DECEMBER 2023

Welcome to the first GUTS newsletter!

Dear GUTS researchers and supporters,

I am delighted to present to you the first newsletter from and for the GUTS community!

It is almost one year since we officially started GUTS, short for Growing Up Together in Society, and I keep being amazed by how much we have achieved. We are already bringing together more than 60 scientists from different disciplines, ranging from psychology, sociology, family studies, psychiatry, and neuroscience, who share a common mission: to understand the building blocks that provide young people with the tools to participate in and contribute to society.

A personal highlight for me was the GUTS kick-off conference, which brought together experts who explore the interplay between individual neurobiological development and the diverse social and societal opportunities that shape young people's trajectories. I learned so much from the speakers and all of you! It was especially great to see how much everyone enjoyed Amine Bakkali's (MindUs) presentation from a youth perspective; completely in line with how we like to work at GUTS.

You will find lots of interesting information in this newsletter. Many of the young scientists who joined GUTS are PhD students and Postdocs just beginning their GUTS journey, so welcome to all of you! We hope you will enjoy the GUTS project, be excited about the opportunities, and be critical when needed to keep us sharp. And most of all, I hope you have lots of opportunities to get to know each other better and have some fun. I hope you will enjoy reading this newsletter, with a greater understanding of GUTS, new social connections to explore, and enhanced creativity in your work.

Eveline Crone

In this newsletter...

Meet the GUTS team
News
Research updates
Science stories
Media tips

We hope you enjoy this edition!

Meet the GUTS team

In each newsletter, we put different members of the GUTS-team in the spotlight.

Yolijn Aarts

Project Coordinator

Yolijn is the project coordinator for the GUTS project. She facilitates the Steering Committee, oversees all functions, provides administration and weekly duties, schedules meetings, and facilitates communication between the Steering Committee and all applicants. Yolijn has a background in psychology and obtained her Masters in Youth and Adolescent psychology at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Fun fact: I love skiing and (to do) lists, overviews make me happy.

Kitty de Vries

Knowledge Broker

Kitty is the Knowledge Broker for the GUTS consortium. Whether you want advice on outreach opportunities, have a question for someone else in the consortium and you don't know who to ask, or you want to grow your network, please reach out! She also has expertise in youth participation and has a master's degree in Youth Development & Social Change.

Fun fact: I love to cook, bake, and read (very proud of the 50 books I read this year). I always love to hear your favorite recipes or book recommendations!

Sterre van Riel

Science Communication Manager

As Science Communication Manager, Sterre translates scientific matters into language that is understandable for everyone and exchanges this with society. For instance through creating science stories, activities for science festivals or guest lectures. This way, she aims to increase public engagement and the societal impact of our research. Sterre has a background in neuroscience and finished her master’s degree Neuroscience & Cognition at Utrecht University in 2021.

Fun fact: I enjoy all things creative. Ever thought about turning your research into a cartoon? If you are curious, feel free to reach out.

NEWS

PhD Defense Simone Dobbelaar

On October 26th, Simone Dobbelaar defended her dissertation entitled 'Helping me, helping you. Behavioral and neural development of social competence from childhood to adolescence'. Why do some children easily find their way in social situations and are satisfied with their social lives, while others experience more difficulties?

Loes Keijsers wins Dr. Hendrik Muller Prijs 2023

Loes Keijsers receives the Dr. Hendrik Muller Prijs 2023 for her creative and innovative research. She uses smartphones and serious games to gain insights into the lives of adolescents. Keijsers’ research among individual adolescents has, for the first time, explicitly demonstrated that what may have a positive effect on one child can have the opposite effect on others.

'Impact in beeld' video of René Veenstra explaining his research into bullying

‘An important question in my research is how we can counter bullying. I don't see bullying as an individual problem but as a group issue,’ explains René Veenstra in a video about his research. The video, made by Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, addresses the further implications of Veenstra's research, including the effectiveness of the anti-bullying program KiVa.

RESEARCH UPDATES

WORK PACKAGE 1.

SES and Education

Work Package 1 has submitted proposals for medical ethical approval and is currently awaiting approval after two revisions. Participant recruitment meetings were held in collaboration with YoungXperts, and several focus groups took place.

Work Package 1's measurements are now part of the Rotterdam cohort's GUTS-wide measurements, with preparations for MRI, EEG, and ESM data collection in progress.

Suzanne's paper on social delay discounting in the GUTS pilot was accepted for publication in DCN (Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience).

MORE INFO

WORK PACKAGE 2.

Social networks

Work package 2 identified a target group through collaboration with the student organization Sophia for the initial cohort recruitment. Finalizing questionnaires, experimental tasks, and sociometric nominations is underway for the Spring 2024 pilot data collection. Focus groups are planned for refining measurements, and two experimental tasks (Public Goods Game and Vicarious Reward) were transitioned from E-Prime to Opensesame. A computational modeling approach for the social delay discounting task is in development, and documents for ethical approval for the upcoming pilot study are being finalized.

MORE INFO

WORK PACKAGE 3.

Antisocial behavior

Work Package 3 is now working on further outlining the specific projects for all PhD
students. Carmen-Silva Sergiou will start as a postdoc in December 2023,
coordinating the setup of the new cohort of high-risk children. Furthermore, the group is starting to write the full protocol for data acquisition. Also, they have been working on defining general GUTS measures and
Work Package 3-specific questionnaires, general and additional specific fMRI
tasks, and the recruitment strategy. They have already had one brainstorming
meeting, and another one is to be planned.

MORE INFO

WORK PACKAGE 4.

Individual development

Work Package 4 surveyed existing data cohorts with longitudinal brain imaging and/or genetics information linked to behavioral outcomes, establishing a practical route for data access. They compiled Standard Operating Procedures for acquiring and processing biological information, covering aspects such as genotyping, hormone levels and (structural) brain imaging. Furthermore, a financial plan for consumables was devised. Leveraging data from the UK Biobank and ABCD, they explored self-regulation outcomes across life domains. They also published in Neuroscience Applied 2023 with an article on childhood externalizing behavior.

MORE INFO

SCIENCE STORIES

Social self-regulation in everyday life

As children get older, they face a variety of social challenges that can have a substantial impact on their development into resilient adults. Some move through these problems effortlessly, developing adaptive traits, while others struggle with problems that may have a long-term impact on their mental health. Consider the transfer from one school to another, this can be relatively easy for children who have no difficulty developing relationships but can be substantially more stressful for those who struggle with social interactions. Furthermore, there is variation in how these situations affect children. While rejection at a new school may cause more negative feelings, it can also be that these feelings fade more quickly for others. The question that arises is: how do these self-regulatory traits develop during childhood and when do the differences arise?

Read the full science story by Ann Hogenhuis here

MEDIA TIPS

In every newsletter, we give you a few media tips to look out for. This month: a photo series from the Volkskrant and a book recommendation.

Kijk, hier slaap ik
Photographer James Mollison photographs children all over the world in their bedrooms. The stories are bundled in the book 'Kijk, hier slaap ik'.

Misschien moet je iets lager mikken, Milio van de Kamp

In his book 'Misschien moet je iets lager mikken' ('Maybe you should aim a bit lower'), van de Kamp shares his own experiences to illustrate the impact of poverty and inequality.