Journal of Educational Sciences
Year:2008 | Volume:3 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of three behavioralapproaches on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in Iran-Iraq war veterans. The method of this study was experimental one, using a pre-post test with control group. The sample consisted of 90 male Iran-Iraq war veterans with PTSD, who were randomly assigned to three groups (30 subjects in each group). The first group was administered relaxation instructions, the second group relaxation with deep-breathing and the third group relaxation instructions with deep-breathing training and thermal biofeedback. The instruments used in this study were the Farsi version of Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD, as a self-report instrument, and a computerized physiological monitoring system to assess EMG muscle tension.The dependent variables were PTSD symptoms and EMG muscle tension. The results showed that the treatments were effective, but the relaxation instructions with deep-breathing training and thermal biofeedback produced more significant improvement.

Using self-discrepancy theory as a theoretical framework, this study aimed to examine the effect of cognitive therapy on the discrepancy of self-concept components and depression of university students. The sample consisted of 70 university students (36 girls and 34 boys) who were selected based on their scores on the short form of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as well as their phi coefficients. All students were asked to complete the Adjective Check List (Gough & Heilburn, 1983) and BDI. Statistical analysis of the data showed that cognitive therapy had decreased the discrepancies between actual-self and ideal-self, and depression. Furthermore, it was found that cognitive therapy had resulted in enhanced psychological adjustment.

The primary focus of this study is on the role of religious beliefs on mental health, through mediation of self-esteem. The statistical population consisted of all undergraduate students attending Sarbandar Payamenour University, and from this group, one hundred and fifty subjects were selected randomly. Three questionnaires were used in this study: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Religious Belief Scale and General Health Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the relationships between religious beliefs as a latent variable, self-esteem as a mediator and mental health as a dependent variable. The results showed the mediation role of selfesteem, on the relation between religious beliefs and mental health. Also, there was no significant direct relation between religious beliefs and mental health, but that the effect of religious beliefs on mental health was through self-esteem.

This study was conducted to examine the relationship of job satisfaction with organizational citizenship behavior and job performance in Ahvaz factory workers. It was hypothesized that job satisfaction is correlated positively with citizenship behavior and job performance, and that the former correlation is higher than the latter one. The sample consisted of 400 factory workers of Ahvaz, who were selected according to the stratified random sampling method. Job Descriptive Index, Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OSB 1), Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB 2), and two measures of job performance were used to measure the variables of this study. The results indicate that correlation coefficients between the five components of job satisfaction and the five components of each of the two measures of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB 1, and OCB 2) were positive and significant. Stepwise multiple regression analyses yielded R1=0.64 and R2=0.60 between the five components of job satisfaction and the overall scores on the two measures of OCB 1, and OCB 2. In addition, several correlation coefficients of job satisfaction, and its components, with the two measures of job performance were low but significant, although some of them were not significant.

This study was designed to identify teacher effectiveness factors, according to the perceptions of the English teachers in Khuzestan. Participants were 215 male and female secondary school English teachers, selected by a multistage sampling method. A 50-item researcher-constructed questionnaire was administered to these teachers, asking them what characteristics they thought effective English teachers should possess or demonstrate. A Principal Component Analysis was used, which yielded the following four factors: (a) instructional strategies (15 items), (b) communication (social) skills (8 items), (c) personal characteristics (8 items), and (d) knowledge (5 items). Results indicated that, to these teachers, instructional strategies were viewed as more critical for teacher effectiveness than other characteristics. Implications for training centers, principals, and higher education planners as well as suggestions for further research were discussed.

The relations between approach and avoidance motivational traits and work motivation, with considering the mediating role of self-efficacy, were investigated. Approach motivation was divided into 2 traits: personal mastery (i.e., desire to achieve) and competitive excellence (i.e., desire to perform better than others). Avoidance motivation, which reflects one's sensitivity to negative stimuli and the desire to escape such stimuli, was conceptualized as motivation anxiety. Data were collected from 562 employees in an industrial company in Ahvaz, Iran. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through AMOS-16 and SPSS-16 software packages was used for data analysis. The results showed that personal mastery and competitive excellence have positive and indirect effects (through self-efficacy) on work motivation. The mediating effect of self-efficacy in motivation anxiety-work motivation relation was not supported. Discussion and implications of the results are presented in the study.

The aim of the present research was to assess the adequacy of the factor structure of the GHQ-12 as one-, two-, and three-factors using structural equation modeling.Participants were 210 employees of a public organization who were selected randomly and completed the GHQ-12. Cronbach s alpha was 0.85 and item-total correlation coefficients were from -0.03 to 0.74. Item-total correlation indicated that correlation of item 2 to the total score was not significant, thus this item was removed and 11 items remained. The GHQ-11 yielded a two-factor solution of social dysfunction and psychological distress that jointly accounted for 51.54% of the total variance.Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor (present study) and three-factor (Sanchez-Lopez & Dresch, 2008) models of GHQ fitted the data better than a onedimensional model. Convergent validity coefficient of the GHQ-11 with Mental Health Questionnaire was 0.73. Therefore, the GHQ-11 can be used as a reliable and valid instrument to assess people's overall psychological well-being and to detect nonpsychotic populations.

This study was conducted to investigate the causal relationships between attribution styles, mathematics self-efficacy beliefs, gender differences, goal setting, and math achievement of school children. The subjects were 99 seventh-grade students (56 male and 43 female), from public schools in Sooke, Canada, who were selected randomly to participate in this study. A model was tested, using AMOS software. The scales used consisted of modified Stipek s (1993), Attribution for Performance in Math, Self-Efficacy Scale, the Foundation Skills Assessment tests and Lock and Bryan (1968) modified Students Grade Goals Rating Scale. The results showed that the model was statistically fit and that student s math selfefficacy was influenced by his/her attribution. A significant relationship was found between self-efficacy and internal attribution. Also, the path between math selfefficacy and goal setting was significant, implying that self-efficacy plays a key role in students goal setting. In addition, the students goal setting was a predictor of the math achievement. Actually, those students who set higher goals for themselves in mathematics get better grades in math. The effect of self-efficacy on math achievement was indirect, through goal setting. The significant path between the attribution and math achievement shows that the explanatory styles influence math achievement. In other words, those students who attribute the causes of their success in math to internal factors receive higher grades, and those students who attribute the causes of their failure in math to internal factors get lower grades in mathematics.