Journal of Child Mental Health
Year:2017 | Volume:4 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:14

Background and Purpose: Social anxiety disorder is one of the most important causes of maladjustment in students. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of attention control training on attention bias and anxiety sensitivity in students with social anxiety disorder.Method: The research design was semi-experimental with pretest– post-test and control group.The statistical population included all 14-year-old male students with social anxiety disorder in Shahrood city in the academic year of 2016-2017. Using multi-stage cluster sampling method, 30 students were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (each group 15 students). Both groups completed the bias attention scale (Woody, Chambls & Glass, 1997), social anxiety questionnaire (Connor, 2000), and anxiety sensitivity test (Taylor & Cox, 1998) before the training. Experimental group in 8 one-hour sessions received attention control training, but the control group did not receive any training. One-way covariance analysis was used to analyze the data.Results: Data analysis using one-way covariance analysis showed that the scores of the experimental group in comparison with the control group scores decreased significantly in the attention bias and anxiety sensitivity (P<0.05).Conclusion: Attention control training can lead to a decrease in attention bias and anxiety sensitivity among students with social anxiety disorder due to treatment of the cognitive attention syndrome disorder and the enhancement of metacognition.

Background and Purpose: Since positive thinking has a major impact on many aspects of life, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of positive-thinking education on the perceived competency and social skills of the orphan and mistreated children of 10 to 12 years old.Method: The method of the study was quasi-experimental and one-sample design with pre-test and post-test. The statistical population included all the female orphans and mistreated children between the ages of 10 and 12 from Rasht in 2016 that among them 10 children were selected using convenience sampling. The research tools were social skills questionnaire for teachers (Gresham and Elliot, 1990) and Children's competency perception questionnaire (Harter, 1982).Positive thinking was trained in 14 sessions of 90 minutes to the sample group. Data analysis was performed using Cohen's coefficient and Hedges coefficient.Results: The results of this study showed that positive-thinking education could increase the perceived competence and social skills of children and the subjects participating in the post-test had significantly higher perceived competence and social skills (P<0.01).Conclusion: In sum, the results of this study confirm the usefulness and effectiveness of positive thinking in increasing the perceived competency and social skills of the orphan and mistreated children.

Background and Purpose: Children's behavioral problems such as aggression can seriously harm children's social interactions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy and attachment-based therapy on externalizing problems in children with aggression.Method: The research method was semi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design with control group. The statistical population consisted of all aggressive male children in primary school in Isfahan during the school year 2015-2016 and their mothers. A sample of 45 of these children and their mothers was selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The mothers group received ten training sessions on attachment therapy and the children received 10 sessions of metacognitive therapy for 60 minutes. The instruments were aggression questionnaire (Bus & Preey, 1992) and children’s behavioral Inventory (Achenbakh, 2001). Data were analyzed using covariance analysis.Results: The results showed that metacognitive therapy and attachment-based treatment were effective on externalized problems of male children with aggression (P£0.05). Also, based on the results of post hoc test, there was no significant difference between the effect of metacognitive therapy and attachment-based therapy (P³0.05).Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, meta-cognitive therapy and attachment therapy can be used to reduce the behavioral problems of aggressive children.

Background and Purpose: Given the complexity of living conditions in the current world, problem solving skill is becoming one of the basic components in dealing with everyday life problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the teaching of new parenting programs, in which problem solving strategies have been taught to mothers.Method: The sample consisted of 38 mothers of children who were enrolled in private schools in Tehran. The current study is quasi-experimental research with pretest - posttest design without control group. Data were collected using children's behavioral problems questionnaire (Shokoohi-Yekta and Parand, 2008) and Family Problem Solving Scale (Ahmadi, Fathi Ashtiani and Etemadi, 2007).Results: Findings indicated a significant effect on reducing children's behavioral problems, as the most effects of these workshops were seen on the subscale of situation understanding and lowest effects on feeling understand (P<0.05). However, there was no significant effect in the area of family problem solving.Conclusion: It seems that findings of this research can be used as an effective intervention for reducing children behavioral problems. Meanwhile, the program can be suggested to therapists to utilize in group training as an effective program in a short course.

Background and Purpose: Given the importance of interventions to improve the spelling disability and the need to prevent future problems, the purpose of this study was evaluate the effectiveness of attention training on improving the academic performance of students with spelling learning disability.Method: The method research of current study was semi-experimental and research design is pretest- posttest with control group. The statistical population consisted of all third and forth grades primary school students with spelling learning disability in Isfahan in 2014-2015 year.Sixty student were selected through multistage random sampling, and allocated into control and exprimental groups. The program of attention training was presented in fifteen sessions of 80 minutes on the experimental group. Pieron Precision Test (Pieron, 1986), Jordan Attention Deficite Disorder Scale (Jordan, 1992) and Fallah Chay Spelling Learning Disability Test (Fallah Chay, 1998) were used as the research instruments. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance.Results: The results of data analysis showed that attention training significantly increased the mean scores of the academic performance in experimental group compared to the control group at the post-test stage (P˂0.01). Also, there was a significant difference between the mean scores of boys and girls in the spelling scores (P˂0.05).Conclusion: The results supported the effectiveness of attention training on improving spelling ability and academic performance in student with learning disability and have important implications in regard to attention training to reduce academic problems of students with spelling learning disability.

Background and Purpose: Throughout history, storytelling has always been an interest of people and in the case of children; it is an educational process. For this reason, storytelling is one of the most important means of modifying the behavior of children. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of Quran folktale on adjustment in preschool student.Method: The present study was a semi-experimental design. The statistical population of the study consisted of all preschool students in Khoy city in the academic year of 2014 -2015.The sample of the study consisted of 40 children aged 5-6 years old (20 experimental and 20 control group) were selected by available sampling from two classes of a school and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained Quran folktale in 8 sessions. To collect data, adjustment questionnaire (Sinha & Singh, 1993) was used which was carried out in two stages of pre-test and post-test. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis.Results: The results of hypotheses tests showed that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of experimental and control groups in social adjustment and the average of experimental group was more than control group (P˂ 0.05). But there was no significant difference in the emotional adjustment and academic adjustment between groups.Conclusion: To increase the social adjustment of children in preschool centers, storytelling especially Quran folktale can be used.

Background and Purpose: Test anxiety is a state of general anxiety and it includes cognitive, physiologic and behavioral responses related to the fear of failure that affects students at the time of their academic performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of attention training on attention control, focused attention and dispersed attention in female students with exam anxiety.Method: The research method is experimental with pretest-posttest design with control group.Thus a sample of 30 female high school students with anxiety test in Isfahan during the academic year of 2015-2016 selected by multistage cluster sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The tools used in this study were anxiety questionnaire (Sarason, 1984) and measurement instrument of focused and dispersed attention (Yazdi, 2011) and attention control questionnaire (Diri Beri & Reed, 2002). Before intervention, both groups were evaluated. Then, the experimental group received educational intervention during 8 sessions in 2 months. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis.Results: The results showed that attention training has a significant effect on attention control, focused attention and dispersed attention (P<0.001). The effect of attention training on the components of attention control, focused and dispersed attention was 53, 54 and 40 percent, respectively.Conclusion: Therefore, according to the results of this study, attention training can be used to increase the attention and concentration of students with test anxiety.

Background and Purpose: Given the advancement of science and technology in the present century, and the crystallization of the fact that the prosperity of a country emerges from education, the need to expand the primary school reveals itself more than ever before. The current research aims to investigate the role of preschool education on psycho-motor skills and social adjustment in elementary students.Method: The research method is a causal-comparative study. The statistical population included all elementary students of Khoy city in the academic year of 2013- 2014 (1900 student) that 320 of them were selected by stratified sampling method (160 students in each group). The instrument used included the adaptive bdhavior inventory for children (Lambert & et al, 1984) and motor development test (Lincoln Oseretsky, 1978). Data analysis was performed using multivariate analysis of variance.Results: The results of multivariate analysis of variance analysis showed that preschool education has increased psychomotor skills and adaptation in all of components in students with preschool education experience (P<0.001).Conclusion: Based on the results of this research, primary education can be considered as one of the most effective methods for improving psychomotor skills and social adaptation in students.The implications of the result are discussed in the article.

Background and Purpose: Attachment style and identity style as two important components of personality have always been considered by researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality dimensions with attachment styles and identity styles in students with hearing impairment. For data analysis, correlation and multiple regression were used.Method: The method of this study was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population consisted of all deaf male students (under 14 years old) who were studying at Imam Sadegh Educational Institute in Mazandaran province in the 2015-2016 academic year that 62 students were selected by sampling method as sample. For collecting data, Eysenck personality questionnaire (Eyesenck, 1975), attachment style (Collins & Reid, 1990), and identity style questionnaire (Berzoneski, 1989) were used.Results: The results of correlation and regression analysis showed that only anxiety attachment style with confused identity styles in students with hearing impairment has a significant correlation (0.412). There is no significant correlation between avoidant and secure attachment styles with identity styles. Also, the results showed that none of the dimensions of personality were able to predict attachment styles and identity styles of students with hearing impairment (P>0.05).Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, only with regard to the attachment style and identity style, it is not possible to predict the mental attributes of people with hearing impairment such as suspicion of the surrounding people. Therefore, other variables should also be studied.

Background and Purpose: Without the eyesight, individuals’ perception of the surrounding world is different, and this can lead to emotional and social problems such as social anxiety, low self-concept, and negative body-image. The purpose of this study was to study social anxiety, self-image, and body image in students with and without visual impairment.Method: The present study was a causal-comparative study. The statistical population included all male students in Tehran who were studying in the academic year of 2016-2017. The sample included 70 blind students aged 14-18 years old who were selected by convenience sampling method from Shahid Mohebbi Blind center. Also, a group of 70 normal students were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. Social anxiety inventory (Conner, 2000), body image test (Fisher, 1970) and children’s self-concept scale (Piers, 1969) were used to collect data. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the data.Results: The results of this study showed that there is a significant difference in the social anxiety, self-concept, and body image between students with and without visual impairment (P˂ 0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study showed that people with visual impairment are more exposed to higher social anxiety, lower self-concept and more negative body image than those without visual impairment. Therefore, by designing appropriate educational programs for parents and teachers, it should help to develop a sense of being positive, assertiveness and intimate in children with visual impairment.

Background and Purpose: Nowadays, the phenomenon of child labor is one of the problems facing most of the major cities in the contemporary world; therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of solution-focused group counseling on self-efficacy and social support in child labor.Method: The method of this study was a post-test design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all children who received services at Koshah's cultural support center in Tehran during the year of 2014. The sample consisted of 30 children who participated voluntarily in the study and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. To collect data in this study, a General Self-Efficacy Scale (Sherer, 1982) and Social Support Inventory (Philips, 1986) Philips were used. The experimental group participated in solution focused group counseling and the control group did not receive any counseling. Independent t test and Eta square were used to analyze the data.Results: The results showed that after performing group counseling sessions, self-efficacy in experimental group subjects was significantly increased compared to control group, but there was no significant difference in the level of social support between the two groups (p˂0 05) Conclusion: The solution-based group counseling approach increased the self-efficacy of participants in this study, but did not significant effect on the social support variable; therefore, it is suggested to increase the number of counseling sessions or other therapeutic approaches to strengthen the social support variable.

Background and Purpose: Some psychological disorders and childhood learning such as dyslexia and ADHD can affect the cognitive process of children. Therefore, the present study was conducted to compare the working memory profile of children with ADHD and children with dyslexia with normal ones.Method: The present study was descriptive and causal-comparative. The research sample consisted of 30 children dyslexia, 30 children with ADHD, and 30 normal students in elementary school that was selected through multi-stage random sampling among the elementary students of the third grade in Isfahan in the academic year of 2012-2013. To collect data in this research, the fourth edition of the Wechsler intelligence scale for children–revised- fourth edition (Wechsler, 2003), dyslexia diagnosis test (Shafie, 2009) and the conners Scale for assessing ADHD (Brooke and Clington, 2007) were used. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA.Results: The results showed that there is a significant difference between the three groups of students in the working memory (P<0.05). The result of the post hoc test showed that that working memory performance in normal students was better than the other two groups. The ADHD group also has a higher working memory score than dyslexic students (P<0.05).Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, one of the cognitive problems of students with dyslexia and ADHD is weakness in working memory that appropriate educational interventions should be designed and implemented in accordance with their cognitive status.

Background and Purpose: Chewing nails is one of the most common behavioral problems in childhood that can be caused by anxiety and stress. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of art therapy (storytelling, photography and painting) based on cognitive behavioral therapy in treating a 7-year-old girl who had this disorder.Method: This study was an experimental single case study by using multiple-baselines. The intervention program was conducted in 10 sessions with a follow-up of six weeks. The instruments used in this study were clinical interview, observation, parenting styles questionnaire (Baumrind, 1991) and Goodenough–Harris draw-a-person test (DAP) (Goodenough- Harris, 1963). The research design was a single-case experimental multi-line method. Chart and drawing analysis were used to analyze the data.Results: The results of the study showed that the effect of art therapy (storytelling, photography and painting) based on cognitive-behavioral approach on nail-biting is clinically meaningful. (P>0.05).Conclusion: The results showed that art therapy (storytelling, photography and painting) based on cognitive-behavioral approach is effective in reducing nail-biting disorders. Also the person after receiving the treatment, in addition to reducing the factors related to nail chewing, also improved in other areas such as interpersonal and social behaviors. Therefore, it is suggested to researchers that an integrated model based on the findings of this research be developed for the treatment of nail biting.