical volume) were examined. Additionally, we examined the effect of AD type (SSRI, SNRI or mirtazapine) and duration of use on brain morphology. Younger individuals in the AD group showed lower bilateral middle temporal gyrus thickness compared to nAD and HC, but this was not seen in older individuals (crossover around 50 years). Lower hippocampal volume and thinner inferior temporal gyrus were shown in AD compared to nAD. These effects were independent of group differences in disease-course-related measures, but were driven by depressive symptom severity. Greater bilateral rostral anterior cingulate thickness was found in individuals older than approximately 40 years taking mirtazapine compared to individuals taking SSRIs or SNRIs. Evidence for subtle structural brain differences in temporal and limbic regions in individuals with MDD who currently use AD medication were found compared to those not currently taking AD medication. Future longitudinal studies are needed to determine the causality of these associations.

Previous studies have suggested that alterations in white matter (WM) microstructure are implicated in suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STBs). However, findings of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have been inconsistent. In this large-scale mega-analysis conducted by the ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours (ENIGMA-STB) consortium, we examined WM alterations associated with STBs. Data processing was standardised across sites, and resulting WM microstructure measures (fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), mean diffusivity and radial diffusivity) for 24 WM tracts and one global measure were pooled across 40 cohorts. We compared these measures among individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis and lifetime history of suicide attempt ( n = 652; mean age = 35.4 ± 14.7; female = 71.8%), individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis but no STB (i.e., clinical controls; n = 1871; mean age = 34 ± 14.8; female = 59.8%), and individuals with no psychiatric diagnosis and no STB (i.e., healthy controls; n = 642; mean age = 29.6 ± 13.1; female = 62.9%). We also compared these measures among individuals with recent suicidal ideation ( n = 714; mean age = 36.3 ± 15.3; female = 66.1%), clinical controls ( n = 1184; mean age = 36.8 ± 15.6; female = 63.1%), and healthy controls ( n = 1240; mean age = 31.6 ± 15.5; female = 61.0%). We found subtle but statistically significant effects, such as lower FA associated with a history of suicide attempt, over and above the effect of psychiatric diagnoses. These effects were strongest in the corona radiata, thalamic radiation, fornix/stria terminalis, corpus callosum and superior longitudinal fasciculus. Recent suicidal ideation was associated with higher AD in the cingulum. Effect sizes were small (partial eta-squared < 0.015). This large-scale coordinated mega-analysis revealed subtle regional and global alterations in WM microstructure in individuals with a history of suicide attempt and recent suicidal ideation. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm whether these alterations are a risk factor for suicidal behaviour or ideation.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex psychiatric disorder that affects the lives of hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe. Even today, researchers debate if morphological alterations in the brain are linked to MDD, likely due to the heterogeneity of this disorder. The application of deep learning tools to neuroimaging data, capable of capturing complex non-linear patterns, has the potential to provide diagnostic and predictive biomarkers for MDD. However, previous attempts to demarcate MDD patients and healthy controls (HC) based on segmented cortical features via linear machine learning approaches have reported low accuracies. In this study, we used globally representative data from the ENIGMA-MDD working group containing 7012 participants from 31 sites (N = 2772 MDD and N = 4240 HC), which allows a comprehensive analysis with generalizable results. Based on the hypothesis that integration of vertex-wise cortical features can improve classification performance, we evaluated the classification of a DenseNet and a Support Vector Machine (SVM), with the expectation that the former would outperform the latter. As we analyzed a multi-site sample, we additionally applied the ComBat harmonization tool to remove potential nuisance effects of site. We found that both classifiers exhibited close to chance performance (balanced accuracy DenseNet: 51%; SVM: 53%), when estimated on unseen sites. Slightly higher classification performance (balanced accuracy DenseNet: 58%; SVM: 55%) was found when the cross-validation folds contained subjects from all sites, indicating site effect. In conclusion, the integration of vertex-wise morphometric features and the use of the non-linear classifier did not lead to the differentiability between MDD and HC. Our results support the notion that MDD classification on this combination of features and classifiers is unfeasible. Future studies are needed to determine whether more sophisticated integration of information from other MRI modalities such as fMRI and DWI will lead to a higher performance in this diagnostic task.

This preregistered study analyzed longitudinal trajectories of behavioral control and prosocial behavior in Dutch children aged 7-14 years (T1: n=512, 51.2% girls) and examined how these behaviors predicted wellbeing in early adolescence. Concurrently, a mixed-method study was conducted to integrate teachers’ perspectives on predictors of wellbeing using Q-method and co-creation (n=38). Longitudinal analyses demonstrated developmental decreases in aggression and bullying/victimization and increases in behavioral activation and empathy. Wellbeing was positively predicted by reward sensitivity and prosocial behavior, and negatively by behavioral inhibition. Teacher perspectives on wellbeing partly overlapped with the prediction analyses and additionally revealed the importance of feeling respected. These results indicate that important insights risk being overlooked when research is conducted in isolation from expert perspectives.