Contemporary Psychology
Year:2015 | Volume:10 | Issue:1 (19)|Papers Count:10

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between psychological vulnerability with metabolic syndrome and the mediating role of health behaviors, chronic stress, and depressive symptoms. A total of 199 first degree adult relatives of patients with type II diabetes participated in the present study. Type D personality, anger, hostility, and neuroticism were considered as psychological vulnerability. Health behaviors involved exercise, smoking, and sitting behavior. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP-III) criteria and using blood test as well as measuring blood pressure and waist circumference. Participants also answered the items of type D personality Scale (DS-14), neuroticism subscale of EPQ-RS, depression subscale of DASS, and anger and hostility subscales of SCL-90-R. Results indicated that psychological vulnerability did not predict metabolic syndrome directly, but was a good predictor of metabolic syndrome through chronic stress and depressive symptoms. In other words, chronic stress and depressive symptoms (but not health behaviors) had a mediating role on the relationship between psychological vulnerability and metabolic syndrome. Based on findings of the present study, it is suggested that chronic stress and depressive symptoms may be considered to be important mechanisms underlying the connection between undesirable personality traits and metabolic syndrome.

Some of theories which try to explain the mechanisms underlying false memory phenomenon postulate that false memories are due to existence of semantic relations between studied items which increase memory's vulnerability to this kind of distortion. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of shifting attention away from semantic relations among words in associative lists in Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm, through dividing attention, on false memory in visual and auditory modalities. A total of 462 university students (355 girls, 107 boys) were tested in DRM paradigm for their false memories. Original series of DRM consists of the lists of words. Each list is related semantically with a lure word that doesn't exist in the origin list, and reminding the lure word in testing time, measures false memory. Results revealed that false recall of divided attention group was less than control group, but there was not any difference between divided attention and full attention groups. In addition, the amount of false recall of visual lists was less than auditory lists. There was also a significant interaction effect between modality of presentation and dividing attention, indicating that the amount of false recall differs between visual and auditory presentation only when participants engage in the task with full attention. Results of the present study have shown that dividing attention in the study phase can act as an effective way to reduce false recall in both visual and auditory modalities.

Each employee passes an occupational path that is called ‘career path’. Planning and managing this career path in a suitable way in which career satisfaction may be achieved. Some individual and occupational traits can affect career satisfaction. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between two individual traits, namely emotional intelligence and proactive personality and an occupational trait namely job enrichment with career satisfaction. Also, direct and indirect effects of these variables on career satisfaction were investigated. The sample of this study included 515 personnel of three refining and distribution oil productions. Participants completed research instruments which included Career Satisfaction Scales (CSS), Job Enrichment Scale (JES), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS), and Proactive Personality Scale (PPS). Result indicated that emotional intelligence, proactive personality and job enrichment had an effect on career satisfaction directly. However, no indirect effects were found, probably because the employees evaluated their jobs as having a low level of enrichment. Recommendations for future research include designing a mediator model. Further recommendations were made for organizations and managers so that career satisfaction of staff may be increased.

The present study aimed to predict suicide ideation based on identity styles and coping strategies in adolescents. The study population included all adolescents studying in Tabriz high schools. A total of 120 boys and girls were selected and completed the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI), the Coping Strategies Inventory (CISS), and the Identity Style Inventory (ISI-6). Results showed that coping strategies and identity styles can predict suicide ideation. Data analysis showed that among identity styles, confused identity had a significant and positive relationship and commitment had a significant and negative relationship with suicidal ideation. Also emotion-focused strategies had a significant and positive correaltion whereas problem oriented strategies showed a significant and negative correlation with suicidal thoughts. Adolescents showing the confused-avoidant identity style are in conflict with issues of identity and thus tend to evade and / or avoid these issues. They do not seem to be able to plan their lives effectively and in dealing with problems seem to react emotionally and in the event of failure may turn to thoughts about ending their lives. Thus, it is suggested that in an attempt at preventing and reducing suicidal ideation in adolescents, important variables such as identity styles and strategies should be targeted for change and modification.

The present study examined the mediating role of academic stress on the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and emotional well-being among gifted and normal adolescents. In a sample consisting of 680 adolescents (325 normal, 355 gifted), the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNES), the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI), and the Scales of Subjective Well-Being (SSW) were administered. In global model and for each of two groups (gifted and normal), results indicated that the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and emotional well-being by academic stress is mediated. The results of the group specificity of structural relations showed that the relationships between fear of negative evaluation, academic stress and emotional well-being were equivalent for both groups. All of the regression weights in the global model and for each of the two groups (gifted and normal), were statistically significant and model' predictors accounted for 15 to 18 percent of the variance in negative affect and 13 to 21 percent of the variance in positive affect. These findings show that in both groups, when encountering social stressors in academic situations, differences in positive and negative affect to the stressors accounted for by difference in the degree of perceived academic stress.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the common and chronic functional gastrointestinal disorders that causes a great burden for the patient and the society. Therefore, investigation of psychological variables related to IBS can be useful in understanding, managing and reducing symptom severity in IBS patients. The present study was performed to examine the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty on the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and severity of symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. One hundred and eighty patients with irritable bowel syndrome (66 women, 114 men) participated in this study. All patients were asked to complete the IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-SF) and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12). Results demonstrated that early maladaptive schemas and intolerance of uncertainty had a significant positive association with severity of symptoms. Early maladaptive schemas had a significant positive association with intolerance of uncertainty. Results showed that intolerance of uncertainty did not play a mediating role on the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and severity of IBS symptoms. According to the results of the present study, it can be concluded that early maladaptive schemas and intolerance of uncertainty can predict severity of IBS symptoms. Considering these psychological variables would be helpful in the processes of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of IBS.

The aim of the present study was to compare the characteristics of cognitive emotion regulation strategies and alexithymia in individual with and without essential hypertension. This was carried on 100 patients with essential hypertension from the health centers in Urmia City who were compared with 100 healthy individuals. The participants were assessed using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire (CERQ) and the Farsi version of the Toronto alexithymia scale (FTAS-20).  Results revealed that patients with essential hypertension had higher scores in dimensions of self-blame, other-blame, rumination, catastrophizing and had significantly lower scores in positive refocusing and positive reappraisal in comparison with healthy individuals. There were also significant differences between difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings and externally oriented thinking between the two groups. It can be concluded that an individuals with essential hypertension are likely to use more maladaptive strategies and score higher in alexithymia. This condition may result in a variety of mental and physical problems.

The aim of the present study was to validate the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) in a sample of Iranian university students. The PNI was developed using a rigorous translation/back-translation process. Participants consisted of 473 (195 female, 278 male) university students in Tehran, Iran; including, University of Tehran, Tehran Medical University of Tehran, Allameh Tabata’ei University, Tarbiat Modares University, Amirkabir University, Islamic Madhahib University, and Alzahra University. Participants completed the Iranian PNI, the Eysenck Self-Esteem Scale (ESES), and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEOPI-R). Results indicated that the PNI and its scales had convergent validity with the Eysenck Self-Esteem Scale and the neuroticism factor of the NEOPI-R. Results also showed high internal consistency according to Cronbach’s alpha and good test-retest reliability in the PNI and its scales in a 15-day period. Exploratory factor analysis and parallel analysis and exploratory factor analysis indicated that a seven-factor model. However an item-level confirmatory factor analysis did not exhibit acceptable fit. On the other hand, confirmatory factor analysis on narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability showed good validity of the PNI in these factors. According to the present findings, The PNI has acceptable validity and reliability. Implications for research and clinical applications of the PNI in an Iranian student population is discussed.