Last week, Healthy Starters Ilse van de Groep and Eveline Crone, together with their consortium partners, received a large consortium grant of almost 7 million euros from the National Science Agenda (NWA) for a study into improving the handling of stress by at-risk youth and the police. The grant, for which Radboud University acts as lead author, is part of NWA: Research on Routes by Consortia 2024 of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Why this research?

The global increase in escalating conflicts calls for innovative solutions. In the Netherlands, neuroscientists and psychobiologists are joining forces with specialists from the security sector, education, healthcare and social organizations in the CONTEXT project. Their goal: to better prepare those who frequently end up in conflict situations – such as the police and youth who have come into contact with the police – to effectively avoid escalations.

Better stress management thanks to smart, customized VR training

The CONTEXT project is developing a personalized biofeedback virtual reality (VR) training that teaches people about the -often unconscious- signals of tension in their own body. CONTEXT improves the early recognition of these signals in daily life by linking smartwatch technology to concrete emotion control techniques that they practice while being placed in stressful situations with VR. This allows the target groups to respond more adequately in stressful moments and prevent escalations.

Main applicant Floris Klumpers (Associate Professor at the Behavioural Science Institute and Donders Institute of Radboud University)): ‘The CONTEXT project is very special, because we are studying two groups that are increasingly at odds with each other – police and young people with a history of aggression – together. We expect that in addition to differences, there are also important similarities in the neurobiological mechanisms that determine how emotions are regulated and that can sometimes lead to escalations. We have a fantastic national team of leading scientists and young talents who will work together with social partners in the field of safety, education and care to really make a difference.’

Work package Youth at Risk

Within the work package “Youth at Risk”, Dr Ilse van de Groep and Professor Eveline Crone are investigating how young people and young adults who have come into contact with the police deal with their emotions in stressful situations and what happens in their brains. The brain scans are performed at Erasmus MC, with which a successful partnership has been established since November 2024 to enable brain research for Erasmus University researchers. In addition, they are testing the effectiveness of the integrated Virtual Reality and Smartwatch intervention.
“A key part of our approach is youth participatory action research,” says Van de Groep. “Young people actively participate in the research and the intervention. In this way, we ensure that the approach fits in with their world and can be better applied in different situations and environments.”

Want to know more? Contact Ilse van de Groep i.vandegroep@essb.eur.nl