Patty Leijten

Curriculum Vitae

Academic Appointment

  • Associate Professor, Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam (2022 - present)
  • Director PhD Education, Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam (2018 - present)
  • Assistant Professor, Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam (2017 - 2021)
  • Junior Research Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford (2015 - 2017)
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, University of Oxford (2013 - 2017)
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam (2013 - 2017)

Education

  • Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University (2014)
  • Visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Oregon and Arizona State University (2012)
  • MA, Behavioural Science, Radboud University Nijmegen (2009)
  • BA, Pedagogical Science, Radboud University Nijmegen (2007)

Funding  

  • Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). Improving behavioral treatment for children with disruptive behavior. Co-I with Annabeth Groenman and Barbara van den Hoofdakker, Accare, and others. (2022-2026) 
  • Dutch Research Council (NWO). Vidi grant. Risk factors for mental health problems as (un)suitable intervention targets. PI (2021-2026)
  • Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW). Science communication fund. Co-I with Eddie Brummelman and others, University of Amsterdam. (2021-2022)
  • Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). GGz Fellowship PI (2019-2023)
  • EU COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology). Pan-European family support research network. Co-I with Lucía Jimenez, University of Seville, and others. (2018-2022) 
  • Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). Early intervention to prevent child maltreatment. Co-I with Claudia van der Put, University of Amsterdam, and others. (2018-2021) 
  • Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam. Parenting in times of war. Co-PI with Geertjan Overbeek and Hend Eltanamly (PhD student), University of Amsterdam. (2016-2020) 
  • Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). Effective treatment of externalizing behavior problems with a limited number of effective components. Co-Investigator with Bram Orobio de Castro (PI), Utrecht University, and others. (2016-2019)
  • Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam. Sustained effects of parenting interventions for reducing disruptive child behavior. Co-PI with Geertjan Overbeek and Jolien van Aar (PhD student), University of Amsterdam. (2015-2018)
  • University of Oxford, Department of Social Policy and Intervention. Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. (2015-2016)
  • University of Oxford, Fell Fund. Optimising parenting interventions through methodological and programmatic innovation to reduce the risk of child maltreatment and improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries. Co-Investigator with Frances Gardner (PI) and Jamie McLaren Lachman, University of Oxford. (2016-2018) 
  • Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). Effects of client factors, therapist factors, and client-therapist alliance on the evidence-based parenting intervention Incredible Years in diverse samples of families. Co-principal investigator with Bram Orobio de Castro, Utrecht University, and others. (2014-2015) 
  • UBS Optimus Foundation. What are the essential components of parenting interventions for reducing child maltreatment and child behavioural problems? Co-investigator with Frances Gardner (PI), University of Oxford and others. (2014-2015)

Recognitions

  • NWO Vidi grant (2021)
  • Teacher of the year, Child Development, University of Amsterdam (2019)
  • ZonMw GGz Fellowship (2018)
  • Finalist teacher of the year, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam (2018)
  • ZonMw "pearl" for dissertation research on the effects of the Incredible Years parenting intervention (2015)
  • Wolfson College, University of Oxford, Junior Research Fellowship (2015)
  • Jacobs Foundation Marbach Residency Program (2015)
  • Society for Prevention Research / Early Career Preventionist Network Travel Award (2014)
  • Jacobs Foundation European Conference on Developmental Psychology pre-conference workshop and travel grant (2013)
  • Occasional Lecturer Fund Award, Council for International Exchange of Scholars (2012)
  • Fulbright Scholarship: visiting scholar at University of Oregon and Arizona State University (2012)
  • Kind en Adolescent Travel Grant (2012)
  • MA, cum laude, Radboud University Nijmegen (2009)

Key publications

PhD Candidates 

  • Karen Rienks (2022 - present): Family dynamics and children's anxiety.
  • Merlin Nieterau (2022 - present): Family dynamics and children's conduct problems.
  • Constantina Psyllou (2022 - present): Individual participant data meta-analysis of parenting programs for disruptive child behavior.
  • Nicole Creasey (2019 - present): Parenting support and children's stress reactivity.
  • Sophia Backhaus (2019 - present): Who benefits from parenting programs to reduce harsh parenting? 
  • Hend Eltanamly (2016 - 2021): Parenting in times of war.
  • Jolien van Aar (2015 - 2019): Do parenting intervention effects last? 

Postdocs

  • Susanne Schulz (2022 - present): Parenting and child mental health
  • Bénédicte Mouton (2018 - 2020): Parental attributions of disruptive child behavior.

Dissertation

Invited Lectures (selection)

  • Harvard University, US (March, 2022). The Most Effective Content of Parenting Programs to Reduce Disruptive Child Behavior. Invited Lecture for Harvard University Clinical Psychology Lab.
  • Harvard University, US (April, 2016). Should We Each Develop Our Own? Transportability of Parenting Interventions for Reducing Children’s Conduct Problems. Invited Lecture for Harvard University Undergraduate Psychology Course.
  • Harvard University, US (March, 2016). Why Children Comply. Invited Lecture at the Lab for Youth Mental Health. 
  • University of Oxford, United Kingdom (May, 2015). Identifying the Essential Components of Parenting Interventions. UBS Optimus meeting on Integrating Violence Prevention efforts into Early Child Development interventions. Invited Lecture at Wolfson College Mind Brain and Behaviour Cluster.
  • University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (Sept, 2014). Identifying the Essential Components of Parenting Interventions. UBS Optimus meeting on Integrating Violence Prevention efforts into Early Child Development interventions.
  • ECDP, Lausanne, Switzerland (Sept, 2013). How Experimental Methods Can Inform Parenting Intervention Theory and Development. Invited Symposium at the Biennial European Conference on Developmental Psychology.
  • Arizona State University, US (Dec, 2012). Disentangling Parent Training Effectiveness: The Search for Effective Components. Invited Lecture at the Prevention Research Center.
  • University of Oregon, US (Oct, 2012). Parent Training Effectiveness: Disadvantaged Samples and the Search for Effective Components. Invited Lecture at the Child and Family Center.

Conference Contributions (selection)

  • Leijten P., (August, 2023). The future of developmental psychological interventions. European Conference on Developmental Psychology. Invited symposium.
  • Leijten, P. (July, 2022). Prevention and intervention research. Preconference workshop. Biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Rhodes, Greece.
  • Leijten, P., (November, 2021). Effective elements of parenting programs for disruptive child behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (virtual conference).
  • Leijten, P. (March, 2019). Unpacking "positive parenting:" What to teach parents to reduce disruptive child behavior?. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development. Baltimore, MD, US. 
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2018). Symposium chair. Unpacking the black box of family interventions to improve our understanding of how they work, and how to improve them. Annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Researcher. Washington DC, US. 
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2018). Symposium discussant. Dealing with individual differences in prevention strategies for disruptive child behavior. Annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Researcher. Washington DC, US. 
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2018). Symposium chair. Parenting under the microscope. Biennial meeting of the Dutch Society of Developmental Psychology. Wageningen, the Netherlands. 
  • Leijten, P. (July, 2017). Symposium discussant. Parental differential susceptibility to parenting interventions. Biennial meeting of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2017). Harnessing scientific evidence to develop guidelines for policy makers and professionals about using parenting programs. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington DC, USA.
  • Leijten, P. (April, 2017). Symposium chair. Using intervention research to inform child development. Biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Austin TX, USA. 
  • Leijten, P. (April, 2017). Using intervention research to understand why children comply. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Austin TX, USA.
  • Leijten, P., Gardner, F., Melendez-Torres, G.J., & Knerr, W. (May, 2016). What are the effective elements of parenting interventions for reducing disruptive child behavior? Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, San Francisco CA, USA.
  • Leijten, P. (July, 2015). Symposium chair.Genetic and socio-demographic moderators of interventions to reduce youth conduct problems. Biennual meeting of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Portland OR, USA.
  • Gardner, F., Leijten, P. et al. (July 2015). Who benefits from parenting interventions for reducing disruptive child behavior? Pooling data across 14 RCTs in Europe. Paper presented at the biennual meeting of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Portland OR, USA.
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2015). Symposium discussant: The Continuum of Cultural Adaptation: Implementation Feasibility and Efficacy of Three Differentially Adapted Parenting Interventions. Annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research. Washington DC, USA.
  • Leijten, P., Gardner, F., Melendez-Torres, G.J., & Knerr, W. (May, 2015). Parenting Interventions Going Global: Multi-Level Meta-Analysis on the Effectiveness of Transported and ‘Home Grown' Parenting Interventions to Reduce Disruptive Child Behavior. Poster to be presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research. Washington DC, USA. 
  • Leijten, P., Thomaes, S., Orobio de Castro, B., & Matthys, W. (March, 2015). What good is labeling what's good? Field experiments on the effectiveness of labeled and unlabeled praise to improve child behavior. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development. Philadelphia, USA. 
  • Leijten, P., Raaijmakers, M. A. J., Orobio de Castro, van den Ban, E. & Matthys, W. (July, 2014). Incredible Years parenting program for socioeconomically disadvantaged and ethnic minority families: How we reach them and if it works. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Shanghai, China.
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2014). Symposium chair. Identifying Effective Intervention Components: How Microtrials and Idiographic Research Can Benefit Prevention Research. Annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington D.C, United States. Participation based on awarded SPR/ECPN travel award.
  • Leijten, P., Dishion, T. J., Thomaes, S., Raaijmakers, M. A. J. Orobio de Castro, B., & Matthys, W. (May, 2014). What good is labeling what's good? Field experiments on the effectiveness of labeled and unlabeled praise to improve child behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington D.C, USA.
  • Leijten, P., Raaijmakers, M. A. J., Orobio de Castro, van den Ban, E. & Matthys, W. (May, 2014). Effectiveness of the Incredible Years parenting program for socioeconomically disadvantaged and immigrant families. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington D.C, USA.
  • Leijten, P., Dishion, T. J., Thomaes, S., Raaijmakers, M. A. J. Orobio de Castro, B., & Matthys, W. (Sept, 2013). How Experimental Methods Can Inform Parenting Intervention Theory and Development. Paper presented at the biennial European Conference on Developmental Psychology. Lausanne, Switzerland. Participation based on awarded Jacobs Foundation Fellowship. 
  • Leijten, P. (Sept, 2013). Incredible Years parent training for low socioeconomic status migrant families: How we reach them and if it works? Paper  presented at the 16th European Conference on Developmental Psychology. Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Leijten, P. (July, 2012). Symposium chair: "Mommy, please don't praise me?": On the sunny and shady sides of praise. Biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Edmonton, Canada.
  • Leijten, P., Thomaes, S., Orobio de Castro, B., & Matthys, W. (July, 2012). Does praise have to be natural to be effective? Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Edmonton, Canada.
  • Leijten, P. (May, 2012). Symposium chair: On the psychology of parenting: new perspectives on parental mindsets, investment, and control. Biennial meeting of the Dutch Society of Developmental Psychology. Wageningen, The Netherlands. 
  • Leijten, P., Raaijmakers, M. A. J., Orobio de Castro, B. & Matthys, W. (April, 2011). Does socioeconomic status really affect parent training effectiveness? A meta-analysis. Poster presented at the biennial conference of the Society of Research in Child Development, Montréal, Canada. 
  • Leijten, P., & Helmond, P. E. (January, 2011). Conference organizer: The ins and outs of intervention research: Making it work. Utrecht, The Netherlands. Speakers: Dr. Thomas Dishion, University of Oregon, Dr. Isabela Granic, Radboud University Nijmegen, Dr. Joop Hox, Utrecht University.
  • Leijten, P., Raaijmakers, M. A. J., Orobio de Castro, B. & Matthys, W. (September, 2010). Socioeconomic status and initial problem behavior severity in parent training efficacy: A meta-analysis. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the European Association for Forensic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychology and other involved Professions. Basel, Switzerland.
  • Leijten, P., Overbeek, G., & Janssens, J. M. A. M. (August, 2009). Effectiveness of a parent training program in (pre)adolescence: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Paper presented at the biennial European Conference on Developmental Psychology. Vilnius, Lithuania.

Other academic activities

2021 - present
Editorial Board of Prevention Science.
2013 - present
Reviewer for, among other journals, Child Development; Development and Psychopathology; Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry; Developmental Psychology; Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; British Medical Journal; Educational Psychology; Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology; Research Synthesis Methods; Child Development Perspectives; Behaviour Research and Therapy; Assessment; Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review; Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology; Child Abuse & Neglect; European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Early Childhood Research Quarterly; Journal of Experimental Psychopathology; PLOS ONE; Journal of Child and Family Studies; 
2019 - present
Committee member for Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) Funding Scheme for Effective Youth Care (2019-2025). 
2019 - present
Committee member for Kavli Foundation. 
2016 - 2019
Committee member for Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Funding Scheme for "Promotiebeurs voor Leraren."
2016 - present
Grant reviewer for e.g., Fulbright Organisation, Swiss National Science Foundation, University of Oxford Junior Research Fellowships, Tryg Foundation Denmark, and others.
2014 - present
Member of the Parenting Project Group, Violence Prevention Alliance, World Health Organisation (WHO).
2017 - present
Mentor for the World Health Organisation (WHO) MENTOR-VIP program for capacity building.
2010 - 2011
Chair of the departmental young scholar committee, Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University.
2004 - 2007
Student member of the educational committee BA Pedagogical Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen.