3 81 Looking into troubled waters: Childhood emotional maltreatment modulates neural responses to prolonged gazing into one’s own, but not others’, eyes corresponding with the nine symptoms of a major depressive disorder in DSM-IV. Participants were asked to assess how much they were bothered by the symptoms over the past two weeks. Answers were given on a Likert scale ranging from: Not at all (0), several days (1), more than half of the days (2), and nearly every day (3). The sum score could range from 0-27, with higher scores representing a higher depression severity. The PHQ-9 has been validated and internal consistency and test-retest reliability are excellent and criterion, construct and external validity were established (Kroenke et al., 2001). PHQ-9 scores of ≥ 15 were indicated as within the clinical range. The internal consistency in the current sample was α = 0.89. Sum scores were log-transformed to account for skewness. Self-esteem levels Prior to the assessment day in the lab, participants’ global trait-like self-esteem levels was assessed with the Dutch version of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) (Franck et al., 2008; Rosenberg). This 10-item questionnaire measures a person’s overall evaluation of his or her worthiness as a human being and answers were given on a Likert scale ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 3 (strongly agree). The sum score could range from 0-30, with higher scores representing a higher global self-esteem. Psychometric properties of the RSES were good (Franck et al., 2008). Internal consistency in the current sample was α = 0.91. Sum scores were log-transformed to account for skewness.
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