Applied Psychology
Year:2019 | Volume:12 | Issue:4 (48) |Papers Count:9

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP), Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Third-Wave Behavior Therapies on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Iranian population. Method: The research method was a meta-analysis and the statistical population of all researches conducted in Iran between 2005 and 2017 was 58 studies that among them, 34 studies were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria as the research sample and finally reported 13 effect sizes for ERP, 19 effect sizes for CBT and 12 effect sizes for Third-Wave Behavior Therapies. The effect size index was the standardized mean difference also statistical analysis was done by comprehensive meta-analysis software. Results: The results showed that ERP (d= 1. 815, P= 0. 05), CBT (d= 1. 542, P= 0. 05) and Third-Wave Behavior Therapies (d= 1. 688, P= 0. 05) had been effective for OCD. In addition, study of type of treatment as a moderating variable didn’ t show significant difference. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this meta-analysis, it can be concluded that exposure is the most important therapeutic process in the treatment of OCD which it is an essential component in all three therapeutic approaches, and probably adding cognitive, mindfulness and acceptance components will not significantly contribute to the efficacy of behavioral therapy based on ERP in Iranian patients with OCD.

Aim: The present research aimed to determine the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in Improving cognitive control and flexibility in anxious students. Methods: The design of was quasi-experimental with control group and pretest, posttest and a two month follow-up. The statistical population of this study included all female students of Payame Noor University of Guilan (N= 8000). After screening 200 students for test anxiety, thirty anxious students were randomly selected and assigned to an experimental and a control group (15 persons in each group). The instruments used were the Stroop test, (Stroop, 1935), the Flexibility Scale (Dennis and Vander Wal, 2009). In addition, participants took part in eight 90 minute sessions of Acceptance and Commitment therapy in accordance with Hayes and Rose’ s (2008) ACT protocol. Data was analyzed using ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: Findings indicated a significant difference between the scores of the two groups in the correct response congruence (F= 5. 05, P= 0. 03), reaction times to congruent stimuli (F= 4. 56, P= 0. 04), correct response incongruence (F= 4. 32, P= 0. 05), reaction times to incongruent stimuli (F= 4. 30, P= 0. 05) and cognitive flexibility (F= 17, P= 0. 03) in post-test and after two months follow up. Conclusions: According to the results of the present research, it can be concluded that ACT can reduce the anxiety of anxious students by improving cognitive control and enhancing cognitive flexibility.

Aim: This study was conducted with the aim of comparing perfectionism and the source of health control in in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and depressed patients. Methods: Method was casual-comparative and statistical population included all outpatients referred to Hamrah psychiatric center under supervision of welfare organization of Karaj city in the year 2015 who totally were 487 people. Among them 60 patients with OCD and 60 depressed patients who met the criteria of the study were selected using convenience sampling and the subjects completed the Frast Marten, Lhart and Rosenblate (1990) multidimensional perfetctionism scale (FMPS) and Wollaston, Wollaston and Dolis (1978) multidimensional health locus of control scale (MHLC). Data was analyzed using MANOVA & ANOVA. Results: Results showed that the obsessive patients had more levels of perfectionism (F= 18. 12, P= 0. 001) and its dimensions namely worry over mistakes (F= 17. 45, P= 0. 003), parental expectations (F= 11. 34, P= 0. 01), uncertainty in the works (F= 28. 25, P= 0. 0001), individual criteria (F= 10. 67, P= 0. 01), parental criticism (F= 16. 32, P= 0. 004), desire to be disciplined and organized (F= 18. 58, P= 0. 002), internal health locus of control (IHLC) (F= 61. 28, P= 0. 001), powerful others health locus of control (PHLC) (F= 79. 54, P= 0. 0001), chance health locus of control (CHLC) (F= 63. 23, P= 0. 00) compared to depressed patients. Conclusion: It seems that higher levels of perfectionism and its components in obsessive patients lead to mental and behavioral activation; that's why they have better health locus of control than depressed people. Thus, it is recommended for the prevention of depression and its treatment some behavioral activation plans to be developed.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of training the components of Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy on the parent-child conflicts and the marital conflicts. Method: The present research was a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest plan and control group, and a three-month follow-up. The study population were 86 couples with marital conflicts and parent-child conflicts referring to the salaheddin Counseling Center of Sanandaj in 2017. Participants selected were all volunteers. 30 families were selected and were randomly classified into intervention and control groups. The intervention group went through 16 two-hour sessions of group Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy, twice a week at Salaheddin Counseling Center of Sanandaj using the method developed by Khodayari Fard, Sadeghi, Abedini (2005). The Parent-Child Relationship Scale (Fine, Moreland and Schwebel, 1983), and, the Marital Conflicts Questionnaire (Sanayi, 2000) were administered to both groups in three phases. Then, the data were analyzed by mixed analysis of variance with repeated measures. Findings: Results showed that training the components of Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy reduced parent-child conflicts (F= 69. 658, P= 0. 0001) and marital conflicts. The effect was sustained during the follow-up period (F= 35. 898, P= 0. 0001). Conclusion: Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy can create the intended changes in the family by challenging and correcting thoughts, mental rules, perceptions, and self-talks that create conflicts and dysfunctional relationship patterns among family members. Therefore, it could be employed as an effective intervention to reduce marital as well as parent-child conflicts.

Aim: Present study purpose was to study role of positive and negative affective experiences, neuroticism and motivational values characters in descrimination self-harming individuals from normal people. Methods: Research method was descriptive and, comparative causal type and the statistical population of this study was the students of dormitories at different universities of Tehran in 2016, where 218 of them (Between 30 to 50 participants from each of Tehran, Allame Tabatabai, Kharazmi, Shahed, Shahid Beheshti, and Tarbiat Modares universities) were selected by convenience sampling method. Finally, based on the Self-Harm Inventory of Sansone, Wiederman & Sansone (1998), 40 patients in the self-anxiety group and 40 patients in the normal group, they were screened and selected. The research tools consisted of the Positive and Negative Experiences Questionnaire, Diener, Writz, Tov, Kim-Prieto, Choi, Oishi & Biswas-Diener 2010, Schwartz Value Survey (1992), and NEO Personality Inventory 5 factors Costa & McCrae 1986 completed the test discriminant analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The findings showed that the mean neuroticism (F= 44. 94, P= 0. 001) and negative affect (F= 8. 04, P= 0. 006) of the self-harming group were significantly higher than the normal people, and the mean positive affect (F= 15. 84, P= 0. 001), universality (F= 8. 96, P= 0. 004), benevolence (F= 15. 14, P= 0. 001), tradition (F= 13. 68, P= 0. 001), conformity (F= 16. 39, P= 0. 001) and safety (F= 7. 54, P= 7. 54) were significantly lower than the normal group. The present discriminate function was able to explain 49. 8% of the self-harming/ non-self-harming variance and coulde correctly grouped 91. 3% of the participants. Conclusion: The neuroticism, conformity, positive affect, benevolence, tradition, universality and negative affect variables can be used as a criterion to predict group membership of individuals in the normal group and the self-harm group and as a discrimination criterion for these two groups. Therefore, providing training to improve these variables can help moderate self-harming behaviors.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on anxiety sensitivity, self-concept and academic self-efficacy in students with dysgraphia. Methods: Research method was quasi-experimental with pretest, posttest, and control group and a two month follow up. The statistical population included all girls and boys between the ages of 9 to 15 at elementary school level who referred to Kermanshah Province’ s Education Learning Disorder Center, in 2017. The number of patients diagnosed as having Dysgraphia was 114. Of these, using convenience sampling, 30 students were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Measurement tools were Reis & Mcnally’ s Anxiety Sensitivity Index (1985), Beck, Steer, Epstein & Brown Self-Concept Test (1990), Jings & Morgan’ s Educational Self-Efficacy Inventory 1999 (Quoted by Mazaheri and Sadeghi, 2015), Kabat-Zinn’ s Mindfulness Training Program (1992). Participants in the experimental group received eight weekly 90-minute sessions of Mindfulness Training Program. Data gathered from questionnaires filled out by both groups were analyzed in three stages using mixed variance analysis with repeated measurement. Results: Findings showed that Mindfulness Training has a significant effect on anxiety sensitivity (F= 16. 46, P= 0. 001), self-concept (F= 51. 97, P= 0. 001), and educational self-efficacy (F= 69. 69, P= 0. 001) and this effect remained unchanged in the two month follow-up phase. Conclusion: Since mindfulness training leads to the acceptance of emotions and physical and psychological symptoms in the students, it can be used as an effective intervention method for the decrease of psychological problems, especially in children with dysgraphia.

Aim: The aim of this study was to predict unrelenting standards/hyper-criticalness schema based on irrational beliefs of parents and parent-child communication patterns in the female adolescent. Method: The research method was descriptive-correlational, and the statistical population included 49421 secondary school female students and their parent in Tehran in the 2016 year, among whom 290 were selected based on suggested formula by VanVoorhis & Morgan (2007) and considering the probability of sample loss by the available sampling method from Shahid Dastgheyb Girls' High School from District 13, Aien Islam Girls' High School from District 15 and School girls Azadegan from District 1. The study tools were Bagheri Parent-Child Communication Pattern Questionnaire (2013) and Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 1988 which were completed by students and Jones Irrational Beliefs Test (1968) which were completed by both parents. After removing of 63 distortions and 8 outlier questionnaire, the collected data were analyzed using hierarchical multivariate regression method. Results: The results showed that among the components of the father-child communication pattern, variables of the formality (β = 0. 171), conditional value (β = 0. 151) and interconnectedness (β = 0. 312), and among the components of mother-child communication pattern, variables of the inflexibility (β = 0. 181) and limitations (β = 0. 155) and irrational beliefs of the mother (β = 0. 196) positively predict the unrelenting standards/ hyper-criticalness maladaptive schema in adolescent girls (P= 0. 001). Conclusion: It is essential to educate parents and create awareness about the contributing factors of unrelenting standards/hyper-criticalness maladaptive schema in adolescent, preventing the harm caused by maladaptive communication patterns and irrational beliefs of parents in many areas of adolescent life.