JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2011 | Volume:3 | Issue:1 (9)|Papers Count:8

Introduction: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is one of the most common and challenging manifestations of pain in adults. Meanwhile psychological factors are considered important in development and continuing of physical disability and functional limitations of patients with CLBP. The aim of this research was to determine the psychological factors related to physical disability in patients with CLBP.Method: The present study having a cross-sectional design and was from type of correlational which 279 (81 men, 198 women) eligible CLBP patients more than 3 months (with the mean age 42.44±11.77 yr) which patients were refered to Specialized and sub-specialized Neurosurgery Clinic of Poorsina Hospital in Rasht were selected by non-probability and consecutive sampling.All patients completed questionnaire of demographic and related low back pain information at the beginning and then they were evaluated by Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), coping strategies questionnaire, catastrophizing subscale (CSQ-CAT), Stanford Depression Scale (CES-D 10) and pain self-efficacy scale.Results: Correlational analyses indicating significant association between physical disability and all predictive factors. The results of stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that psychological factors significantly explained 52% of the variance of physical disability. In the full model higher levels of self-efficacy beliefs, pain intensity, education, and pain-related fear the composite score of values gained from the two scales of catastrophizing and Kinesiophobia, significantly contributed to the prediction of higher levels of physical disability.Conclusion: The findings showed that, regardless of demographic factors, there is a relatively strong relationship between psychological factors and disability. Thus, clinicians must be aware of the powerful effects of self-efficacy, pain-related fear, pain intensity and patient awareness of the health of their spine to reduce disability and managing CLBP patients. Some clinical implications and research guidelines obtained from these results are discussed for prevention and control of physical disability in these patients.

Introduction: During the past decade, many studies examined about development of children's personality, based on the five-factor model of personality. This study is aimed to find relationship between personality traits and depression symptoms in children.Method: In this study, 268 students (142 boys and 126 girls) primary school with their teachers based on cluster sampling, were selected and answered to Children Depression Inventory. To assess of Children's Personality, the Questionnaire of big five children's version (BFQ-C) completed by their teachers.Results: Results indicated that depression symptoms in children except openness to experience, related with four other personality traits including neuroticism (positively), extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness (negatively). Results the Step by step model of regression revealed that only two traits of neuroticism and extraversion about 26 percent of variance in depression symptoms could predict in children.Conclusion: Personality traits could predict the depression symptoms in children. Results based on theory of personality traits were discussed.

Introduction: Nowadays, the strengthening couples through marital enrichment programs for encounter with marital problems have received family professional’s attention. The objective of this research was investigation the effect of ENRICH's and Glasser's marital enrichment programs on couple’s marital satisfaction.Method: This study was an experimental design and pretest-posttest with control group. Participants were 36 married couples in Behzisti's counseling centers of Ardebil that selected by available sampling method. All Subjects completed the ENRICH marital satisfaction questionnaire. Then subjects randomly assigned in two experimental and one control groups. (24 couples in the experimental groups and 12 couples in the control group). Two experimental groups received ENRICH and Glasser marital enrichment programs and control group had no treatment. In the end of treatment, couples again completed ENRICH marital satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Covariance, Multivariate Covariance Analysis and scheffe test.Results: Marital enrichment programs could effectively increased and improved marital satisfaction in experimental groups compared to the control group. Also ENRICH and Glasser marital enrichment programs improved marital satisfaction dimensions such as personality issues, marital communication, conflict solving, financial management, leisure activity and sexual relationship but comparisons among the two programs revealed that none of them was clearly superior.Conclusion: In sum, the findings of present research revealed that the usage of marital enrichment programs could prevent of marital distress and divorce.

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of muscle progressive relaxation on perceived stress in patients with hypertention.Method: Present study is a quasi-experimental research administered with a pretest-posttest design with control group. The statistical society of this research consisted of patients with hypertention referred to Bu Ali Sina and Razi hospitals of Qazvin. 40 patients were randomly selected and then randomly assigned in experimental and control groups. All of the subjects completed the treatment. In experimental group, Relaxation with progressive contraction-relaxation method based on 16 groups of the muscles was administered in 12 sessions.Results: Results of ANCOVA showed that relaxation has significantly decreased perceived stress, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate in patients of the experimental group.Conclusion: Based on results of this study and antecedent studies, we can regard relaxation as one of the effective methods in decreasing perceived stress and blood pressure.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Treatment As Usual (TAU) on depression and additional symptoms and other psychiatric symptoms in a sample of remitted depressed patients.Method: In this study an experimental design with pretest-posttest and three experimental groups were used. The experimental groups were MCBT (n=134), CBT (n=121) and TAU (n=96). Patients were assessed through the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID) to ensure that they were in remission phase from their most recent index episode of major depression. Patients were assigned into one of three groups and assessed repeatedly through self-report measures including Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).Results: The effect size of MBCT and CBT were equal and indicate high effect of treatment for intervention groups. The overall pattern of results indicated that both active treatments were similar to each other, but more effective at posttest, 6 months follow-up and one–year follow-up compared with TAU.However, there were no significant differences between two groups according to ANCOVA.Conclusion: These results suggest that there are some more benefits for MBCT and CBT on reducing depression and additional psychiatric symptoms.

Introduction: The aim of present research was to compare cognitive variables fear of pain, pain catastrophizing, catastrophic cognition and also childbirth attitude in private and public hospitals.Method: Participants were 300 pregnant women from private hospitals who were matched on the basis of the age, level of education, previous number of deliveries and previous number of cesarean variables. Three questionnaires of fear of pain (FPQ) and catastrophic cognition (CCQ) and childbirth attitude (CAQ) as well as scale of pain catastrophizing (PCS) were administrated.Results: Results showed significance differences for variables "fear of pain", "catastrophic cognition", childbirth attitude" in two groups, while no significant difference were observed for another variables.Conclusion: These results suggest that variables fear of pain and catastrophic cognition are important cognitive factors in the increase rate of cesarean labor in private hospitals. Indeed, fear of pain, catastrophic cognition could increase the risk of unnecessary cesarean in pregnant women.

Introduction: Determining the amount of changes produced in the treatment of chronic pain patients is important. Statistical tests of significance are usually used for this purpose. Although important, the use of statistical tests of significance in determining treatment improvements is associated with a number of limitations. To overcome these limitations, investigators have recommended using clinical significance to determine whether or not the treatment outcome is clinically significant.Method: Chronic pain patients from a pain clinic (57) were selected, using a convenience sampling method. These patients completed twice, a series of questionnaires with a 4-week interval: Pain-Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Physical Disability Questionnaire and Short form Health Survey. Pearson correlations were calculated between the scores of the patients obtained over the 4-week interval. These test-retest coefficients were used to establish a reliable change index for the two measures of pain self-efficacy and depression of the 11 chronic pain patients treated with cognitive behaviour therapy. Statistically significant changes of the pain self-efficacy and depression were examined, using paired sample t-tests.Results: The results of tests of statistical significance provide evidence of statistically significant improvements at post-treatment in both measures of pain self-efficacy and depression. The results of a reliable change index (as one of the measures of clinical significance) documented that 9 of the 11 patients on the pain self-efficacy variable and 8 of the 11 patients on the depression variable achieved clinically significant gains.Conclusion: While statistical tests of significance provide little or no information regarding the variability in treatment response from person to person, tests of clinical significance go beyond this limitation and indicate who achieved clinically significant change.

Introduction: Inhibition is an important component of Executive functions which has been postulated as one of important Neuro Psychological correlates (or even causal) of Conduct Disorder. Different researches have reported inconsistent findings of executive function deficits in children with conduct disorder. The purpose of this study was to compare inhibition in children with conduct disorder and normal group.Method: Using CSI-4 and Raven test, 38 children (19 boys as conduct disorder group and 19 boys as comparable group) aged 8 to 11 years, were selected. Using Continuous Performance Test and GO-NO/GO Test, inhibition was compared in two groups.Results: The results indicated that two groups did not have significant difference in commission error which is an indicator of inhibition but they have significant difference in reaction time.Conclusion: The present study showed that children with Conduct Disorder without concurrent Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, compared with normal group, have no deficits in inhibition and inhibition deficits, probability are not the central impairment in conduct disorder.