Anita Harrewijn awarded NWO XS grant for youth anxiety research
Dr. Anita Harrewijn has been awarded an NWO XS grant for her project Promoting resilience to anxiety at school: mechanisms and youth-informed support strategies. The XS scheme of the Dutch Research Council funds curiosity-driven and high-risk research, giving researchers the opportunity to develop innovative ideas at an early stage.
Harrewijn’s project focuses on the early recognition of anxiety symptoms in school settings and on identifying protective factors that help young people keep anxiety manageable before it develops into a clinical problem. By actively involving young people through co-creation, the study aims to develop practical, everyday support strategies for parents, teachers, and schools.
The project contributes to a better understanding of how resilience to anxiety can be strengthened in daily educational contexts and highlights the importance of youth-informed approaches to mental health support.