Advances in Cognitive Sciences
Year:2006 | Volume:7 | Issue:3|Papers Count:15

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between cognitive and neurological impairments with each other and with some prognostic factors in patients with schizophrenia. Method: In a cross-sectional study and with convenience sampling, 30 (18 males and 12 females) patients with schizophrenia who had been admitted to a psychiatry ward over a one year period, and also had the inclusion criteria for entering the study, were examined using Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and selected neurological soft signs from the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES). The collected data were processed using Fisher’s exact test, Kendal’s-tau-b test, and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. Results: The MMSE score had a meaningful correlation with the age of disease onset and rhythm tapping sign (a soft sign related to movement coordination) in the total sample. There was a significant correlation between the total neurological soft sign score and the age of disease onset as well as neuroleptic equivalent dosage. Also, the correlation between the measures of severity of the disorder and MMSE score was statistically significant. Conclusion: There is a correlation between the MMSE score and some prognostic variables in schizophrenia, such as age of disease onset and some neurological soft signs; and it is possible to consider the problem detected in this test as one of the factors related to the prognosis of the disorder.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of group cognitive- behavioral therapy on the reduction of obsessive- compulsive symptoms in outpatients referred to psychological service centers in Isfahan. Method: Eight patients were selected using random temporary method and were randomly assigned to two four-person groups: the experimental group and the control group. Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) was administered to all subjects as pre- and posttests. The experimental group received group cognitive-behavioral therapy for one month, and the subjects in the control group were in the waiting list. Results: Group cognitive-behavioral therapy significantly reduced obsessive- compulsive symptoms in the experimental group in comparison with the control group. Conclusion: Group cognitive-behavioral therapy can be an appropriate alternative in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: This research was conducted to study the math performance of male and female Iranian students who had participated in the TIMSS 2003 (Third International Mathematics and Science Study). Method: Data obtained from male and female students in the TIMSS 2003 was used and were evaluated using path analysis and assessing individual factors such as math self-concept, attitude towards math, and socio-economic status of the family. Results: Results obtained from path analysis show that the factors of family socio-economic status, math self-concept, and attitude towards math indicate 0.06% and 0.07% of variance in math achievement in girls and boys respectively. Also, socio-economic status and math self-concept indicate 0.025% and o.16% of attitude towards math in female and male students respectively. Conclusion: The factors of math self-concept, attitude towards math, and the socio-economic status of the family might have had significant direct and indirect effects on math achievements in male and female Iranian students who had participated in TIMSS 2003.

Objective: Academic failure subsequent to the development of Bipolar I Disorder (BID) has been reported in the literature. In this study, academic failure during adolescence, as well as the effect of comorbid psychiatric disorders on academic performance was assessed in these patients. Method: In a descriptive analytical study, adolescents with BID admitted to the Roozbeh hospital over a one school year period were assessed with regard to school retardation, school dropout and overall academic failure, as well as the effect of comorbid disorders on their academic function. Information was gathered on the basis of patients’ reports, and diagnosis was performed using clinical interview and according to DSM-IV criteria. Results: Seventy five patients with BID (52% female, 48% male) with the mean age of 15.41 (SD=1.7) participated in the study. Subjects’ mean years of academic failure was 1.48 (SD=1.8) and 60% had experienced at least 1 year school retardation. There was no significant statistical difference between the group without comorbidity and those with at least one additional psychiatric disorder, with regard to academic failure. Conclusion: Bipolar I Disorder in adolescent inpatients leads to academic failure; but the presence of comorbidities does not have a significant effect on academic failure.

Objective: The study aimed at assessing the effect of socio-cultural factors on upbringing methods and the interaction between parents and adolescents. Method: Four hundred and twenty six mothers from Tehran, Esfahan, and Khomeini Shahr participated in this descriptive cross-sectional study. The Individualism-Collectivism Scale, Parental Authority Questionnaire, Adolescent-Parent Conflict Inventory, and the Legitimacy of Parental Authority Questionnaire were used. Results: Authoritative parenting was more prevalent in big cities, higher socioeconomic class, and modern families, while authoritarian and permissive parenting was associated with small towns, low socioeconomic status, and traditionalism. Conflicts between parents and children appeared to be less frequent and less intense in authoritative families than authoritarian families. Authoritative parenting was associated with conformity of mothers with setting rules on conventions; on the contrary, permissive parenting was characterized with lack of interest in setting rules on these issues. Conclusion: Dissimilarities in social and cultural values appear in the upbringing methods of Iranian families; and authoritative parenting is associated with the healthiest familial relationships.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine burnout among psychiatric staff working at Roozbeh Hospital in Tehran, to compare its severity across different job positions, and to evaluate its relationship with some demographic and job-related variables. Method: In this study, all clinical staff of the hospital who had face-to-face contact with patients were invited to participate. From the total of 165, 140 (84.8%) responded. Findings were collected using a questionnaire covering demographic and job related information, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Results: From all the staff, 20.7% (n=29) suffered from emotional exhaustion, 9.3% (n=13) suffered from depersonalization, and 55% (n=77) suffered from decrease in personal accomplishment. In all these dimensions, burnout was higher among nurses and service staff when compared to psychiatric residents; this was statistically significant in emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Very severe burnout was observed only in nurses and service staff. Depersonalization and decreased personal accomplishment were higher in male sex and single marital status respectively. Emotional exhaustion was negatively associated with level of education and people with longer weekly work hours experienced higher depersonalization. All burnout dimensions were negatively associated with general health. In multivariate analysis only general health and job position were significantly associated with burnout. Conclusion: A large proportion of clinical personnel working at Roozbeh Hospital suffer from severe burnout, especially in the form of severe decrease in personal accomplishment among nurses and service staff.

Objective: This study was carried out to assess the comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children, adolescents, and adults with bipolar I disorder (BID).  Method: One hundred hospital inmates (50 children and adolescents, 50 adults) with BID were selected using convenience sampling. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder was made through questionnaires Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school age (K-SADS) (children) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) (adults). Comorbidity and phenomenology of lifetime OCD was determined by the DSM-IV checklist and Yale-Brown scale. Results: The comorbidity of OCD was 52% for children and adolescents and 28% for adults with a significant difference between the two groups. The comparison of obsessive-compulsive phenomenology between the two groups showed a significant difference only in the cluster of religious, sexual, aggressive and somatic obsessions, and checking compulsions (22% children and adolescents vs. 6% adults). Conclusion: The high comorbidity of OCD in patients with BID, especially in children and adolescents, is consistent with earlier findings. The higher rate of OCD comorbidity among children and adolescents can be indicative of a specific clinical subgroup of bipolar disorder requiring a distinct therapeutic plan.

Objective: Only a few cases of factitious disorder by proxy with psychiatric symptoms have been reported (OCD) in children up to the present. Familiarity with these patients can remind clinicians of the importance of considering this diagnosis.  Method: The present study reports the case of an 8-year-old girl, referred by her grandmother for the treatment of obsessive symptoms. The child had been referred to different doctors for the treatment of the same symptoms in the previous three years and had received fluoxetine up to 60 mg/d.  Results: No improvement was observed in the course of therapy. Also, no obsessive symptom was found in the evaluations. Her function in academic and interpersonal domains was completely normal. Her mother has paranoid schizophrenia and the child suffers from this situation. The child lives with her grandmother and does not have appropriate emotional relationship with her mother and grandmother. She stated that according to her grandmother, she could avoid a disorder similar to her mother’s, through scrupulous hygiene. Her grandmother suffered from guilt feeling due to the inappropriate treatment of her daughter. She was giving the drug at twice the prescribed dose to the child and insisted on increasing the dosage or changing the drug due to the lack of response of the child to treatment. Conclusion: In light of the evaluations, a diagnosis of factitious disorder by proxy was made for the child. By separating the child from her grandmother and arranging supportive psychotherapy sessions, her obsessive symptoms improved.