Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
Year:2015 | Volume:20 | Issue:4 |Papers Count:14

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of group intervention based on positive psychology in decreasing depression and anxiety symptoms and increasing life satisfaction in adolescent girls. Method: Using convenient sampling method 31 girls aged 14-15 years with mild to moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety were assigned randomly to experimental and control groups. The intervention was given to the experimental group during 11 weekly two-hour sessions. Depression and anxiety symptoms were measured using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS-21) and life satisfaction was measured using Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), before and after four months of intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variances.Results: The results showed that in the experimental compared with the control group symptoms of depression (p=0.002, F=1018), anxiety (p=0.005, F=9.31) and stress (p=0.001, F=12.62) were decreased, while life satisfaction (p=0.003, F=10.18) was increased. The inter-group changes of all variables at follow-up and 9-month periods were not significant compared with post-test.Conclusion: Group intervention based on positive psychology reduces depression, anxiety and stress significantly. Therefore, it could be used to reduce preclinical symptoms.

Objectives: This study was aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with behavioral activation treatment in reducing symptoms, improving quality of life and decreasing suicidal thoughts. Method: A quasi-experimental method and mixed analysis of variances between-within group was conducted. The population included students of Islamic Azad University, Malayer Branch. Out of 364 individuals, 45 students with minimum score of 20 in Beck Depression Inventory were selected for the next stage in which though Structured Clinical Interview based on DSM-IV-TR (SCID-I) 34 ones with diagnosis of dysthymia were selected as study samples and randomly divided into two groups of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and behavioral activation therapy. The experimental group received therapeutic interventions for eight sessions. The measurements were carried out using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and World Helth Organization of Quality of Life (WHO-QOL) in four phases including pretest, fourth week evaluation, posttest, and two-month follow-up.Results: The findings showed that both mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and behavioral activation have similar effects on improving depressive symptoms, life quality and suicidal thoughts. In other words, time effect (the within-group effect) was significant (p<0.05), but the between-group effect was not significant.Conclusion: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and behavioral activation have the same effectiveness on the quality of life and suicidal thoughts of depressed subjects.

Objectives: This research was conducted to study the effect of exercise program on reducing symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Method: Thirty children aged 7-10 years with ADHD were chosen from a clinic in Kerman, Iran and assigned randomly into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in physical therapy for eight weeks. Data were collected using ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS). The parents completed ADHD-RS prior to intervention and after second, fourth, sixth and eighth weeks of exercise program. Data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance.Results: At the end of intervention phase and during followups, the scores of attention deficit and hyperactivity/impulsivity had decreased significantly; with a more reduction in the scores as time passed (p<0.05).Conclusion: The exercise program is effective in reducing ADHD symptoms.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate causal metacognitive model for explaining the symptoms of war-related chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Method: Current descriptive correlative study was performed on 80 subjects with war-related chronic PTSD selected conveniently among war victims who referred to Deputy of Treatment Affairs of Health and Treatment Office in the Ground Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The administered instruments included thought control, metacognitive beliefs and rumination questionnaires, PTSD symptoms checklists. Multiple regression model was used to test relational hypotheses; and Overall, Parsimonious and Comparative fit indices to investigate the hypothesized and explained model of fitness through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Amos Graphic software.Results: The results of the structural equation modeling for explaining the symptoms of war-related chronic PTSD support the metacognitive model. Also, the finding of the overall fit indices of structural equation modeling (c2=1.82, GFI=0.90, RMSEA=0.041) showed that the model is fit to data and closely related to the theoretical assumptions.Conclusion: Metacognitive beliefs through the mediation of thought control strategies and rumination influenced symptoms of war-related chronic PTSD and this causal model may facilitate case formulation and clinical treatment in veterans with this disorder.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of 5 - Dimension Personality Test (5DPT) -Persian version. Method: The sample consisted of 1040 female/male students from the universities in Tehran who were selected through multistage cluster sampling. For gathering the data, in addition to 5DPT, the subjects were asked to complete one of the eight instruments including: Iranian Students’ Mental Health Scale (ISMHS), Mental Health Inventory (MHI), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), Symptom Checklist-25 (SCl-25), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (KPDS), The 33 item version NEO- Personality Inventory (NEO-33), Self-Talk Scale (STS), and Beck Hopelessness Inventory (BHI). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and explanatory and confirmatory factor analysis.Results: The 75-item short-form of the test was composed of five saturated factors fitted to the data. These factors were neuroticism, absorption, orderliness, extroversion, and insensitivity. Internal consistency of the factors were between 0.81 (extraversion) and 0.68 (insensitivity); items’ correlation coefficients with the whole scale score were satisfactory. Factors’ reliability coefficients and all accompanied instruments were in accordance with the literature.Conclusion: The 5DPT-Persian version has suitable psychometric properties to be used in research and clinical settings.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between impulse control difficulties and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) with mediating role of self-inadequacy in adolescents with childhood maltreatment history. Method: In a correlation design, 169 adolescents with childhood maltreatment history were selected using cluster sampling. Participants were asked to complete Non-suicidal self- Injury checklist, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Self-Criticism/Self-Reassurance Scale (FSCSR). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), multivariate regression and mediation analysis.Results: The history of NSSI was present in 49% of participants, while the history of NSSI in girls was higher than boys. There was a significant relationship between overall score of emotion regulation difficulties and self-criticism with frequency of NSSI. Mediation analysis showed that self-inadequacy has a mediating role in relationship between impulse control difficulties and NSSI.Conclusion: It seems impulse control difficulties as an emotional vulnerability factor and self-inadequacy as a mediating mechanism are predictors of NSSI. These findings support emotion regulation model and developmental pathology of NSSI. The adolescents following self-injury suffer from stable inner impulse control disorder, although their reasons for self-injury are not because of repulsion, self-disgust and masochism.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was examining the accuracy of predictability of cognitive-social variables of life satisfaction in university students. Method: In this analytical-descriptive study, 460 students (243 female and 217 male) of bachelor’s and master’s degree in Uromia University were selected through multistage sampling method and participated in the study. In this study, the variables environmental protections and resources, positive emotion, self-efficacy expectations, outcome expectations, goal progress, and educational satisfaction were predictor variable; and life satisfaction was criterion variable for which the related tests were administered. Data were analyzed by structural equations modeling through LISREL software.Results: The results showed an appropriate fit to the theoretical cognitive-social model and the desirable variables of this model were appropriate predictors for life satisfaction in the study samples. Among predictors, environmental protections and resources were the most powerful ones with highest path coefficient toward life satisfaction.Conclusion: The results supported the theoretical structure of cognitive-social model of life satisfaction and the accuracy of its predictors. All casual pathways toward life satisfaction were positive and significant and cognitive-social variables could explain and predict life satisfaction in university students.

Objectives: The goal of present study was to compare the grief reactions following first-grade relatives’ death (child, spouse, parents, sister and brother) and to examine their reactions with anticipated/unanticipated death of the ceased person. Method: From those who were grived following death of a first-grade relative 180 persons (77 males and 103 females) were selected purposefully. The participants were asked to fill the Grief Experience Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).Results: The difference between the effect of anticipated compared with unanticipated grief considering search for explanation (p<0.001), and kinship in some of grief reactions were significant (p<0.001). Grief reactions following the death of a child in components of somatic reaction, search for explanation and feeling of abandonment were more severe than the death of other relatives, and the grief of spouse, in feeling of abandonment, was more severe than the death of siblings or parents. The grief of siblings, in search for explanation, was more than the grief for death of parents, and to this regard, the grief following the death of mother was higher than the death of father.Conclusion: By explaining the difference in intensity of grief reactions following the death of relatives, the results could have implications for diagnosis and treatment of grief.