Vici research grant for Loes Keijsers for research how to improve conversations with adolescents

One in three young people (aged 12 to 25) experiences emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety. Increasingly, these young people know how to find their way to professional care. But just talking about feelings with an adult in your own network, such as a grandparent, teacher or sports coach, is often still quite a barrier for adolescents. This project investigates how to lower these barriers for them. An important step here is increasing adults' ability to start conversations and ask the right questions. We also investigate what adolescents subsequently consider a good conversation, especially what they do not.

A team of researchers will do this by talking to adolescents and following 300 of them in their daily lives with innovative smartphone apps. They will also test and improve conversation trainings for adults together with social partners De Kindertelefoon (The Dutch Child Helpline) and MIND Us. Ultimately, we aim that all 2.8 million Dutch adolescents have someone to rely on, who really listens to them. That is crucial for their resilience and can potentially reduce pressure on youth care. This project lays the scientific building blocks for this amibition.

Loes Keijsers: 'I am very pleased with this grant because it allows us to make a real impact on adolescents’ lives. We will gain innovative scientific insights and with my scientific team of pedagogues, psychologists, data scientists, psychiatrists, designers, and national partners we will also use them to improve online conversation trainings. Our partners will make these trainings publicly available to anyone who wants to have a good conversation with adolescents, for instance as a volunteer at the De Kindertelefoon (Children's helpline) or an aunt, so that adolescents really feel seen and heard. Because that is our shared goal of the IC-YOU project.' 

Dean ai Semiha Denktaş: 'I am very proud of our colleague Loes Keijsers. It is an incredible achievement to now also be awarded a Vici. Her innovative, interdisciplinary approach and cooperation with social parties make her contribute to the development of her field and to solving a social issue. It also fits well with our Convergence Health and Tech programme, one of the pillars of the cooperation between EUR, Erasmus MC and TU Delft."

About Loes Keijsers
 

Prof.dr. Loes Keijsers (1982) has been Professor of Child and Familiy at Team Youth & Family, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences since 2020. She studied behavioural biology in Utrecht, where she obtained her PhD cum laude in 2010 for a thesis on the influence of parenting on juvenile delinquency. Keijsers publishes in top international journals and has received many previous awards. For instance, she was already awarded a Vidi in 2018 and an ERC Consolidator grant in 2022. In 2023, she won the KNAW Dr Hendrik Muller Prize. She leads the Health and Technology flagship Protect me, in which pedagogues, data scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, economists and designers search together for technological solutions to the mental problems of young people. In doing so, Keijsers and her colleagues collaborate with social partners, such as the De Kindertelefoon (Dutch Child helpline) and MIND Us, to positively impact the lives of adolescents growing up. 

About NWO Vici grant

The Vici grant is intended to fund scientifically innovative research and thus allow researchers to expand their research group and develop their initiated line of research. Vici is for researchers who have demonstrated their ability to build their line of research. Vici is part of the NWO Talent Programme, which aims to create a creative space for adventurous, talented, pioneering researchers in which they can conduct research of their choice. The Vici grant is intended for senior researchers whose academic achievements clearly exceed standard expectations. These researchers have established leadership and mentoring qualities.