dr. A. (Andrea) Dietrich

Research interests

I am a research psychologist with a background in clinical, developmental and biological/neuropsychology. The focus of my research is on the causes and consequences of ADHD, aggression, and tics in children and adolescents. Topics of my interest are cognition, biomarkers, stress physiology, gene-environment associations, and early adversities (pre- and perinatal, stress). In my clinically oriented research, I am interested in predictors of treatment outcome (mainly parental, family, societal and child factors), quality of life and lifestyle factors.  

Projects

• YEAH! A holistic lifestyle intervention program in youth. EU-funded. 01/2025-2030.
• BOUNCE BACK Coping and quality of life in people with Tourette and their families. Investigator-funded. 2025-.
• Long-term effects of methylphenidate MEDUSA 07/2023-2028.

• OPADE Optimize and predict antidepressant efficacy. EU-funded Horizon. 01/2023-2028.
• Gender role parenting behaviors and youth mental health. ZonMW. 12/2022-06/2024.
• Social cognition in adolescents with disruptive disorders and aggression, an EEG study. Investigator-funded 2021-. (SCODA)
• Social cognition in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (SCASS), an EEG study. Investigator-funded 2021-. Collaboration with EU-AIMS/LEAP. (SCASS)
• DREAMS: Dutch Research in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Study. An initiative of the four major Dutch centers Accare, Curium, Karakter and Levvel to improve child and adolescent mental health. (DREAMS)
• Eat2beNICE: International collaboration on the role of nutrition on mental health. Horizon 2020. 2017-2022. (E2BN)
• VANTASTIC: Randomized placebo-controlled trial with a broad-spectrum micronutrient food supplement in collaboration with the Central Institute for Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany. 2017-2022. (VANTASTIC)
• Methylphenidate discontinuation studies and audit: MASK 2013-2017 and PROEFSTOP Study 2017-2021. Dutch National Funds.
• Risperidone discontinuation study and audit (ORKA) Dutch National Funds 2013-2017.  
• TIC Genetics: European coordination of the Tourette International Collaborative Genetics Study in collaboration with Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. NIMH funded. 06/2011-03/2024 (TIC Genetics)
• EMTICS: European Multicentre Tics in Children Studies on the role of genetics, immunology and environmental factors on the onset and course of tics. A prospective study. EU-funded FP7 2012-2018. (EMTICS EU factsheet)
• TS-Eurotrain: European network for tic disorders. 2012-2016. (EU factsheet)
• AGGRESSOTYPE: Causes of and subtyping aggression - (neuro)cognitive functioning. EU-funded FP7. 2017-2022. (AGGRESSOTYPE)
• MATRICS: Causes of aggression - gene-environment. EU-funded FP7. 2014-2019. (MATRICS)
• NeuroIMAGE: Collaboration with Donders Institute Nijmegen.
• ZonMW funded study contextual predictors of treatment success in child and adolescent mental health care. 2014-2017. (Voorspellers-van-behandelsucces)
• TRAILS: 1. Psychophysiological studies. 2. Gene-environment interactions on the course of ADHD. (TRAILS)
• Voor meer informatie en resultaten van onderzoek zie ACCARE Child Study Center

Supervision PhD Candidates

• Elke de Jonge: Social cognition in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. An EEG study (SCASS). Due 10/2023.  

• Gülhan Saracaydin: Response inhibition, brain functioning and genetic correlations in disruptive disorders and ADHD (AGGRESSOTYPE, NeuroIMAGE). Due 11/2022.
• Paul Rosenau: Discontinuation of methylphenidate treatment, a randomized controlled trial in clinical practice (PROEFSTOP, MASK). Due 09/2022. Optimizing methylphenidate treatment in youths - beyond ADHD symptoms. Completed 09/2024.
• Renee Kleine Deters: Emotion recognition and executive functioning in disruptive disorders (AGGRESSOTYPE, NeuroIMAGE). Due 09/2022. Completed. Defense: March 2025.
• Halewijn Drent: Contextual predictors of treatment success in child and adolescent mental healthcare. (ZonMW grant).
• Thaïra Openneer: The clinical presentation, neurocognition and neural correlates of children with Tourette Syndrome. (EMTICS, TS-EUROTRAIN). Completed 07/2021.
• Hyun Ruisch: Gene-environment interactions in disruptive behaviors. (MATRICS, NeuroIMAGE, ALSPAC). Completed 11/2020. 
• Djûke Brinksma:  Gene-environment interactions on the course of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms: From early into late adolescence. (TRAILS) Completed 11/2018.
• Mohamed Abdulkadir: Genetic and environmental correlates of Tourette Syndrome (TIC Genetics, ALSPAC). Completed 11/2021. 
• Mariken Dinnissen: Long-term use of risperidone in clinical practice: A randomized placebo-controlled discontinuation study (ORKA).
• Anne-Flore Matthijssen: How appropriate is the increased use of methylphenidate? A practice audit and placebo-controlled discontinuation trial (MASK). Completed 05/2024.Elke de Jonge: Social cognition in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. An EEG study (SCASS). Due 10/2023.  

Participation in PhD projects:

• Özde Sönmez: Environmental and neural predictors of ADHD trajectories in youth: data from the ABCD study. Due 04/2026. Collaboration Oldenburg University.

• Tammo Viering: Emotion dysregulation and brain functioning in the NeuroIMAGE study. A collaboration with Oldenburg University, Germany and Donders Institute, Nijmegen. Due 03/2022. Deviations in neural activity and network integration underpinning the co-occurrence of emotion dysregulation and ADHD: Analyses of fMRI task activations and functional brain network topology. Completed 05/2022.
• Simone Breider: Parent training in children with autism spectrum disorder and behavioral problems (SPARTA).
• Natalie Forde: Structual and neurochemical correlates of Tourette’s disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. (TS-Eurotrain). Completed 12/2017.

Book Chapters

• Perinatal adversities and Tourette Syndrome (2022). Pieter J. Hoekstra & Andrea Dietrich.
• Handbook child- and adolescent psychiatry (2022). Neurobiological developmental disorders: tic disorders. Andrea Dietrich. Boom Publisher Amsterdam, eds. Ramón Lindauer, Wouter Staal, pp. 164-179. [Dutch]
• Handbook Gilles de la Tourette (2019). Neuropsychological assessments. Boom Uitgever Amsterdam, eds. Cara Verdellen, Agnes Wertenbroek, Daniëlle Cath, pp 164-179. [Dutch]