Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Year:2012 | Volume:6 | Issue:1|Papers Count:13

Suicide is a complex phenomenon with multiple diverse causes. It is obvious that if the media give rewards to the suicides directly or indirectly, they will have more copycat effect. It seems that political means in the mainstream media, particularly in the Western world overshadow public health- especially mental health- issues.Selection of a Tunisian fruit vendor who set himself on fire in a public square as the person of the year by Time Magazine is a good example in this domain. Mass clusters of copycat altruistic self-burning promotion in the Middle East and North Africa obviously demonstrate the importance of the dilemma and its relevance in terms of public health, and the need to develop efficacious interruptive strategies able to prevent people from committing a dramatic fatal act.

One-third of population deal with sleep disorders which might be due to social, economic or medical problems. Studies on twins have indicated the role of genetic factors in these disorders. Monozygotic twins have a very similar hypnogram. A higher prevalence of some sleep disorders is reported in relatives of the patients with these disorders. Genes also affect sleep disorders as well as some other disorders at the same time. Sleep disorders can also influence the level of the personal and social functioning. Recent genetic advances have clarified the role of different genes in sleep disorders. The purpose of this article is to present a brief review about the role of genetic factors in some of the sleep disorders.

Objective: To examine the relationship between psychological well-being and social solidarity of apartment residents in Shahrekord, Iran.Methods: A sample of 200 apartment dwellers was selected randomly. Fessler Social Solidarity Inventory and General Health Questionnaire were used to gather data.Results: Using partial correlation test and having controlled the effect of age, sex and education, we found significant relationship between mental health and social solidarity (r=0.47; p=0.023). After controlling education and marital status, it was also revealed that women were in a better solidarity situation compared to men (p<0.05).Conclusion: There is a relation between the mental health and social solidarity of apartment residents in Sharekord. Good mental health accompanied with better social solidarity.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness and safety of the methylphenidate produced in Iran (Stimdate®)with its original brand (Ritalin®) in children with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Methods: In this double-blinded randomized clinical trial, 30 patients with ADHD who were 6 to 16 years old, were divided into two groups: 15 in Stimdate® and 15 in Ritalin® group. The two groups were compared for side effects profile, Conner.s Parent.s Rating Scale-Persion version (CPRS-R), Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4), Clinical Global Impressions (CGI), and Children.s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), at baseline and at the 4th and 6th weeks.Results: The subjects showed significant decreases in the CPRS-Rand CSI-4 scores and significant increase of CGAS scores during the follow-up, but there were no significant difference between Stimdate® and Ritalin® group, regarding the pattern of changes observed. The mean therapeutic dose and the number of side effects were not significantly different between the two studied groups.Conclusions: Both Stimdate® and Ritalin® had comparable clinical efficacy and safety in children with ADHD.

Objective: The problem of runaway girls is one of the social problems which has become more prevalent and is considered a serious challenge for families, welfare centers and governmental organizations in Iran. This study aimed at determining the demographic, personality and psychopathology characteristic of a sample of runaway girls in Shiraz, Iran.Methods: Fifty girls who had escaped from their home and were referred to the Women.s Social Emergency and Rehabilitant Centre of Shiraz were compared with fifty girls who lived with their parents (control group).They were assessed by semi-structured interview based on the DSMIV-TR criteria, demographic questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-R-106 (EPQ-R-106).Results: Mean (±SD) age of the runaway girls was 19.9 (±3.81) years. Twenty (40%) were the first child of the family. Forty-three subjects (86%) were resident of cities. Physical abuse and neglect were more prevalent in the runaway girls (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between two groups in history of major psychiatric disorders. Regarding GHQ-28, only in social function subscale, the runaway girls showed more disturbances in their social function compared to control group (P<0.05). There were significant differences in extroversion, lying tendency, addiction tendency and crime seeking (P<0.05) between the two groups and escaped girls showed more disturbances in comparison with the control group.Conclusion: The social burden of runaway girls in Shiraz is of significance and this subject warrants more attention from non-governmental and governmental organizations in order to provide more psychological and social support for these girls.

Objective: Approximately 66-80%of graduate students experience statistics anxiety and some researchers propose that many students identify statistics courses as the most anxiety-inducing courses in their academic curriculums. As such, it is likely that statistics anxiety is, in part, responsible for many students delaying enrollment in these courses for as long as possible. This paper proposes a canonical model by treating academic procrastination (AP), learning strategies (LS) as predictor variables and statistics anxiety (SA) as explained variables.Methods: A questionnaire survey was used for data collection and 246-college female student participated in this study. To examine the mutually independent relations between procrastination, learning strategies and statistics anxiety variables, a canonical correlation analysis was computed.Results: Findings show that two canonical functions were statistically significant. The set of variables (metacognitive self-regulation, source management, preparing homework, preparing for test and preparing term papers) helped predict changes of statistics anxiety with respect to fearful behavior, Attitude towards math and class, Performance, but not Anxiety.Conclusion: These findings could be used in educational and psychological interventions in the context of statistics anxiety reduction.

Objective: University students. mental health affects not only their educational achievements, but also their professional future. The authors assessed the prevalence of suicidal ideation, depression, and aggression among students of three major universities in Isfahan, Iran.Methods: In 2008, 470 students were entered into the study using a convenience sampling method. The three measurement tools applied were Aggression Questionnaire (AGQ), Beck Depression Inventor (BDI), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI).Results: Suicidal ideation was present in 7.58% of the students, depression in 28.04%, and aggression in 30.11% of them. The ratio of depression to suicidal ideation was approximately 4: 1. No significant difference in the mean scores of aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation was observed between the three universities. No significant relationships were found between mean scores of aggression, depression, and suicidal ideation with age and gender. There was no meaningful relationship between the mean scores of aggression and marriage status, but the mean scores of depression (P=0.01) and suicidal ideation (P=0.0001) were significantly lower in the married students compared to the single ones. Aggression was significantly associated with depression and suicidal ideation (P=0.0001).Conclusion: The frequency of suicidal ideation, aggression, and depression was less in our studied college students than in previous non. Iranian studies. The decreasing trend in reported frequency of mild depression during previous years is a noticeable finding. Yet, the findings seek more preventing programs among college students.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of medical students toward psychiatry and their intention to pursue psychiatry as a career; and to determine if they change after psychiatric attachment. It also examined the relationship between the students' characteristics and their attitudes in details.Methods: Pre and post-surveys using Likert-type scales were conducted versus 106 medical students of Ahwaz Jondishapour University who entered psychiatric attachment between spring 2007 and spring 2010. They completed a demographic form and an "attitude toward psychiatry" questionnaire with two excess questions which measured their intention to pursue psychiatry as a career in future.Results: The majority of students appeared to have favorable attitudes before the attachment which improved during the course; but they didn't show significant change in their intention to pursue psychiatry as a prospective career. There was a significant correlation between age and change in attitudes. Also the career intention was significantly correlated with their attitudes.Conclusion: The study confirms previous reports that training can change students' attitudes toward psychiatry, but contrasting with them suggests that negative attitudes are not likely to be the main cause of the low career intention to psychiatry. Thus, teaching psychiatry can get the students rid of their negative attitudes but is not enough to encourage them to pursue psychiatry as a career. The authors suggest it is based on poor opportunities for postgraduates in the field and social stigma attached to psychiatry, which needs further studies.

Objective: The purpose of the present preliminary study was to explore the prevalence of nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines in a group of opiate-dependent patients who were on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program in outpatient clinics in the south-west of Tehran, Iran.Methods: 114 male and female opiate-dependent clients who met DSM.IV-TR criteria for opiate dependence with mean age 36.5 years participated in the study from 16 clinics and completed a self-report questionnaire on demographics and substance use details. Then the participants were interviewed on the details of nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines.Results: The study findings indicated that the current nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines was commonly prevalent among participants. The most common current benzodiazepines abused were alprazolam (100%) followed by chlordiazepoxide (96.5%), clonazepam (94.7%), diazepam (86.8%), lorazepam (79.8%) and oxazepam (73.7%) respectively. Depression (77%) and anxiety (72.8%) were frequently reported as the most important reasons associated with consuming benzodiazepines followed by problem in anger control (44.7%), suicide thought (12.3%), self-injury (7.9%), and suicide commitment (5.3%) respectively.Conclusion: Nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines is an important problem among opiate addicts which should be considered in treatment interventions during MMT program.

Organophosphorus pesticides have been used in some cases for suicidal attempts. Such poison can affect plasma cholinesterase activity. The case was a 47-year-old man hospitalized due to suicide attempt with swallowing agricultural poison. The patient, diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), underwent treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). At the first ECT session, the patient developed apnea for 45 minutes following receiving 20 mg succinylcholine. The patient was intubated; after restoration of respiration depth and rate, the patient was extubated. Collectively, in cases with history of suicide attempts, taking organophosphorus pesticides should be warn for pre-ECT anesthesia.

Somnambulism consists of a group of behaviors leading to unwanted movements during sleep or even sleepwalking. Medications applied for psychiatric disorders could increase the likelihood of somnambulism in adults. The following article is a case report of somnambulism seen in a patient with schizophrenia, which occurred after remission of an acute episode following treatment with olanzapine. When olanzapine dosage was decreased, no previous and similar symptoms were reported after 6 months of follow up.

Objective: A rare phenomenon of Shared Psychosis Disorder occurring in the context of Bipolar I Disorder, in identical twins is reported.Case Presentation: Two identical twins with shared Psychotic Manic Syndrome were admitted and received antipsychotic and lithium as their treatment. Psychotic symptoms of primary case did not improve and her diagnosis changed into Schizophrenia. They had hypothyroidism at the same time.Conclusion: Completely shared manic syndrome along with the psychotic features shows a need for the criteria of shared syndromes to develop, including both psychotic and mood symptoms.

Distressing character of infertility has led to the development of several psychosocial interventions. We describe two women who suffered from infertility with unknown cause for a long-time period.They participated in weekly, one and half hour group psychotherapy for 10 sessions regularly and became pregnant after these sessions. Group psychotherapy can be used for infertile womenwho suffer from infertility with unknown cause.