Research Activities and Projects

Research Activities and Projects since Assistant Professorship at the University of Groningen 2013- 2024

• ZonMW Consortium for Suicide Prevention, the Netherlands. ’A Prevention, Risk, Resilience and Recovery Approach of Suicidal Behavior in Middle Aged Men & Youth’ (2025-2027). Principal Investigator: Diana van Bergen. Together with > 20 organizations, our aim is to reduce suicide and suicide related behaviors (STBs) in socially vulnerable youth and middle-aged men via: 1. Understanding protective, recovery factors and risk factors 2. Identifying enabling/hindering factors in implementing interventions 3. Developing implementation frames for suicide prevention.
• ZonMW Grant for the Project “A web based cognitive behavioral therapy that addresses gender dysphoria, gender minority stress and suicidality among gender minority youth.” (2024-2026). Principal Investigator: Diana van Bergen. Gender diverse youth have a 7-10 fold risk of suicidality. We examine: To what extent is a web-based, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) specially designed for young gender diverse youth in the Netherlands, an effectiveand feasible treatment to reduce their suicidality?
• Kinderpostzegels Project ‘A Suicide Prevention Intervention Project for Foster Youth’ (2023-2025). Principal Investigator: Diana van Bergen. Foster youth have a 3-4 times higher risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In this project, based on state of the art of intervention research as well as interviews with the target group(s), we develop and test a training for foster parents aimed at improving their coping with stressful situations related to their foster child’s suicidality.
• BSS Grant (Sector Plannen, “Resilience”) for the Project ‘Recovery of Suicidal Thoughts among Young People’. (2022-2024). Principal Investigators: Mandy Gijzen, Diana van Bergen & Bertus Jeronimus. Most young people who suffer from suicidal ideation overcome those thoughts over time. We will disentangle what is helpful for young people to recover from suicidality, in order to optimize suicide prevention.
• NWO Promotiebeurs Leraren project ‘The Role of Bullying to Suicide.’ Supervisor/ 1 Promotor: Diana van Bergen. In this study, we carefully map the life course of young people who died by suicide and the role that online bullying played in this, as well as the life course of young people with a history of bullying who did not die by suicide: this provides insights for suicide prevention. By also studying social media data, a methodologically innovative contribution is made to science.
• NWO (Promotiebeurs Leraren) project “Understanding Suicide in Young Men. Supervisor/ 1 Promotor: Diana van Bergen. Through Durkheims and Joiner theory of Suicide, this study aims to better understand suicides of young men in order to develop suicide prevention. Through interviews with parents and friends of deceased young men (and a control group), it is investigated how developments in the peer group, the demands of modern society and personal challenges are relevant to suicides of young men during the corona period.
• 113 suicide prevention/Ministry of Health project: “Children’s literature’s influence on adolescents” attitude towards sexual diversity" (2021-2023) Principle investigators: Diana van Bergen and Sanne Parlevliet. In this multi method study we supervise a junior researcher. We examine through a class based reading intervention, whether a children’s literature intervention is effective in building empathy for LGB people and decreasing stigmatization, and improving LGB pupils wellbeing.
• 113 suicide prevention/Ministry of Health project: “Exploration of experiences and needs of people bereaved by suicide in the Netherlands. (October-November 2021) Principle investigator: Renske Gilissen. In this short study, through a literature study and a survey, we examine (complicated) grief experiences of suicide survivors and explore which interventions are promising to alleviate the burden.
• Ministry of Health/ Bi+ Nederland Project: “The wellbeing of bisexual young people and adults in the Netherlands”, (2020-2021) Principle Investigator: Laura Baams. For this project, I developed a research instrument (interview topic list), I co-authored two reports that emerged from the study “Ik was altijd al niet standaard” and “Niet in één hokje”. (see publication list)
• ZonMW project “Toward a healthy psychosocial adjustment of foster children: Practical guidance with ethical dilemmas due to religious differences.” Principle Investigator: Diana van Bergen. In this project, we aim to find out how to understand and organiza care in accordance “the best interest of the child”, foster children who live in a transreligious and transcultural foster family placement.
• “Suicide among young people in 2017-2018. A psychosocial autopsy study”, sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Health/ 113 suicide prevention. (2018-2019) Principle Investigator: Saskia Merelle, 113
• For this project, I developed a research instrument (interview topic list), I helped writing the research protocol. I also developed and provided training for the interviewers and and supervises the team of five junior researchers who coded the interview data of 120 survivors of 35 suicides of young persons.
• FWOS project “Out of the book closet. Children’s literature influence on adolescents” attitude towards sexual diversity" (2019-2020) Principle investigators: Diana van Bergen and Sanne Parlevliet. In this pilot study I was one of the daily supervisors of a junior researcher. We explored through a class-based reading intervention, the contents and mechanisms that may influence the ways in which children’s literature is effective in building empathy for LGB people. With help of 113 zelfmoordpreventie, this project has been expanded to 2021-2024 (junior researcher / PhD student Elise Stiekema).
• ZonMW project “Preventing suicidality among Dutch Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) youth through a web-based intervention” (2018-2022) Principle Investigator: Diana van Bergen
• In this project I am one of the daily supervisors of a PhD student who examines if a web-based intervention for the treatment of suicidal ideation among LGBT youth if a feasible and successful strategy of reducing suicidality in this population. The project includes qualitative interviews with lgbt youth and the development and test of an E-health intervention.
• NWO Project “Father absence and consequences for reproductive behaviour and psychosocial development among Caribbean, Caribbean-Dutch and native Dutch youth.” (2017-2022) Principle Investigator: Tina Kretschmer
• In this project I am one of the daily supervisors of the PhD student, and supervise particularly the qualitative part of the study where we examine perceptions of father absence among young people living in Curaçao as well as among Curaçaoan-Dutch youth, and Dutch youth.
• ZonMW project “The peer specialist: possibilities for the recovery of suicidal care consumers” (2016-2018) Principle investigator: Diana van Bergen
• In this project I supervised a postdoctoral researcher. We examined how peer specialists with a history of suicidality can successfully contribute to suicide prevention within mental health services. Our primary research approach consisted of qualitative interviews with 75 stakeholders (peer specialists, suicidal care consumers, clinicians, managers, and peer specialist educators

© 2025 Diana van Bergen