Jarvers, Irina

Education

Habilitation in the field of clinical cognitive neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine

Habilitation topic: “Risk factors for the development of internalizing and externalizing disorders”

University of Regensburg

08/2017 - 10/2017

Research Residency

Harvard, Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA, USA

04/2016 - 06/2021

PhD in the "Doctoral Training Program in the Learning Sciences”

Dissertation title: "Language, Cognition and Theory of Mind:
The Emergence of Mental State Language and Mental State Understanding in the Third Year of Life".

Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

10/2014 - 03/2016                          

Elite Master of Science in "Experimental and Clinical Neurosciences"

University of Regensburg

Sponsored by the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk

10/2013 - 03/2014

Semester abroad

Durham University, United Kingdom

09/2011 - 08/2014

Bachelor of Science in "Cognitive Science

University of Osnabrück

Sponsored by the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk

Professional Activity

since 10/2019

Research associate (postdoctoral fellow) at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

University Hospital Regensburg

04/2016 - 09/2019

Research associate (doctoral candidate) at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology

Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

06/2015 - 03/2016

Research assistant at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology

Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

09/2012 - 03/2014

Student assistant at the Institute of Cognitive Science in the Department of Computational Linguistics and Cognitive Science

University of Osnabrück

09/2012 - 03/2014

Student assistant at the Institute of Cognitive Science in the Philosophy of Mind and Cognition Group

University of Osnabrück

Research Interests

Alexithymia, risk factors for the development of internalizing and externalizing disorders, autism, anorexia nervosa, Theory of Mind

Additional Roles

Publications

von Perponcher, E., Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Heidingsfelder, E., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Schleicher, D. (2025). Characterisation of a university student sample with a lifetime history of non-suicidal self-injury: mixed-methods analysis of stress factors, coping mechanisms and reasons for self-injury. BJPsych Open, 11(6), e279. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2025.10893

Ecker, A., Preece, D. A., Schleicher, D., Jacob, R., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2025). Emotional blind spots and dark minds: How alexithymia and mindfulness shape the link between Dark Triad personality traits and psychopathology. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1677305. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1677305

Jarvers, I., Degmayr, R., Otto, A., Jacob, R., Malloni, W., Kandsperger, S., Schleicher, D., Ecker, A., Wiesinger, I., Wendl, C., Greenlee, M., & Brunner, R. (2025). The relationship between precuneus thickness and psychopathology in adolescent females with anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24591

Hornstein, L., Schleicher, D., Ecker, A., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2025). Dark Triad traits, alexithymia, and emotion regulation as predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress in clinical and non-clinical samples. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1674630. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1674630

Ecker, A., Jarvers, I., Jacob, R., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Schleicher, D. (2025). Temperament and personality: Preliminary evidence of possible relationships with multifactorial stress reactivity in healthy adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1613000. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1613000

Niebler, M., Jarvers, I., Brunner, R., & Kandsperger, S. (2025). Short-chain carnitines in adolescent major depressive disorder: Associations and biomarker potential. Journal of Affective Disorders, 390, 119832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.119832

Rodríguez-Toscano, E., Schleicher, D., Ecker, A., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2025). Exploring the mental health impact of COVID-19 on parents of young children: Anxiety, depression, and contributing factors. BMC Public Health, 25, 2174. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23467-9

Baumann, N., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Kandsperger, S., Preece, D. A., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2025). The relationship between alexithymia, non-suicidal self-injury, and emotion regulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 384, 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.05.009

Hauke-Gleißner, J., Jarvers, I., Jordan, S., Gerling, S., Kabesch, M., Brunner, R., & Kandsperger, S. (2025). Neurocognitive and emotional long-term effects of COVID-19 infections in children and adolescents: Results from a clinical survey in Bavaria, Germany. BMC Infectious Diseases, 25, 411. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-10813-w

Jarvers, I., Heidingsfelder, E., Ecker, A., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Schleicher, D. (2025). Characteristics of self-injurious behaviour and early traumatic experiences: Associations with emotional reactivity, depression and aggression in university students. BJPsych Open, 11(2), e45. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2024.862

Jarvers, I., Sommer, M., Ullmann, M., Simmel, V., Blaas, L., Gorski, S., Krüger-Lassen, S., Vogel, M., & Langguth, B. (2025). Reading between the lines: Exploring the discriminative ability of the Short-Story Task in identifying autistic individuals within autism outpatient services. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1500396. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1500396

Ecker, A., Fritsch, C., Schleicher, D., Jacob, R., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2025). The effect of a one-time mindfulness intervention on body and mind in healthy adolescents using multimodal measurements. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1503379. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1503379

Otto, A., Jarvers, I., Kandsperger, S., Bosek, R., Schwarzbach, J., Brunner, R., & Volberg, G. (2024). Altered emotion regulation at the earliest stage of visual perception in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury. Journal of Affective Disorders, 372, 572–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.12.055

Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Donabauer, P., Kampa, K., Weißenbacher, M., Schleicher, D., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Ludwig, B. (2024). M.I.N.I.-KID interviews with adolescents: A corpus-based language analysis of adolescents with depressive disorders and the possibilities of continuation using Chat GPT. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1425820

Jarvers, I., Kandsperger, S., Ecker, A., Brandstetter, S., Kabesch, M., Köninger, A., Melter, M., Kerzel, S., Kittel, J., Apfelbacher, C., & Brunner, R. (2024). Longitudinal predictors for internalizing and externalizing symptomatology at age 4: KUNO-Kids cohort study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1449108

Jarvers I., Kormann E., Schleicher D., Ecker A., Kandsperger, S. & Brunner, R. (2024). Impact of alexithymia, speech problems and parental emotion recognition on internalizing and externalizing problems in preschoolers. PLoS ONE, 19(9): e0310244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310244

Ecker, A., Jarvers, I., Kocur, M., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R. & Schleicher, D. (2024). Multifactorial stress reactivity to virtual TSST-C in healthy children and adolescents—It works, but not as well as a real TSST-C. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 160, 106681.
doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106681
(EDITOR’S CHOICE ARTICLE)

Jarvers, I., Pfisterer, J., Döhnel, K., Blaas, L., Ullmann, M., Langguth, B., Rupprecht, R., & Sommer, M. (2024). Short Report: Specificity of the Short-Story Task for autism diagnosis when controlling for depression. Autism Research, 1–6.
https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3191

Kick, L., Schleicher, D., Ecker, A., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2024). Alexithymia as a mediator between adverse childhood events and the development of psychopathology: a metaanalysis. Front. Psychiatry, 15:1412229.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1412229

Krempel, R., Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Brunner, R., & Kandsperger, S. (2024). Sleep quality and the cortisol and alpha-amylase awakening responses in adolescents with depressive disorders. BJPsych Open, 10(5), e140. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2024.730

Schleicher, D., Jarvers, I., Kocur, M., Kandsperger, S., Brunner, R., & Ecker, A. (2024). Does it need an app?–Differences between app-guided breathing and natural relaxation in adolescents after acute stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 107148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107148

Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Kandsperger, S., Otto, A., & Brunner, R. (2023). Anorexia nervosa during COVID-19: loss of personal control and alexithymia as important contributors to symptomatology in adolescent girls. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11, 180.
doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00905-w

Otto, A., Jarvers, I., Kandsperger, S., Reichl, C., Ando, A., Koenig, J., Kaess, M., & Brunner, R. (2023). Stress-induced alterations in resting-state functional connectivity among adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury. Journal of Affective Disorders, 339, 162-171. doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.032

Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., & Otto, A. (2023). The German COVID-19 Questionnaire for Anorexia Nervosa (COV-AN). 

Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Brunner, R., & Kandsperger, S. (2023). Impact of preschool attendance, parental stress and parental mental health on internalizing and externalizing problems during COVID-19 lockdown measures in preschool children. PLoS One 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281627

Kandsperger, S., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Wirth, M., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2023). Emergency-related inpatient admissions in child and adolescent psychiatry: comparison of clinical characteristics of involuntary and voluntary admissions from a survey in Bavaria, Germany. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02154-3

Jarvers, I., Döhnel, K., Blaas, L., Ullmann, M., Langguth, B., Rupprecht, R., &  Sommer, M. (2022). "Why do they do it?": The short-story task for measuring fiction-based mentalizing in autistic and non-autistic individuals. Autism Research, 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2871

Schleicher, D., Heidingsfelder, E., Kandsperger, S., Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., & Brunner, R. (2023). Non-suicidal self-injury and emotional burden among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional online survey. BJPsych Open, 9(1), E1.
www.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2022.616

Ecker, A., Jarvers, I., Schleicher, D., Kandsperger, S., Schelhorn, I., Meyer, M., Borchert, T., Lüdtke, M., & Shiban, Y. (2022) Problems or prospects? Being a parent in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Frontiers in psychology, 13.
doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.901249

Kandsperger, S., Schleicher, D., Ecker, A., Keck, F., Bentheimer, S., Brunner, R., & Jarvers, I. (2022) Emotional reactivity in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury and its predctors: a longitudinal study. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13.
doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.902964

Jarvers, I., Kandsperger, S., Schleicher, D., Ando, A., Resch, F., Koenig, J., Kaess, M., & Brunner, R. (2022) The relationship between adolescents' externalizing and internalizing symptoms and brain development over a period of three years. NeuroImage: Clincial, 103195.
doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103195

Kandsperger, S., Madurkay, J., Schleicher, D., Otto, A., Ecker, A., Brunner, R., Jarvers, I.: Treatment Motivation and Burden of Stress among Parents of Adolescents with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Presenting to a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Service. Psychopathology. doi.org/10.1159/000526611

Schleicher, D.*, Ecker, A.*, Kocur, M., Jarvers, I., Nash, C., Götz, L., Otto, A. H., Kandsperger, S. and Brunner, R. (2022). Psychosocial stress induction in vivo vs. in virtuo and the influence of a health app on the acute stress reaction in youths: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 23, 847.
doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06758-z

Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Otto, A., & Jarvers, C. (2022, April 26). The Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children – German version (AQC-G).
https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ra65t

Krempel, R., Schleicher, D., Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Brunner, R., & Kandsperger, S. (2022). Sleep quality and neurohormonal and psychophysiological accompanying factors in adolescents with depressive disorders: Study protocol. BJPsych Open, 8(2), E57.
https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2022.29

Jarvers, Irina (2021): Language, cognition and theory of mind: the emergence of mental state language and mental state understanding in the third year of life. Dissertation, LMU München: Fakultät für Psychologie und Pädagogik. doi.org/10.5282/edoc.28282

Kaltefleiter, L. J., Schuwerk, T., Wiesmann, C. G., Kristen‐Antonow, S., Jarvers, I., & Sodian, B. (2021). Evidence for goal‐and mixed evidence for false belief‐based action prediction in two‐to four‐year‐old children: A large‐scale longitudinal anticipatory looking replication study. Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13224

Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Kaemmerer, M., & Grüning, D. J. (2021, October 13). German Version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire Adapted for Children. Retrieved from psyarxiv.com/yd5kv. doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/yd5kv

Kandsperger, S., Jarvers, I., Ecker, A., Schleicher, D., Madurkay, J., Otto, A., & Brunner, R. (2021). Emotional Reactivity and Family-Related Factors Associated With Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents Presenting to a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Service. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 913.
doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.708208

Goetz, L., Jarvers, I., Schleicher, D., Mikan, K., Brunner, R., & Kandsperger, S. (2021). The role of the endogenous oxytocin system under psychosocial stress conditions in adolescents suffering from anxiety disorder: study protocol for a parallel group controlled trial. BMC Psychology 9, 61. doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00564-z.d

Kristen-Antonow, S., Jarvers, I., & Sodian, B. (2019). Preschoolers’ Developing Understanding of Factivity in Mental Verb Comprehension and Its Relation to First-and Second-Order False Belief Understanding: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1-16.
doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2019.1586710

Sommer, M., Döhnel, K., Jarvers, I., Blaas, L., Singer, M., Nöth, V., ... & Rupprecht, R. (2018). False belief reasoning in adults with and without autistic spectrum disorder: similarities and differences. Frontiers in Psychology, 9:183.
doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00183

Schuwerk, T., Jarvers, I., Vuori, M., & Sodian, B. (2016). Implicit mentalizing persists beyond early childhood and is profoundly impaired in children with autism spectrum condition. Frontiers in Psychology, 7:1696. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01696