PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Year:2005 | Volume:8 | Issue:1-2|Papers Count:6

The role that defense mechanisms play in protecting ego against anxiety is influenced by different personality constructs. To examine the relation of positive and negative perfectionism with defense mechanisms, 240 students (120 girls, 120 boys) from the University of Tehran were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete Persian version of the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (FPANPS) and Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). The results showed that positive perfectionism was positively associated with mature defense mechanisms and negatively associated with neurotic and immature defense mechanisms. Conversely, negative perfectionism was negatively associated with mature defense mechanisms and positively associated with neurotic and immature defense mechanisms. Positive perfectionism increases the use of mature defense mechanisms through enhancement of realistic thinking, accepting personal limitations, reducing failures and frustrations, positive thinking, and mental health indices. Negative perfectionism increases the use of neurotic and immature defense mechanisms through enhancement of idealistic criteria, unrealistic thinking and expectations, and psychological disorders.

The purpose of the present research was to study validity and reliability of the Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS) in Iran. To this aim, 923 students (for validity study) and 918 students (for reliability study) from 6 large cities in Iran (i.e. Tehran, Shiraz, Mashad, Esfahan, Tabriz and Ahwaz) took part in the research. The concurrent validity of the scale, as measured by the abbreviated form of the Children Depression Scale (CDS-A, Najarian, 1373) for total, girl, and boy participants were .72, .79 and .61, respectively. The test - retest reliability coefficient of the scale, in 4 - weeks interval, for total, girls and boys participants were .75, .74 and .72 respectively. The internal Consistency of the DSRS for total, girl, and boy participants were .81, .82, and .77, respectively. In Sum, the results of the present study showed that the DSRS could be used in clinical assessment and psychological research in Iran.

Many Studies indicated that there is a Positive relationship between Stress, Personality and coronary heart disease. In the Present Study, the relationship between stress, type 2 behavior pattern, hardiness, and  coronary heart. disease were investigated. For this purpose, 60 coronary heart patients ( 30 males and 30 Females) and 60 healthy subjects (30 males and 30 Females) completed the Short Interpersonal Reactions Inventory, Personal Views Survey Scale, and Life Event Scale. Analysis of data showed that coronary heart patients and normal group were significantly different in the personality types. The patients with coronary heart disease had higher scores in type 2 behavior pattern. Regarding hardiness and stress variables, there were significant differences between patients and normal group. The patients with coronary heart disease experienced more stress than normal group, but normal group had higher scores in ardiness. The study of the relationship between stress, type 2 behavior pattern, and hardiness showed that there is a significant positive relationship between type 2 and stress. In contrast, the relationship between hardiness and stress was significantly negative and that of hardiness and type 2 was significantly negative too.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of cognitive styles and learned helplessness (cognitive exhaustion model) on cognitive problem solving. Initially, 90 Ss with analytic, intermediate and wholistic cognitive styles were selected by using Riding's Cognitive Styles Analysis test (CSA). Then, Ss were randomly assigned to six  groups, each with 15 participants. The experiment consisted of two phases: In the first phase Ss were exposed to cognitive problems: experimental group with unsolvable problems and control groupe with solvable problems. Then all Ss were exposed to cognitive problems to compare groups. Data were analyzed by (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc test. Results indicated that performance of individuals with different cognitive styles differed in helplessness situation. In other words, the effect of helplessness was decreased in Ss with analytic cognitive style as compared with wholistic and intermediate whereas the effect of helplessness was increased in Ss with wholistic cognitive style as compared with analytic and intermediate Ss. So, in helplesseness situation, considering wholistic cognitive style is critical and very important. Results encompass educational implications for prevention of helplessness and behavioral management, with relation to cognitive style, not only in social situations but also in problem solving situations.

The present study is a comparative study of the attitudes towards suicide among Swedish (98 female and 69 male) and Persian ( 78 male and 78 female) high school students. Results of the present study indicated that Persian students believed that suicidal individuals should be punished; that persons who commit suicide are going to be punished in life after death and that a person is not allowed to commit suicide. Swedish adolescents hold more liberal attitudes toward suicide than Persian adolescents. More males than females believed that people have the right to commit suicide and suicide can be considered as a solution to some problems. Swedish adolescents showed greater acceptance for a suicidal person than Persian adolescents. More Persian adolescents expressed a belief in life after death as well as punishment after death than Swedish adolescents. In both groups more females than males expressed a belief in life after death. Neither Persian nor swedish students believed that suicidal individuals were Mentally ill and that suicide could be a solution to some problems.