Iranian Rehabilitation Journal
Year:2015 | Volume:13 | Issue:2|Papers Count:15

As a common belief among rehabilitation specialists, the purpose of rehabilitation has been restoring some of a person's physical and mental capabilities that have been lost as a result of disease, illness, or injury and to help achieve the highest possible level of function, independence, and quality of life. Goals of rehabilitation for different populations differ...

Objectives: The most common problem that delinquent children and juveniles deal with at every moment is the lack of sufficient control over their aggression. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of mental rehabilitation group therapy based on acceptance and commitment on decreasing aggression in juvenile delinquents.Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-post-test design and a 2-month follow-up with both the experimental and the control group. To conduct this study, 30 cases of delinquent juveniles were selected by the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The Experimental group received 8 sessions of acceptance and commitment group therapy.Results: Results were analyzed using ANOVA, and showed that the experimental group demonstrated a significant reduction in aggression and its aspects (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility) compared with the control group. This difference was also maintained in the follow-up phase (P<0.001).Discussion: The results showed that acceptance and commitment group therapy can effectively reduce overall aggression and its dimension (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility), and that the results last to the follow-up phase.

Objectives: Early maladaptive schemas are valid representations of unpleasant childhood experiences that shape a person’s viewpoints of the world, and lead to clinical symptoms such as depression, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Given the importance of this matter, we conducted a research on early maladaptive schemas in substance-abusers, to allow more appropriate preventive measures to be taken with a better understanding of the issue.Methods: For this descriptive-comparative study, 115 patients (91 opiate users and 24 stimulant users) visiting drug addiction treatment centers were selected through convenience sampling from persons who were admitted to substance abuse treatment centers (Methadone Maintenance therapy centers), addiction treatment camps and self-help groups and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) of Yasuj. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Questionnaire and Young’s Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (SQSF). Data analysis was done with ANOVA and t-tests.Results: The results showed a significant difference (P<0.05) between users of opiates and stimulants in terms of vulnerability to harm or illness, enmeshment, subjugation, emotional inhibition, entitlement, insufficient self-control/self-discipline, emotional deprivation, social isolation, defectiveness, failure/shame, and dependence. The average score of the stimulant-users was higher than that of opiateusers in all the schemas except for the dimensions of abandonment, mistrust, and unrelenting standards.Discussion: Stimulant users have more early maladaptive schemas and are at a greater risk of psychological vulnerability. Early maladaptive schemas can be used by clinicians and researchers as a psychopathology and treatment method for substance dependence disorder.

Objectives: Drug injection carries with it many risks and therefore it is important to understand the initiating factors of injection and its origins. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with the initiation of injection drug use among substance abusers.Methods: Study method was a cross-sectional study. The research statistics universe constitutes all people suffering from a substance dependence disorder with a pattern of injection use in Tehran and Hamedan. This study was conducted among 216 individuals with substance dependence disorders who were selected from harm reduction centers in Tehran and Hamedan. The sampling selection method was simply random. The instruments used for data collection included: demographic information, patterns of drug use and initiation of injection scales.Results: In this study, the average age of initiation to injections was 22.5 years. Factors associated with initiation of drug injection included: acquired more pleasure, easier use, faster effect of injection, ineffective previous use method, curiosity, peer pressure, lack of availability of the drug, poverty, and low quality drugs.Conclusions: Results of this study indicate that initiation factors to drug injection are multifaceted (Psychological, Social, Economic and Environmental), therefore, injection interventionists should consider all these factors for prevention, treatment and harm reduction.

Objectives: The aim of current study was the evaluation and comparison of compatibility and marital satisfaction between handicapped couples and healthy ones.Methods: In this study, 50 handicapped couples and 50 healthy couples were examined with Enrich’s marital satisfaction questionnaire and Bell’s adjustment questionnaire. The data were analyzed, using SPSS 15, correlation tests and ANOVA.Results: The results showed that there was no significant difference between handicapped and healthy couples in compatibility and marital satisfaction.Discussion: It is concluded that people who were handicapped before their marriage and those who decided to marry them were suitably aware of the issue, therefore accepting a handicapped person was not so hard. What is important in marital compatibility is accepting a partner.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psycho-rehabilitation (Dohsa-hou) on improving the quality of life of 4-12 year old children with cerebral palsy.Methods: The present research is a semi-experimental study with a pre-test - post-test design, follow-up and control group. The statistical population fully consists of children with cerebral palsy in Yazd.30 male patients were selected using a convenience sampling method and were divided into the experiment and control groups. Before beginning treatment, parents filled out the quality of life questionnaire and at the end of the treatment period in the post-test and follow-up phase the same assessment was done. The treatment period in the experiment group was 12 sessions (three sessions per week) and the follow-up phase was done 50 days after the test.Results: The results obtained from the analysis of covariance showed that psychological rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy improves their quality of life and that this difference was persistent in the follow-up phase (P<0.001).Discussion: Since the rate of cerebral palsy is rising and the symptoms are wide, patients may have an increased need for rehabilitation in the future. Dohsa-hou as a psychological rehabilitation approach is an effective treatment to improve the quality of life of these patients.

Objectives: Providing care to children who have disability is often a stressful experience, yet spiritual beliefs may help mothers to be patient, tolerant and hard in coping with child-rearing difficulties. This study examined the relationship between the spiritual attitudes of mothers of handicapped children to child-rearing and psychological hardiness.Methods: In a descriptive correlational study, 120 mothers of handicapped children who were referred to the rehabilitation clinics of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (Rofeideh, Akhavan and Sina clinics) were selected through purposeful sampling and answered the Sanctification of Parents Scale (SPS), and Personal Views Survey (PVS). Data were analyzed by SPSS-20 software and statistical procedures including Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used.Results: Results showed that spiritual attitudes to child-rearing are significant predictors of hardiness in mothers.Discussion: It seems like having spiritual attitudes in difficult situations such as providing care for disabled children plays a significant role in mother’s patience and hardiness.

Objective: The current research is to investigate the relation between deterministic thinking and mental health among drug abusers, in which the role of cognitive distortions is considered and clarified by focusing on deterministic thinking.Methods: The present study is descriptive and correlative. All individuals with experience of drug abuse who had been referred to the Shafagh Rehabilitation center (Kahrizak) were considered as the statistical population.110 individuals who were addicted to drugs (stimulants and Methamphetamine) were selected from this population by purposeful sampling to answer questionnaires about deterministic thinking and general health. For data analysis Pearson coefficient correlation and regression analysis was used.Results: The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between deterministic thinking and the lack of mental health at the statistical level [r=%22, P<0.05], which had the closest relation to deterministic thinking among the factors of mental health, such as anxiety and depression. It was found that the two factors of deterministic thinking which function as the strongest variables that predict the lack of mental health are: definitiveness in predicting tragic events and future anticipation.Discussion: It seems that drug abusers suffer from deterministic thinking when they are confronted with difficult situations, so they are more affected by depression and anxiety. This way of thinking may play a major role in impelling or restraining drug addiction.

Objectives: Elders face existential issues such as death, a sense of losing, lack of life, last chances, and meaning of life. If people cannot confront it effectively, they may be lost meaning of life. They will suffer from a core of set of syndromes that are called “demoralization”. Cognitive spirituality-based counseling tries to correct beliefs and the human imagination of God via cognitive therapy concepts and techniques, because they prevent realistic and genuine attention to existential anxieties.Methods: A single case experimental plan, an A-B form, was used in this study. After determining the baseline situation, intervention started.10 sessions of cognitive spirituality-based counseling were applied individually. A follow-up session including running inventories was conducted a month after the intervention. The participants were 3 elderly women who were deemed appropriate for this study on the demoralization scale. Then, a cognitive distortions inventory was employed to measure cognitive distortions that were related to demoralization. The statistical population included elder women who had been referred to Iran Alzheimer Association. Accessible and purposeful sampling method was used to select the cases.Result: The results of visual analysis of the data showed that cognitive spirituality-based counseling had a positive effective on two cases but not on the third one.Discussion: It seems that cognitive-spirituality counseling was significantly effective in demoralization in two-third of the participants.

Objectives: Stroke is a major event in one's life, and patients will inevitably require the use of coping strategies in order to try to reestablish acceptable life equilibrium. Due to the extensive role that nurses can be active members in the patient's rehabilitation plan, the Mauk model is a model that focuses on stroke patients. For each stage of this model, Mauk has developed appropriate rehabilitation nursing interventions. This study aimed to analyze the effect of implementation of the Mauk nursing rehabilitation model (Agonizing phase, Fantasy phase, Realizing phase) on the coping strategies of stroke patients.Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test - post-test study. The interventions are identified and coping strategies for patients based on the Mauk model have been trained. Convenience sampling has been done in Imam Khomeini hospital and Tabassom rehabilitation center in 1392. Data collection instruments included a demographic questionnaire and a coping strategies questionnaire for stroke patients. The educational program was implemented in sessions of 45 minutes. The patients’ coping strategies, before and after training, were assessed. Data was statistically analyzed using descriptive and inferential tests in SPSS software 16.Results: The mean score for coping strategies before intervention was 111.42±11.71, and after intervention was 102.14±12.45 (P<0.05). The physical, mental and social dimensions in the coping strategies showed significant differences before and after intervention.Discussion: Using the rehabilitation program interventions for effectively dealing with stress, changing and unpredictable behavior patterns in chronic patients is an important component of the treatment protocol, and helps deliver an increase in coping strategies for stroke patients.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to assess the level of awareness of rehabilitation professionals employed in academic rehabilitation centers in Tehran with reference to Tele-rehabilitation technology.Methods: In this study, a descriptive cross-sectional research method was used. The research was implemented by using a researcher-designed questionnaire which was developed by the integration and cultural adaptation of different tools collected in the field of tele-health implementation feasibility. The content and face validity of the questionnaire was determined and approved by Lawsche’s method. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by test-retest correlation coefficient determinations. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, informed consent was obtained, and the questionnaires were distributed among the study sample, which comprised of 141 rehabilitation professionals.Results: The findings show that a desirable level of awareness does not exist among rehabilitation professionals with regards to this technology. Based upon the results, only 8% of the participants had basic knowledge of this technology required in case of implementation.Discussion: Since rehabilitation professionals’ awareness and knowledge can be a major key to a better implementation and application of this technology, it seems that there is a need for some developmental and training programs, such as informative educational workshops and seminars, to help them improve their level of knowledge and awareness.

Objectives: There are various developmental screening tools that are different in terms of psychometric characteristics and choosing the best one is challenging for the pediatrician. This research was designed to identify the validity and reliability of Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status, a developmental screening questionnaire, in 4-60 months-old children in the city of Tehran.Methods: In order to validate the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status, a precise translation of the questionnaire was performed by the research team. A Persian version was back-translated by three English language experts who were unfamiliar with the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status. The back-translated version was compared with the original version. The content validity of the finalized Persian version was verified by three pediatricians. The questionnaire was performed on 648 children ranging from 4 to 60 months old in healthcare clinics. A test-retest method with 2-3 weeks interval and Cronbach’s a were used in order to determine the reliability of the questionnaire.Results: All of the questions in Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status had desirable content validity and there was no need to change them. The total Cronbach’s a coefficient was 0.63, which, when considering the low number of items in Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status, is acceptable. The test-retest correlation coefficient was determined to be 0.87, which is desirable. The estimated Kappa measure agreement between Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status and Ages and Stages Questionnaires was 0.30. Due to the rather large sample size and similarity of the screening results by both questionnaires in 71.5% of cases, it is possible to conclude that this measure is an acceptable one.Discussion: This research showed that Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status has a good content validity and reliability and can be used for developmental screening of children in Tehran city. Because the test is brief, using it can lead to saving time and resources.

Objective: The present study was aimed to determine the effect of psychological immunization on pessimistic attribution in Female students with dyslexia.Methods: The study was an experimental one, in which 60 Female students with dyslexia were selected randomly from Learning Disabilities Centers in Isfahan. Subjects were assigned to experimental and control groups (15 individuals in each group). All students completed the Children Attributional Style Questionnaire before and after training sessions. The experimental group participated in 10 intervention sessions (twice a week; 60 minutes per session) and were trained by psychological immunization program. Six weeks later, the experimental group answered the questionnaire again. Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance.Results: The results of the analysis of covariance showed that the intervention program significantly decreased the pessimistic attribution style of the experimental group in comparison to the control group (p<0.001).Conclusion: It seems that the application of a psychological immunization program has influenced pessimistic beliefs of Female students with dyslexia and is probably useful as a rehabilitation program for modifying the style of attribution (P<0.001).

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SRT that was performed in 4-6 year-old Persian-speaking children. The SRT is a nonword repetition task that assesses phonological working memory and was designed by Shriberg in 2008.Methods: The present research was a non-experimental study with a methodological design. The content validity of the task was evaluated by 15 speech language pathologists (SLP). The Lawshe coefficient was acceptable, and therefore without changing the number and phonological structure of the nonwords, the SRT was performed by 140 normal children in two groups (4-5 and 5-6 years old) that were selected randomly from 10 kindergartens of Tehran. To assess the test-retest reliability, the SRT was performed at one-week intervals. Finally, to determine the differential validity of the SRT, the task was performed in 30 children with speech sound disorders (SSD) that had been selected from speech and language clinics of Tehran. SPSS software version 21 was used to determine the Pearson correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and T-test.Results: The CVR coefficient of the SRT was between 0.57 and 1. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the total score was 0.83, and the Pearson correlation coefficient between successive runs was 0.87 (P<0.001).There was a significant difference between the performances of two age groups (P=0.00). Also, the SRT score in SSD children was significantly lower than in normal children (P=0.00).Discussion: The SRT appears to be a psychometrically valid and reliable nonword repetition task for evaluating phonological working memory. The evidence of the differential validity of the SRT was approved in two ways: Differences between two age groups of normal children and differences between normal and SSD groups. The poor performance of children with SSD indicates that these patients have difficulty to store and retrieve phonological information in their working memory.

The purpose of this case report was to evaluate the effectiveness of training of transfer techniques to a caregiver of a person who had suffered a stroke in decreasing musculoskeletal pain, depression and anxiety. This study adopted a single subject research design to evaluate the effectiveness of transfer-techniques training on musculoskeletal pain, depression, and anxiety in a 25-year-old female caregiver of a person with a stroke. The study was completed in four phases, including a baseline evaluation (1st and 3rd week), training (3rd, 5th and 7th week), post-training (9th week), and follow-up evaluation (11th week). During the 1st week, demographic and descriptive information (such as age, time since diagnosis, cognition and independence of daily living) were collected from the stroke patient. Also, pain severity, anxiety and depression levels of the caregiver were evaluated. In weeks 3, 5 and 7, transfer training was undertaken. The patient was involved in the training with the caregiver under the supervision of an occupational therapist in their own home. The effectiveness of the training with regard to musculoskeletal pain and depression and anxiety levels of the caregiver was evaluated in the 5th, 9th and 11th weeks. The data were analyzed using a visual analysis of trends and levels. The results showed a decrease in pain severity, anxiety and depression during training and post-training. The changes continued during the follow-up stage. This study suggests promising results for the effectiveness of the transfer-techniques training and justifies further clinical trials. A larger trial is required to confirm the effectiveness of transfer training in improving pain management in caregivers of stroke survivors.