Practice in Clinical Psychology
Year:2016 | Volume:4 | Issue:1|Papers Count:8

Objective: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the psychometric characteristics and perform a factor analysis of McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) in a sample of recovered depressed patients.Methods: Present study was a cross sectional research. Data were obtained from a sample of recovered depressed patients. A total of 354 participants (67 males, 287 females) were assessed using the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV disorders (SCID) to ensure their full recovery from their most recent episode of depression. Then, they completed a series of self-report measures, including the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL-8.54 and Cronbach’s alpha using SPSS-16 were done for analyzing data.Results: Descriptive statistics for the MQOL were performed, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the fitness of the hypothesized factor structure. The Cronbach α coefficients were calculated for the questionnaire and its each subscale to examine the internal reliability, which was found to be high for the overall questionnaire as well as its each subscale, as α coefficients ranged from 0.58 (for the physical scale) to 0.88 (for the existential scale).Conclusion: MQOL can be employed as a tool for assessing quality of life in research and practice in these patients.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate effectiveness of mindfulness exercises on the executive functions of elementary school students.Methods: To this end, 32 female students of second and third grade were selected by cluster sampling method with regard to inclusion criteria (having average IQ, being right-handed) and exclusion criteria (having physical and mental illness, or psychological and psychiatric interventions) and randomly assigned in experimental (mean±SD age; 97.12±3.48 mo) and control groups (mean±SD age; 96.18±3.33 mo). Then, the experimental group participated in 8 sessions of mindfulness exercise (each session, 1 h), but control group received no intervention. Before and after intervention, all participants took working memory test, continuous performance test, and Wisconsin card sorting test. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed by ANCOVA with SPSS 21 software.Results: Our findings showed that mindfulness had significant effect on forward and backward memory as well as total score of memory (P<0.01). Also, findings showed that mindfulness improved perseveration dimension of cognitive flexibility (P<0.05). Finally, mindfulness could somewhat improve response time of attention (P<0.01).Conclusion: These findings are consistent with previous research in which the effectiveness of mindfulness on executive functions was approved, though in some dimensions of our variables, the effects were not significant which might be due to the limited sessions of training.

Objective: Current study aimed to determine the effectiveness of neurofeedback training on decreasing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans.Methods: The present study is an experimental research with pretest, posttest, and control group design. Patients with PTSD were randomly selected by purposive sampling method and assigned in experimental (15 persons) and control groups (15 persons). Data were collected by the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL). After the pretest, experimental group received neurofeedback training for 20 sessions, 3 days per week. Groups were evaluated for intensity of symptoms by PCL questionnaire at the beginning and end of the study. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) by SPSS version 22.Results: The results of covariance test showed that there are differences between adjusted mean of PTSD symptoms in groups in posttest by removing the impact of pretest scores.Conclusion: Our findings showed that neurofeedback training has significantly decreased the score of total symptoms (F=22.506, P<0.001).

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of psychotherapy based on quality of life improvement (QoLI) on emotion regulation and the prevention of relapse in addicts under methadone maintenance therapy (MMT).Methods: This research is a semi-experimental pretest-posttest study with a control group. Eight sessions of psychotherapy training based on QoLI were implemented for the experimental group; the control group received no intervention. We used difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS) to evaluate the participants. In the post-test phase, both control and experimental groups had a urine test for morphine. For data analysis, SPSS version 18 and the statistical methods of analysis of covariance and Chi-square test were used.Results: There is a significant difference between the scores of the difficulties in emotion regulation between experimental and control groups in post-test (P˂0.05). Moreover, the rate of relapse among participants in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group.Conclusion: Psychotherapy based on QoLI was effective on the reduction of difficulties in emotion regulation and prevention of drug abuse relapse among addicts under MMT.

Objective: The present research aimed to examine positive and negative beliefs about worry and tendency of students to drug abuse in terms of cross-level effect of school-bounding.Methods: In this multi-level investigation, 1000 students of high schools were selected by means of multi-stage sampling technique. Then, they completed metacognitive questionnaire (MCQ), school-bounding and questionnaire of readiness for addiction scale (Wade & Butcher). The data were analyzed by cross-level analytical method.Results: Findings showed that positive and negative metacognitive beliefs significantly affect students’ tendency to drug abuse and the variable of school-bounding has direct and significant effect on students’ tendency to drug abuse while it has indirect and significant effect on relationship among negative and positive beliefs about worry and tendency to drug abuse.Conclusion: The results indicate the importance of taking multi-level approach toward tendency to drug abuse and addiction and using microlevel and macrolevel to define phenomenon of addiction and tendency to drug abuse.

Objective: In recent decades, researchers have designed various tools for assessment and study of the interpersonal relationships from an attachment perspective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the relationship scales questionnaire (RSQ), which is one of these tools.Methods: A total of 368 female undergraduate students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (academic year 2012-13) were selected by quota sampling method from all colleges of the university and were tested by RSQ. Internal consistency method was used to check the reliability of the questionnaire and exploratory factor analysis to assess its construct validity by SPSS 19.Results: The exploratory factorial analysis of RSQ showed 2 different patterns. The Collins and Read 3-factor model showed 40.16% of the total variance, and Simpson 2-factor model determined 35.36% of the total variance. The Cronbach α coefficients were 0.67 for 2-factor model, and 0.57 for 3-factor model.Conclusion: Both analyzed models showed a relatively average validity for the Iranian version of this questionnaire. Moreover, the 3-factor model had a higher acceptable validity

Objective: The present research aimed to study the relationship of altruistic behavior, empathetic sense, and social responsibility with happinessMethods: This research was a survey, cross sectional and correlational study. Hence, a total of 300 university students were selected through random-stratified sampling from the students of Islamic Azad University. The students filled out the research tools including altruism, empathy, social responsibility questionnaires and Oxford happiness questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation and enter multiple regressions by SPSS version 20.Results: Results showed a significant relationship between happiness, altruistic behavior, empathetic sense, and social responsibility (P<0.05). Moreover, happy individuals demonstrate more cooperative behaviors and are more satisfied with their residence.Conclusion: Happiness as one of the most fundamental positive feelings has a crucial role in creating altruism and empathy in both the individual and the society.

Objective: This study aimed to differentiate illness anxiety and generalized anxiety by the role of metacognition and intolerance of uncertainty.Methods: This research was a descriptive-correlational study with an ex post facto design. The study population included all students of Yazd University, and the study sample comprised 400 healthy adult university students (Mean age=23.3 years, SD=4.9) who were selected using the convenience sampling method. Participants were asked to fill out 4 self-report measures: short health anxiety inventory, intolerance of uncertainty scale, metacognitions questionnaire, and Penn State Worry questionnaire. Finally, 338 questionnaires were statistically analyzed by SPSS 20, using ANOVA and discriminant function analysis.Results: The results showed that there were significant differences between different groups with respect to most studied variables and that intolerance of uncertainty cannot discriminate between 2 disorders. We can argue that this factor is a significant risk factor in both illness anxiety and generalized anxiety disorders.Conclusion: In general, trans diagnostic factors such as intolerance of uncertainty and cognitive beliefs have significant roles in emotional disorders, and can be considered as therapeutic targets.