The development of social behavior in childhood has a lasting effect on the life course in multiple domains, such as friendships, relationships, school, work, offending, and mental health. Development of disruptive behavior problems entails mayor harm and costs for children, their environments, and society.

Our group(s) study how social behavior patterns and behavior problems develop and how problems can be prevented or treated. Key to our approach is understanding and changing the mechanisms that maintain social behavior patterns, such as social information processing, family interaction patterns, and peer social networks.  

This approach does not only incease our understanding of social development, but directly contributes to more effective (preventive) interventions that are increasingly used by children, parents, teachers, and clinicians, with lasting benefits. 

Key projects currently include:

Better joint decision-making about care with the Youth and Family Choice Aid (ZonMW & NJi): https://www.nji.nl/effectieve-jeugdhulp/keuzehulp-jeugd-gezin

Continuous Learning to Do What Works in Youth Care (NWA ORC with, among others, HvA, Levvel, Horizon): https://www.dww-jeugdzorg.nl/

Strengthening social skills and regulating aggression with Virtual Reality (NWO VICI; NRO), in collaboration with, among others, CleVR, Altrecht, Bascule, GGZ Delfland, Kentalis, Opvoedpoli, RioZorg.

- InterAction: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sode.12784

- YourSkills: https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.13966

Strengthening parenting skills and reducing behavioral problems with parent groups Play & Connect (IY and Invest in Play) https://www.nji.nl/interventies/incredible-years-en-invest-in-play

Better Start: Preventive parenting support for mothers after detention, RCT and long-term follow-up (Min v Justice & Security) https://www.nji.nl/interventies/betere-start

- Reduction of first offenses and recidive: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11292-024-09612-1.pdf

Evaluation of Mentor Lessons on Stress in Secondary Education (NRO): https://www.nro.nl/sites/nro/files/media-files/mentorlessen_over_stress_factsheet.pdf

Figurehead National Science Agenda (NWA) Youth in Development and Education (with Gonneke Stevens and Sui Lin Goei): www.nwa-jeugd.nl 

UvA theme Healthy Future: https://healthyfuture.uva.nl/

Alsem, S. C., van Dijk, A., Verhulp, E. E., Dekkers, T. J., & De Castro, B. O. (2023). Treating children's aggressive behavior problems using cognitive behavior therapy with virtual reality: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. Child Development, 94(6), e344-e361.

Alsem, S., Van Dijk, A., Verhulp, E., & De Castro, B.O. (2023). Hostile interpretation as a transdiagnostic factor for cooccurring anxiety in children with aggressive behavior problems. Social Development, in press.

Arts, E., de Castro, B. O., Luteijn, E., Elsendoorn, B., & Vissers, C. T. W. M. (in press). Interactive Virtual Reality Training to improve Socio-Emotional Functioning in Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorders: A Feasibility Study. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, in press. DOI: 10.1177/13591045231220694

Arts, E., De Castro, B. O., Luteijn, E., Elsendoorn, B., Maric, M., & Vissers, C. T. W. M. (2025). Virtual reality training to improve socio-emotional functioning in adolescents with developmental language disorders: A multiple baseline effectiveness study. Social Development, 34, e12784. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12784

Boesveldt, N.F., Van Dungen, W., & De Castro, B.O. (2024). Mixed methods on adverse childhood experiences predicting transitional and recurrent homelessness. Journal of Community Psychology, 52, Issue 8 p. 1150-1162. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23139

Chen, Z.Q., De Castro, B.O., & Li, G. (2024). Does daily nature exposure enhance children’s self-worth and positive feelings? An experience sampling study. International Journal Of Environmental Health Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2024.2376238

Liu, A., Gubbels, J., & De Castro, B.O. (2024). The Effectiveness of Trauma-Informed Parenting Programs for Traumatized Parents and Their Components: A Meta-Analytic Study. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-024-00503-5

Menting, A.T.A., De Castro, B.O., Grandfield, B. M., Denissen, J. J. A., & Matthys, W. C. H. J. (2024). Better Start to Better Future? Long-Term Follow-Up of a Parenting Intervention for Mothers Being Released From Incarceration. Journal of Experimental Criminology, in press.

Mo, J., Roorda, D. L., van der Ark, L. A., & De Castro, B.O. (2024). Is Mistrust in Early Adolescence Referent-specific? Looking at the Validity of Different Mistrust Referents in Sixth Graders. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316241273344

Nikolić, M., Brummelman, E., de Castro, B.O., Jorgensen, T.D., & Colonnesi, C. (2023). Parental socialization of guilt and shame in early childhood. Nature Scientific  Reports 13, 11767 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38502-1

Van Dijk, A., Brummelman, E., & De Castro, B.O. (2023). “I’m Not Here to Push You”: Raising Adolescents’ Treatment Engagement via Autonomy Support. Behaviour Research and Therapy, in press.

Weeland, J., Leijten, P., de Castro, B. O., Menting, A., Overbeek, G., Raaijmakers, M., . . . Matthys, W. (2023). Exploring parenting profiles to understand who benefits from the incredible years parenting program. Prevention Science, 24(2), 259-270. doi:10.1007/s11121-022-01364-6

Zijlstra, A., Sterenborg, T., Van Nieuwenhuijzen, M. & De Castro, B.O. (2023). Expectant parents with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities: Risk factors for the child’s safety. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.13230 .

Zijlstra, A., Van Nieuwenhuijzen, M., Joosten, D., & De Castro, B.O. (2023). The first 1001 days: A scoping review of parenting interventions strengthening good enough parenting in parents with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, in press.