Cultural Psychology
Year:2017 | Volume:1 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:6

Regarding uncertain boundaries between mental disorders, co-morbidity as well as claims on their cross-culturality, this research attempts to answer this question that whether depression disorder in Iran is a single disorder or it has various patterns that have been emerged from a co-morbidity with other disorders. What are the symptoms of the prediction of depression disorder in the academic community of Iran? Can sex affect the disease in several ways? Through using empirical method, the present research studies clinical patterns of depression in the Iranian student population and deals with this problem that to what extent the gender pattern of depression is congruent with global statistics. The research community includes the studying and sample students of Tehran universities that have been selected randomly, assessed by SCL-90-R and MMPI-2 questionnaires and analyzed by multiple regressions. Findings show depression in Iranian students is recognizable and evaluable on the basis of five basic components and SCL-90-R factors play an appropriate predictive role in depression. Three different types of depression patterns were identified that play a dominant role in the formation of depression. The rate of depression in female students is more than that of men and is more affected by the sensitivity to interpersonal relationships. Women's score was higher in physical complaints, anxiety, depression, aggression, phobia, sensitivity to interpersonal relationships, and mutual thoughts; there was no observed difference in obsession and psychosis. These findings confirm the conclusion that depression is a disorder that has a co-morbidity with other disorders. In addition, the present study shows there is no difference between married and single people except for anxiety factor. And those components of Iranian culture that affect depression disorder include sexual and gender differences, social class, and the impact of marriage on the family and social system.

This research aims to study the concept of adulthood and the impact of cultural and social variables on giving importance to adulthood markers among a sample of Iranian emerging adults. The research community consists of Tehran University students: 301 students (with an age range of 19-28) were selected by stratified random sampling and screening to participate in the research. Participants responded to Demographic Information Questionnaire, Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA), Adulthood Markers Questionnaire, and Reached Version of Adulthood Markers Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by T Test, ANOVA test and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Findings of the research showed that demographic variables of gender, marital status, membership in ethnic subcultures are meaningfully affecting people's views on adulthood concept (P <0. 05). Considering the importance of adulthood markers in Iranian culture, the findings showed that the participants regarded independence, interdependence, family capacities, and norm compliance as the most important criteria of transition to adulthood (P <0. 01), while giving less importance (lower than average) to the biological transition and legal transition as the criteria of transition to adulthood. Finally, the students believed that by now the only markers of adulthood that they have reached are independence, interdependence and norm compliance. According to their evaluations of themselves, their reach to the markers of adulthood is meaningfully more than average (P<0. 01); however they believed that their reach to the markers of role transition is meaningfully less than average (P<0. 01).

This study aims to describe the local treatment for chronic depression. The research has been carried out through qualitative method and grounded theory method. The statistical society of the research includes 1) all the available articles and books; 2) the theories of therapists and experts on chronic depression; 3) all the chronic depression patients in 25-60 age group who referred Isfahan’ s Centers for Counseling, Psychotherapy Services, and Mental Health, and received outpatient treatment in three months (Summer 2017). From among the relevant texts, and people with chronic depression 60 articles and 12 patients were selected through the purposive sampling technique. The tools that were used include structured clinical interview for chronic depression disorders in DSM-5(Scid-5-cv), a semi-structured interview with open questions, and Hamilton’ s 24-item scale (HRSD24). The results of data encoding show that chronic depression relevant traumas can be categorized into cognitive and behavioral factors, disappointment to treatment, previous history of depression, inappropriate diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, family factor, and social-occupational-financial relations. Therefore, this model suggests a local therapeutic protocol that is based on the above categories, and regarding the effectiveness of previous therapies, this therapeutic protocol is a combination of Schema Therapy (ST), Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP), Behavioral Activation Therapy (BAT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), and Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT).

Religious factors play an important role in the social-cultural context of the country, and the family's health status is affected by spiritual and religious beliefs and behaviors. Accordingly, the present study aims to identify religious factors affecting a healthy family. The present study was carried out through qualitative and phenomenological methods. For this purpose, by using theoretical sampling method and a deep interview during a 12-month period, 13 parents were studied. The data were collected, recorded, encoded and categorized into main categories. The results of the analysis of the encoding of the interviews led to the identification of nine sub categories and two main categories including religious beliefs and religious constraints. Religious factors such as religious duties, patience, forgiveness, shared worldviews, trust, and benevolence have been identified as influential on the health of family. The results of the research showed that in the healthy family, there are factors that are influenced by religious factors. These religious factors play a very important role in family health. Therefore, the necessity of paying more attention to religious factors in addressing families in the social-cultural context of our country is of essential importance.

In today's world, the growing trend of immigration led to the increase of the migrant students population. However, the migration process for whatever reason or extend of duration, is stressful and these students are at risk in terms of psychological problems. This study aims to investigate the effect of migration on the behavioral problems of children. This is a causal-comparative research. Using randomized cluster sampling, 364 children with their mothers were selected, so that from all the primary and secondary schools of Kish Island, six schools (three girls schools and three boys schools) were randomly selected, and from each school three classes were selected, and all the students of each class with their mothers were involved in the research as samples. The research data were collected using the Quay & Peterson’ s Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (parental version). For data analysis, Mann– Whitney U test was used. The results showed that considering the average rating, there is a significant difference between behavioral problems of native and immigrant students, both in the total score and in the subscales of scores. The results indicate that the risk of behavioral problems in migrant children is significant. Having such information can be helpful in public health planning for the initial prevention of mental health problems in immigrants.

Everybody experiences the loss of a dear person and grief in their lives. Since missing a proper grieving time naturally reduces individual and social performance of people, efforts have been made to find techniques and skills for passing through grieving. Here, religion and spirituality have a great therapeutic and preventive role. This research aims to study the effect of spirituality (patience method) on reducing the impacts of grief and post-traumatic growth in disaster-stricken families. In this research, the authors used quasi-experimental study (pre-test and post-test with control group). There were 20 subjects who were selected from the grieving families that were supported by the Imam Khomeini(Mm) Relief Committee of Tehran province and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. For the experimental group, the authors hold 8 one-hour-long training sessions of patience on the basis of spiritual therapy one day a week. The tools of experiment were Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC) and post-traumatic growth questionnaire. The results showed that the experimental group that participated in the training sessions of patience showed a significant reduction in the effects of grieving in comparison with the control group. Moreover, teaching patience method is effective on all the subscales of the grief effects including personal growth, frustration, anger and blame, panic, confusion, and withdrawal. Also, those who participated in the experimental group showed a more post-traumatic growth in comparison with the control group. Therefore, patience training is effective on all post-traumatic growth subscales including new practices, communication with others, personal strength, value of life, and spiritual change. Considering that patience method can have a positive and constructive effect on reducing the effects of grief and post-traumatic growth, and considering that this method is based on the Islamic-Iranian model, the authors suggest it to be developed among advisors and to be used for grieving people.