Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
Year:2001 | Volume:6 | Issue:4 (24)|Papers Count:10

Objectives: The present study was carried out to investigate the relationship between different lunar phases and the occurrence of overdose attempted suicide. Method: The study was carried out for a period of three lunar years (Shaban 1416 to Shaban 1419) with patients admitted to the Intoxication Emergency Clinic at Imam Reza Hospital in Mashad. In this research,13422 cases of suicide attempts, which were recorded in the hospital files were studied. Admission dates which were originally recorded according to solar calendar, were later converted to lunar calender for the purpose of this study. Then, on the basis of lunar phases and the shape of the moon as observed from the earth, the days of lunar months were divided into four periods: the crescent-to-half moon period, the half moon-to-full moon period, the full moon to half-moon period, and the half moon-to-crescent period. The data collected for each period were analyzed through chi2. Findings: The result demonstrated that the highest numbers of overdose suicide attempts were made during the full moon period and the days around it. The frequency of attempts shows a significant difference in the above periods (P<0.05).

Objectives: The survey was designed to identify which pathways psychiatric patient go through in seeking psychiatric services, how often they visit general physicians, other specialists, health care centers, and traditional healers, whether they use herbal medicine, and how they refer to Imam Hussein General Hospital Psychiatric Training Center. Method: 256 Patients (109 female and 146 male) who refered to the center were studied by administering a 23 items questionnaire. They were selected through random sampling. Their average age was 28.9±14.2 years. 41% were married and 55.5% were single. The findings were analyzed through chi2. Findings: The results demonstrated that, as the first step in seeking treatment, 84.3% of subjects visited physicians and medical centers, 14.5% turned to traditional healers and alternative treatments. 42.5% of all cases had turned to sorcerers. 65.7% had been refered to the center by relatives and friends. The average time interval between appearance of the first symptoms and first visiting the physician/healer was 2.2±4.08 years and the average time interval between appearance of the first symptoms and referring to psychiatrists or psychiatric centers was 3.6±5.39 years. Findings: The results demonstrated that traditional healers still play an important role in attracting patients, and that of psychiatric patients refer to psychiatrists only after their illness become chronic.

Objectives: The study was designed to examine the impact of the comorbidity of personality disorders with the obsessive-compulsive disorder on the medical treatment of patients suffering from both. Method: Following a quasi-experimental design, 30 subjects suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder were selected through convenient sampling, 15 with personality disorders and 15 without, They were treated with Fluoxetine for 3 months. The research tools comprised a demographic questionnaire, Hamilton Depression Scale, Yale-Brown Obsessive- Compulsive Scale, and the MCMI-II. The subjects were homogeneous in term of other variables affecting treatment, such as sex, age, and duration of the disorder. The data was analyzed by t-test and chi2 statistical methods. Results: The results demonstrated that: a)there was no significant difference in the severity of post-treatment obsession among the two groups, and that medical treatment significantly reduced obsession in both groups; b)there was no significant difference in the severity of pre-treatment obsession among the two groups.

Objectives: The present study was carried out to examine the thyroid diseases and major depression and to compare it with other psychiatric disorders. Method: The study was carried out with two groups of subjects, and experimental group, made up of 30 out-patients (15 male and 15 female) with major depressive disorder, and a comparison group made up of 30 out-patients (15 male and 15 female) with other psychiatric disorders. Thyroid tests, i. e. T4, T3RU, Base TSH, and TRH were administered to each patient. Findings: 30% of depressed patients and 36.7% of the subjects in the comparison group showed slow response to TRH. 13.3% of the depressed patients plus 16.7% of the comparison group showed an increased response to TRH. A t-test was applied, and no significant difference was noticed in the results of thyroid tests and of the TRH between the two groups. The interactive impact of sex and age on thyroid disease was studied in both groups. The hypothesis relating to the changes of TRH on depression are later discussed in the paper.

Objectives: The present research was carried out to investigate the role of psychological structures particularly dysfunctional attitudes with it"s consequence depression in incidence and severity of coronary heart disease. Method: In this research 30 patients (28 males and 2 females) suffering from myocardial infarction and 30 nonpatient individuals (28 males and 2 females) after matching were studied and compared with regard to depression and dysfunctional attitudes through Beck Depression Inventory, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale and Personal Data Questionnaire. In addition, severity of myocardial infarction in relation to depression and dysfunctional attitudes in patient group was also studied. Research data were analysed through t-test and coefficient of correlation. Results: This investigation indicated that frequency of depression in patients suffering from myocardial infarction is more than nonpatient group and the mean of their severity of depression as compared to nonpatinet group is significant. Also, the mean score of dysfunctional attitudes in patient group as compared to nonpatient group has a significant difference. Although in both the groups there is a positive correlation between depression and dysfunctional attitudes, but this correlation is much stronger in patient group than in nonpatient group.

The studies on psychology of religion, which began in the 19th century in the context of experimental psychology and psychoanalysis, fall into two categories: those which explore the impact of religion on various individuals and social dimensions, and those which concentrate on the methodology of religion. The present paper deals with the former category. Few studies have so far shown a positive relationship between religion and physical and mental health. Various viewpoints and models have been suggested in this respect of which two are discussed in this paper: the role of religion in coping with stressors, and a cognitive model of religion. Some studies have explored the relationship between religion and personality disorders, focusing on aspects, such as introversion-extraversion, psychosis, neurosis and obsessive personality disorder, as well as the internal and external locus of control. The impact of religion on social phenomena has already found several applications in counseling and psychotherapy.

The epidemiology of psychological disorders plays a significant role in the identification of the present state of mental health in the society and estimation of its requirements at any period of time. Based on worldwide epidemiological researches on mental disorders, the findings and instruments of 29 such researches carried out in Iran were reviewed. The review demonstrated that the studies varied in their tools, method and populations, which represented different socio-economic groups, and that the prevalence of mental disorders was therefore reported differently in different researches, ranging from 8% to 53% among the various populations. The acceptable piont prevalence may therefore be estimated between 18% to 23% in the country, which is higher than that of western countries. One of the striking findings of the researches was that mental disorders are two to three times more common among women than among men. The review further examines some methodological problems of the epidemiology of mental disorders.

Objectives: The present study was carried out to determine the rate of depression and the need for counseling among women with breast cancer in Kerman chemotherapy centers. Method: 120 subjects were selected through convenient sampling within one year from among the female breast cancer patients calling on chemotherapy centers in Kerman. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered together with a questionnaire on counseling needs. The collected data was then analyzed with the help of Kruskal-Wallis Test and chi square tests. Findings: The results demonstrated that the age range for most of the patients (68.3%) was 35 to 55, and that the degree of depression among 40.8% of the patients ranged from medium to high. None of the patients had received therapeutic counseling services, but 60% of them believed that they needed such services during cancer treatment. The need for counseling was extremely high among 91.6% of the patients. There was a significant difference between the patients" occupational/educational status and their degree of depression. The more educated they were, the less depressed they proved to be. Also, working women were less depressed than housewives. The greatest need for counseling was witnessed among the patients who received medicine and radio-chemotherapy (59.3%). No relationship was found between depression and the need for counseling.