Marjolein M. van Donkelaar
Papers
1
Total Citations
17
H-Index
1
About
Marjolein M. van Donkelaar is a developmental psychopathology researcher whose work bridges early-life behavioral markers and long-term mental health outcomes. Her primary research areas include infant freezing behavior, internalizing symptoms, and the developmental trajectories of anxiety and depression from childhood through adolescence. Her most notable contribution is a prospective longitudinal study demonstrating that prolonged infant freezing reactions serve as an early risk marker for the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence—a finding with 17 citations that underscores the clinical importance of identifying at-risk children before disorders emerge. This work has been instrumental in shifting the focus from reactive treatment to early detection, highlighting how initial adaptive freezing responses can become maladaptive when sustained. Van Donkelaar’s research integrates behavioral observation with developmental theory, offering a nuanced understanding of how early threat responses shape later psychological vulnerability. Her findings have significant implications for early intervention strategies, making her a key voice in the field of developmental psychopathology and preventive mental health.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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