Annemarie was a wonderful colleague at the Clinical Psychology program who worked with great integrity towards psychometrically sound studies in the field of Clinical Personality Assessment. Her research focused on developing and testing the Multiple Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; Tellegen & Waller, 2008) and the purposeful application of psychometrics and personality theory in clinical practice. Known and remembered by her colleagues for her kindness, wit, and sharp mind, she has left an enduring void in the research group, now six years after her passing.

The Impact of Demoralization on the Stability of Personality Traits

Ajda Flisar, a former research master student, received the award for her thesis, "The Impact of Demoralization on the Stability of Personality Traits". In this study, supervised by dr. Chris Hopwood, Ajda used longitudinal data from research on change in personality and personality disorders. She investigated what aspects of big five personality traits do and do not change substantially over time and tested the hypothesis that most personality change involves ‘remoralization’ – i.e. a reduction of symptoms of demoralization like hopelessness, insufficiency and general distress. A previous study showed demoralization to be the main source of change during treatment in a sample of MDD patients. Ajda did not replicate this finding in her sample but showed changes in Neuroticism generally without finding a distinction between demoralization and other Neuroticism-related items. The study has been submitted for publication to a top assessment Journal.

The online award ceremony featured heartfelt speeches from Prof. Dr. Jan Henk Kamphuis, Annemarie's promoter, and Dr. Arjen Noordhof, her co-promoter. They praised Ajda's work and its alignment with Annemarie's research principles. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of a 500-euro prize to Ajda.

Nominations in the future

Looking ahead, the award committee plans to integrate the ceremony with other academic events and encourages everyone to nominate outstanding thesis projects. Thesis projects that excel in the following areas are particularly encouraged:

• Validity, reliability or utility of questionnaires used in clinical practice
• Validity, reliability or utility of personality assessment
• Measurement invariance or related psychometric issues, with a view on applications in clinical practice
• Other themes broadly related to clinical personality assessment

Keep an eye out for exceptional thesis projects in these areas to continue honoring Annemarie's legacy and advancing the field of Clinical Personality Assessment.