Beeld

Elsa van der Molen, M. A.

ElsaElsa van der Molen is a psychologist and a PhD student. She studied both Developmental and Clinical Psychology.

Her Ph D research is a follow-up study of girls formerly detained in Juvenile Justice Institutions.

Licenses: basisaantekening psychodiagnostiek NIP (basic diagnostic license)

PhD study:
Development of Psychopathology in female adolescents following placement in a Juvenile Justice Institution

In 2002-2004 a representative sample (n=218) of adolescent females placed in a Juvenile Justice Institution was studied with regard to psychopathology, behavioural problems and relevant socio-demographic characteristics. Four years later a follow-up study is being executed with the same 218 girls. Outcome characteristics of psychopathology and social functioning are assessed by a combination of valid and reliable instruments (self-report and semi-structured), consisting of instruments used at T0, and new instruments fitting the specific objectives of this follow-up study and the increasing age of the participants. At this moment 70 girls are included.

Preliminary results of this study suggest a high rate of psychopathology, externalising as well as internalising. Cluster B personality disorders are very common in this group. The social functioning of the girls is extremely poor, with very few of the girls possessing a high school diploma or having a job. In most of their intimate relations there is a lot of violence. One in three is a teenage mother. This is alarming, because of the psychopathology and the poor social functioning, making the risk of transgenerational transmission probable.

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