DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY (JOURNAL OF IRANIAN PSYCHOLOGISTS)
Year:2012 | Volume:8 | Issue:31|Papers Count:17

This study aimed to examine family functioning patterns as mediators between perceived childhood attachment to each parent (secure and insecure) and religious coping. Seven hundred and seventy students of Tehran universities were selected using multi-stage sampling. The participants completed the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (Olson, Gorall, & Tiesel, 2004), the Religious Coping Scale (Pargament, Koeing, & Perez, 2000), and the Childhood Attachment to each Parent Scale (Hazan & Shaver, 1986). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that 1) Chaotically disengaged family fully mediated the relationship between insecure attachment to each parent and positive religious coping, 2) Adaptability cohesion family mediated the relationship between secure attachment to each parent and negative religious coping, 3) Insecure attachment to father had direct and indirect (through family adaptability and cohesion) effects on negative religious coping, and 4) Secure attachment to father had a direct effect on positive religious coping but attachment to mother didn't not have a direct effect on religious coping. These findings suggests that not only attachment history is important in understanding religious coping strategies but also family functioning plays an important role in this relationship.

The purpose of this study was to assess basic skills in 103 fourth-grade students with math disability based on Iran Key Math (Hooman & Mohamadesmael, 2002) and co-morbid mathematics and reading disability based on word reading sub test of Reading Test (Kormi-Nouri & Moradi, 2008). The sample consisted of three IQ homogenate groups: Children with mathematics disability and average reading ability (n=24), children with co-morbid mathematics and reading disability (n=24) and children with average achievement in mathematics and reading (n=26). The basic skills were phonological processing, temporal-auditory processing, phonological short-term/working memory. ANOVA and Post Hoc tests (Tukey) results indicated that children with math disability and average reading ability performed worse than average group in temporal-auditory processing. Overall, deficits in phonological processing, temporal-auditory and phonological short-term memory had more influences on co-morbid mathematics and reading disability than on math disability.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of learning strategies and attribution retraining instruction s methods on the mathematical problem-solving in male students with intellectual disability. Forty five students in grade eight were selected from intellectually disabled schools of Tehran Province using cluster random sampling method. The Participants were assigned equally to three groups (two experimental groups and one control group). The research design was pretest-posttest control group. One of the experimental groups received eight sessions (45 minutes a session) of learning strategies (Bashavard, 2000) and the other attribution retraining (Golparvar, 2009). To assess the mathematical problem-solving performances and the intelligence quotients, a teacher-made Mathematical Problem-Solving Test and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale) Wechsler, 1986) were used, respectively. Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance and Tukey test. Results indicated that there were significant differences between the mean of mathematical performance of two experimental groups, and between attribution retraining and control groups. It can be concluded that learning strategies method improved students’ performance in mathematical problem-solving more in comparison to attribution retraining method.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prediction of alexithymia based on cognitive emotion regulation strategies and general health. Forty hundred and thirty one students (193 males, 238 females) were selected by stratified random sampling method from Urmia university. The participants were assessed using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire (CERQ, Garnefski, Kraaij, & Spinhoven, 2002), the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg & Hiller, 1979) and Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994). Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis. The findings indicated that there were significant positive relationships between alexithymia and all subscales of general health. There were also significant positive relationships between alexithymia and other-blame, self-blame and catastrophizing tendncies. Alexithymia had negative relationships with positive refocusing and acceptance. It was found that dysfunctional in social function, anxiety, acceptance, self-blame and catastrophizing tendencies, and other-blame accounted for 25% of the variance of alexithymia. The higher alexithymia, the lower will be the general health, and the more inefficient the cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The findings emphasize the need to recognize the role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and general health in predicting students' alexitymia.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of parent behavior management training program in decreasing parental stress of mothers with autistic children. Based on semi experimental design, 30 mothers with autistic children were selected and divided into two (experimental and control) groups. Groups were matched by children’s age and gender, and mother's age and education. Participants completed Parental Stress Index (PSI, Abidin, 1990) in pretest, posttest and follow up phases. For six weeks, the experimental group received parental training (2 hours a week). The control group received no training. Repeated measure analysis indicated that parental training program reduced parental stress and enhanced coping to parental stress of autistic children. Clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of parental stress among mothers with autistic children were discussed.

The rate of middle age burnout in human professions and its causal factors were studied. The sample consisted of 1473 middle age adults working in Boniad-e-Shahid and Isargaran Foundation from eight provinces of Iran who were selected by stratified random sampling. The participants completed a demographic form, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1981), and a researcher-made burnout factors inventory. Findings indicated that 47%, 24%, and 29% of participants had high, moderate, and low levels of burnout, respectively. The differences between participants ' levels of burnout were significant in all burnout factors. The differences between participants with high and low record of services were significant in all of the burnout subscales (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and loss of personal accomplishment) but were not significant in total burnout scale. The effects of workload, control, rewards and values system factors on burnout rate were significant. Implications of these findings in relation to prevention and treatment of middle age burnout as a potential event during psychological development process in human professional contexts were discussed.

In order to test the invariance of factorial structure of the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI, Ang & Huan, 2006), 680 high school students (355 gifted, 325 non-gifted) completed the AESI. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the cross-group validity or invariance of factorial structure of AESI in gifted and non-gifted students. The results of single-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the two-factor model of AESI (academic stress arising from self-expectations factor and academic stress arising from parents/teachers expectations factor) fit well to the data across two groups. The results of multi-group confirmatory factor analysis revealed the cross-group invariance of factorial structure, factor loadings, and factor variances and covariances of the AESI across gifted and non-gifted adolescents. The findings emphasizing the group invariance of factorial structure of AESI in gifted and non-gifted students suggested that it measured the same construct in these two groups.

The present study was conducted to examine the relationships of attachment and perceived parenting styles to spiritual experiences and religious practices. Three hundred and thirty three male students were selected from Allameh Tabatabaie university using cluster sampling. The participants completed the Parenting Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1991), Attachment Style Inventory (Besharat, 2000) and the Multidimensional Assessment of Spirituality and Religiosity (National Institute of Health, 1999). The results indicated that there were positive significant relations between secure attachment style and spirituality experience s and religious practices in adulthood. Also, there were positive significant relations between authoritative parenting and spirituality experiences and religious practices. In all, it can be concluded that the authoritative parenting and secure attachment are good predictors of spiritual experiences and religious practices in adulthood.