GUTS

Successful Recruitment: GUTS WP1 Amsterdam Includes 150 Participants

WP1 Amsterdam aims to include a diverse group of participants. To achieve this goal, we employ a wide range of recruitment strategies, such as guest lectures, workshops for students, presentations at parent evenings, and participation in events like the NEMO Science Museum and Week van het Geld.

So far, ten guest lectures have been given at five different schools, and two presentations have been held during parent evenings. Additionally, active flyer distribution has taken place in Amsterdam.

These efforts have led to the successful recruitment of participants not only from VWO and university but also from VMBO, HAVO, and HBO. We look forward to reaching a diverse group through various methods in the coming year.

Read more information about WP1 Amsterdam on the GUTS website.

New GUTS Scanner Installed in Rotterdam

A state-of-the-art research scanner has been installed at Erasmus MC, fully dedicated to research. The GUTS-Rotterdam researchers are eager to start scanning 600 participants in 2025. Their enthusiasm is evident from the successful pilot study the team conducted over the past year.

We are very pleased with the support from Erasmus University Rotterdam, which allows us to move full speed ahead with the first wave of data collection.

This new research scanner is crucial for achieving our ambitious goals. Not only does it enable us to align with other work packages, but it also provides young researchers with the opportunity to conduct their studies during normal working hours, helping them maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Read more information about WP1 Rotterdam on the GUTS website.

Conducting Research Together with Students

Leiden University and the University of Groningen are collaborating with student associations to study well-being during student life. The launch of this research in 2024 was an absolute highlight. Our goal is to map out how young people form friendships and support each other in areas such as mental well-being, study habits, and positive social behavior. It is incredibly valuable to see how enthusiastic students are about contributing their thoughts on topics that matter to them.

Collaboration with students and societal partners is crucial. It allows us to structure the research optimally and closely monitor students’ development.

Read more information about WP2 on the GUTS website.

Stronger Together: Community Partners Recruit High-Risk Youth for GUTS GO

Various recruitment partners are involved in reaching high-risk youth, from dedicated care coordinators to committed community police officers—not only in major cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam but also in smaller municipalities such as Veenendaal and Krommenie. Together, they work to introduce high-risk youth to GUTS GO. We are proud of the dedication of our small team and look forward to the next steps.

GUTS GO focuses on a challenging target group, but by investing extra time and effort in collaboration with recruitment locations, we have made significant progress. This enables the GUTS consortium to better map and track the development of young people from diverse backgrounds

Read more information about WP3/GUTS GO on the GUTS website.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Finalized for DNA, Hormone, and sMRI Measurements in GUTS

SOPs serve as essential tools for researchers, helping them conduct their work in the best possible way. The three SOPs cover:

• Structural MRI acquisition for brain anatomy
• Saliva collection for DNA genotyping
• Saliva collection for hormone analysis

These SOPs are available on a shared website and are accessible to all researchers within GUTS.

This achievement highlights how collaboration strengthens our goals and establishes a solid foundation for future activities. 

 Read more information about WP4 on the GUTS website.

Stacked Domain Learning (SDL) shows good performance under simulated conditions and an empirical demonstration using the ABCD data is in progress

An initial version of the Stacked Domain Learning (SDL) framework was tested under simulated conditions, demonstrating good performance. The framework effectively:

• Evaluated the individual contribution of separate domain models in predicting an outcome of interest,
• Combined the predictions of these domain models into a meta-model, and
• Selected the most relevant domain models within the meta-model using penalization.

The results highlight the potential of SDL for integrating data and theories from multiple research domains. Ultimately, SDL will be used for synthesizing the data collected in GUTS, enabling the development of an overarching theory that leverages the breadth of interdisciplinary data, and provide insights into how factors across multiple disciplines collectively influence self-regulation. Also in progress is an application to the ABCD data for a self-regulation measure in which a combination of different domain-specific models can lead to new insights into which theories predict well and which do not.

Plot: Domain selection performance under simulated conditions (n = 500)

 Read more information about WP5 on the GUTS website.

In 2024, the GUTS Data Management team focused on its main project: Yoda4GUTS, which aims to create a researcher-friendly, scalable, and automated system for managing GUTS consortium data. A key outcome of this project is the GUTS Metadata Explorer, a solution that allows researchers to easily compile and request data packages while ensuring data minimization (privacy by design), local control at data collection sites, and automated tracking of data requests and usage.

A key prerequisite for this system is harmonized (meta) data, made possible through a team science effort involving many researchers across the consortium. This collaborative approach ensures consistency, transparency, and usability of the data. 

To achieve harmonized data, we introduced:

•     The GUTS RDM Handbook, providing clear data management guidelines
•     The adoption of community standards like BIDS (Brain Imaging Data Structure)
•     Central Data Coordination (CDC) Team to oversee data harmonization
•     The GUTS measure overview & codebook 

Now in its final phase, the Metadata Explorer is being refined based on feedback, with ongoing testing of data requests and transfers across multiple Yoda instances. As we prepare for real-world implementation, the next step will be testing with actual GUTS data, ensuring an efficient system for researchers.

In 2024, the GUTS consortium collaborated on a special issue for the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN). This special issue explored how young people navigate an increasingly complex society. The collection of papers examined the dynamic interplay between neurobiological development and social experiences—such as family relationships, peer interactions, and socio-economic opportunities—aiming to uncover the mechanisms that shape engaged and contributing citizens.

The special issue brought together leading experts who connected brain-behavioral science at the individual level to a diversity of societal contexts based on:

• Research on social development and diversity in socio-economic background,
• Studies of social relationships using social network modeling, and
• Investigations into why some people engage in antisocial behavior in society.

A strong emphasis was placed on interdisciplinary, longitudinal, and multi-method approaches to better predict and foster positive societal engagement. The ultimate goal was to establish a unified neuroscientific framework on the role of diversity in opportunities and young people’s contributions to society, spanning neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, family studies, data science, and sociology. All papers adhered to the DCN submission guidelines.

The special issue was built around a conference that marked the launch of the 10-year Dutch research program Growing Up Together in Society (GUTS). The event featured keynote talks from leading international experts, many of whom were also members of the GUTS advisory board. Their contributions helped shape a cohesive collection of papers, bringing together diverse perspectives on how young people develop and engage in society.

Our goal is to engage researchers, policymakers, and—most importantly—the youth (ages 10-20) and their parents. To achieve this, we developed appealing materials tailored to our target group and actively involved young people in the process. Each work package had its own materials while maintaining a strong connection to the GUTS branding.

Examples of our outreach materials