Using the data available within DREAMS, our researchers are already working on a number of research projects. This page gives a quick overview of the topics currently being investigated. Interested in our research? Look at our already published articles, or contact us using the contact form in the top right corner of the website menu.
Together with the KLIK-researchers from the Emma Children's Hospital in Amsterdam, the Dutch Twin Registry and Praktikon, DREAMS has been collecting data about the mental and social well-being of children and adolescents during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of papers have already been published, comparing children and adolescents from our clinical population with those from the general public. Current research focuses on analysing the most recent data wave, as well as on qualitative focus groups.
Little data is available on what psychotropic drugs are being prescribed within the child and adolescent psychiatric populations in the Netherlands. This project uses data from all four organizations to provide insight into the type of drugs are being prescribed to children with which DSM5-diagnosis.
Because the DREAMS database is contains data from four big organizations, we are able to do large-scale analyses on the population, looking at what trends over time are visible in care utilization and diagnosis. Upcoming research will look at latent profiles present in the population, based on a large number of potential risk and protective factors and other predictors such as lifestyle, family composition and type of problems.
With the help of a panel bureau, normative data has been collected in the general population, to be able to compare our clinical sample to a matched normative sample. This sample consists of about 2000 children and adolescents, and their parents, who filled in the same intake and monitoring questionnaire that is used at our clinical institutions. Using this, we can assess which contextual factors are overly represented in children in psychiatric care, find unique risk factors for the development of mental problems and compare levels mental health symptoms in our populatio to that of a normative level.
Recent research is highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle for children and adolescents with psychiatric problems. Within the DREAMS consortium, a Special Interest Group is looking at the effect of lifestyle on psychiatric problems, the influence of trauma within this relationship and potential intervention targets.
This project looks at the prevalence of traumatic events and symptoms amongst children and adolescents receiving psychiatric care. Does the presence of trauma further complicate other symptoms and extend care? What other intersections between trauma and risk factors exist?
Combining the monitoring outcomes with type of treatment, this project hopes to provide more insight into what types of treatment work for what type of problems and if there are moderating factors that need to be kept in mind when choosing a treatment plan.