Papers by Ernst Bohlmeijer
Background: Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the positiv... more Background: Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the positive psychology intervention 'Happiness Route' compared to an active control condition in a vulnerable population with an accumulation of health and psychosocial problems.
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Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2014
ABSTRACT Existential anxiety (EA) is an expression of being occupied with ultimate concerns such ... more ABSTRACT Existential anxiety (EA) is an expression of being occupied with ultimate concerns such as death, meaninglessness, and fundamental loneliness. Philosophers and psychologists have claimed its importance for the study of human thinking, emotion, decision making, and psychopathology. Until now research has mainly focused on death anxiety. Several death anxiety instruments have been developed and evaluated. This article is the first to review instruments measuring EA in a comprehensive way, that is, by covering several existential themes. Such instruments might be useful to gain insight in the interrelatedness of the aspects of EA, and application in clinical practice. Four models of EA were reviewed and compared resulting in a working definition. This definition was used to develop a search strategy that, after an initial screening, yielded 532 potentially relevant articles. A total of 78 instruments were identified, most of them measuring death anxiety. Five instruments were included that had a comprehensive perspective on EA. These were further evaluated using the consensus-based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments (COSMIN) criteria for publications about test development. The Existential Anxiety Questionnaire, turned out to be the most thoroughly examined, with promising results. The article concludes with recommendations about development and use of EA instruments.
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Denkbeeld, 2010
ABSTRACT Herinneringen ophalen aan het eigen leven is voor ouderen een heel vanzelfsprekende bezi... more ABSTRACT Herinneringen ophalen aan het eigen leven is voor ouderen een heel vanzelfsprekende bezigheid. Hier ligt dan ook het aanknopingspunt voor de cursus ‘De verhalen die we leven’, een laagdrempelige interventie voor mensen van 55 jaar en ouder die met een depressie en met angstklachten kampen. De eerste ervaringen zijn veelbelovend.
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The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, Jan 6, 2015
Existing studies in the Eriksonian tradition found that ego integrity and despair are important i... more Existing studies in the Eriksonian tradition found that ego integrity and despair are important indicators of life-span development. The present study relates ego integrity and despair to contemporary theories of personality and mental health. A cross-sectional study of Dutch adults aged between 50 and 95 years (N = 218) was carried out, using the Northwestern Ego Integrity Scale, the subscales for neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience of the NEO-FFI, the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-Short Form. Extraversion and openness to experience have an indirect relation to ego integrity that is mediated by well-being. Neuroticism was related to despair and explained the relationship of depressive symptoms to despair. Chronological age did not moderate these findings. Ego integrity appears to be related to fluctuating states of mental health, whereas despair is more an expression of a general trait-like disposit...
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Behaviour research and therapy, 2015
The underlying mechanisms of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural interventions for chronic... more The underlying mechanisms of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural interventions for chronic pain need further clarification. The role of, and associations between, pain-related psychological flexibility (PF) and pain catastrophizing (PC) were examined during a randomized controlled trial on internet-based Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) for chronic pain. We assessed (1) the unique and combined indirect effects of PF and PC on outcomes, and (2) the causality of relations between PF, PC and the primary outcome pain interference in daily life (MPI) during ACT. A total of 238 pain sufferers were allocated to either ACT, a control condition on Expressive Writing, or a waiting list condition. Non-parametric cross-product of coefficients mediational analyses and cross-lagged panel designs were applied. Compared to control conditions, both baseline to post-intervention changes in PF and PC seemed to uniquely mediate baseline to three-month follow-up changes in pain interference ...
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Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2015
Web-based interventions for people with depressive symptoms are needed and show promising effects... more Web-based interventions for people with depressive symptoms are needed and show promising effects. However, it is a consistent finding that human support is needed and this makes implementation costly. This study investigates the adherence and effectiveness of a human-supported and automated-supported web-based intervention for people with mild to moderate depressive symptomatology, and studies the impact of four persuasive technology components. People with mild to moderate depressive symptoms according to the Center of Epidemiological Studies depression scale self-report questionnaire were included, but no diagnosis was made for the study. Participants (n = 239) were randomized into one of eight intervention arms, where each level of each component is present in half of the intervention arms. On clinical outcomes, there was a significant interaction effect between support condition and time, but there was no difference on the extent of improvement from baseline to follow-up, only a difference in the time-path of improvement. Effect sizes from baseline to follow-up were 0.89 for automated and 1.00 for human support. There was no significant difference on adherence between support condition. We conclude that an automated-supported web-based intervention for treatment of depression with persuasive technology may achieve similar adherence and effectiveness as the same intervention with human support.
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Time & Society, 2015
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Positive psychology interventions have been found to enhance well-being and decrease clinical sym... more Positive psychology interventions have been found to enhance well-being and decrease clinical symptomatology. However, it is still unknown how flourishing can also be increased. Although multicomponent interventions seem to be necessary for this purpose, different formats can be used. A cost-effective approach could be a positive psychology-based self-help book with tailored email support to reach large target groups and to prevent dropout. This study will evaluate the efficacy of a comprehensive multicomponent self-help intervention with or without email support on well-being and flourishing, and will seek to determine the working mechanisms underlying the intervention. In this 3-armed, parallel, randomized controlled trial, 396 participants with low or moderate levels of well-being and without clinical symptomatology will be randomly assigned to (1) a self-help book condition with weekly email support, (2) a self-help book condition without email support but with a weekly information email, or (3) a waiting list control condition. Online measurements will be assessed at baseline, at post-test (3 months after baseline), and at 6 and 12 months after baseline. The primary outcomes are well-being and flourishing (ie, high levels of well-being). Secondary outcomes are the well-being components included in the intervention: positive emotion, use of strengths, optimism, self-compassion, resilience, and positive relations. Other measures include depressive and anxiety symptoms, personality traits, direct medical and non-medical costs, life-events, and client satisfaction. This study will add knowledge to the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a multicomponent positive psychology intervention. We will also explore who can benefit most from this intervention. If the intervention is found to be effective, our results will be especially relevant for public mental health services, governments, and primary care. The Netherlands Trial Register NTR4297; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=4297 (Archived by WebCite at http://webcitation.org/6Uwb5SUUM).
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The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2015
BackgroundDepression is a highly prevalent disorder, causing a large burden of disease and substa... more BackgroundDepression is a highly prevalent disorder, causing a large burden of disease and substantial economic costs. Web-based self-help interventions seem promising in promoting mental health.AimsTo compare the efficacy of a guided web-based intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with an active control (expressive writing) and a waiting-list control condition (Netherlands Trial Register NTR1296).MethodAdults with depressive symptoms from the general population were randomised to ACT (n = 82), expressive writing (n = 67) or waiting-list control (n = 87). The main outcome was reduction in depressive symptoms assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression scale.ResultsSignificant reductions in depressive symptoms were found following the ACT intervention, compared with the control group (Cohen's d = 0.56) and the expressive writing intervention (d = 0.36). The effects were sustained at 6-month and 12-month follow-up.ConclusionsAcceptance and commitment therapy as a web-based public mental health intervention for adults with depressive symptoms can be effective and applicable.
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... het interpreteren van levensverhalen 207 Hans-Jan Kuipers 14 219De 'stille'... more ... het interpreteren van levensverhalen 207 Hans-Jan Kuipers 14 219De 'stille'generatie aan het woord 219 Karen van Kordelaar en Gerben Westerhof 229Intermezzo: Gewoon als ieder ander: levensverhalen vanjongeren met chronische aandoeningen 229 Anneloes van Staa ...
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Dit proefschrift behandelt de effecten van reminiscentie en life-review op depressieve klachten, ... more Dit proefschrift behandelt de effecten van reminiscentie en life-review op depressieve klachten, zingeving en gevoel van controle bij ouderen. In het eerste deel worden een review van de internationale literatuur en twee meta-analyses gepresenteerd. In het tweede deel worden twee nieuwe interventies en de uitkomsten van evaluatieve studies besproken. Geconcludeerd wordt dat life-review een veelbelovende preventieve interventie is voor (sommige) ouderen met depressieve klachten
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Tijdschrift voor gerontologie en geriatrie
The relation between functions of reminiscence and mental health has been studied elaborately in ... more The relation between functions of reminiscence and mental health has been studied elaborately in older adults. In this paper a review of this research is first presented. Eight functions are distinguished: bitterness revival, boredom reduction, identity, problem solving, maintaining intimacy, preparing for death, teaching/informing and conversation. Some functions such as bitterness revival are used more often by people with depression or anxiety. Other functions such as identity are used less often by people with psychological distress. A model based on these research findings is discussed. Three types of interventions are distinguished: reminiscence, life-review and life-review therapy. Life-review therapy is an evidence based treatment of depression in older adults. In the last part of the paper three effective Dutch interventions are discussed: Op zoek naar zin (Searching for meaning), Dierbare Herinneringen (Dear Memories) and De verhalen die we leven (The stories we live by).
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Positive Psychology, 2013
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Introduction: A positive focus on the present, the only time zone which we experience directly an... more Introduction: A positive focus on the present, the only time zone which we experience directly and permanently, is at least as relevant as perspectives on the past and future in a balanced time perspective and its relation to wellbeing. Yet, few instruments examining a positive present time perspective exist. Two present-directed concepts, mindfulness and flow, that are intrinsically linked to mental wellbeing were analyzed and used to formulate a present-eudaimonic scale that complements the past and future scales of the balanced time perspective scale. The present study addresses the psychometric properties of the present-eudaimonic scale and the modified balanced time perspective scale. Method: 131 participants filled out the present-eudaimonic scale, the balanced time perspective scale, the Zimbardo time perspective inventory, the five facet mindfulness questionnaire – short form, the Swedish flow proneness questionnaire and the mental health continuum – short form. Balanced tim...
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Papers by Ernst Bohlmeijer