نشریه روانشناسی معاصر
سال چهارم شماره 2 (پاییز 1388)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of critical thinking dispositions on identity commitment through the mediating role of identity processing orientation (informational, normative, diffuse-avoidant). For this reason 400 high school students (200 girls, 200 boys) who were chosen randomly completed 2 scales: California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI; Peter Facione, Noren Facione & Giancarlo, 2001) and Identity Styles Inventory (ISI; Berzonsky, 1989).The data from path analysis indicated that, factors of critical thinking via mediating the informational and normative and diffuse-avoidant identity styles had an indirect effect on commitment. Truth seeking, systematic and analytical orientation via informational style and systematic and analytical orientation through normative style had an effect on commitment Critical thinking had a direct and negative effect on diffuse-avoidant identity. The results confirmed our conceptual model.

Abstract The aim of this research was to examine the effectiveness of supportive-expressive therapy in improving the maintenance treatment outcome for opioid dependency. For this purpose, a single case experimental design across subjects was used in which four opioid dependent subjects were assessed during baseline, intervention and follow-up phases. The assessment measures included Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID; Spitzer, Williams, Gibbon & First, 1992) and (ASI; McLellan, Cacciola, Alterman, Rikoon & Carise, 2006) ANOVA and Polynominal contrasts were used to examine the effectiveness of professional psychotherapy in improving treatment outcome. The findings showed that supportive-expressive therapy significantly improved treatment outcome in the psychiatric and substance use status domains, but had no significant effects on employment and family/social status. Supportive-expressive psychotherapy is effective in improving the maintenance treatment outcome for addiction and therefore it is recommended that it should be integrated into the maintenance treatments of drug dependency.

Abstract Interpersonal problems are difficulties that an individual experiences in relating to others and are sources of subjective distress. These are among the most prevalent complaints that patients report during clinical interviews and are a major reason that people seek psychotherapy. The main purpose of this study was to examine reliability, validity, and exploratory factor analysis of a short form of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-60) in an Iranian general population. Nine hundred and twenty one volunteers (490 females, 434 males) from the general population in Tehran, Iran were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; Horowitz, Rosenberg, Baer, Ureno, & Villasenor, 1988), the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-28; Besharat, 2009), the Self-Esteem Rating Scale (SERS; Nugent & Thomas, 1993), and the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS; Schutte, Malouff, Hall, Haggerty, Cooper et al., 1998). Results of explarotary factor analysis supported six factors for the IIP-60 as well as a single general factor for interpersonal problems. The convergent and discriminant validity of the IIP-60 were supported by an expected pattern of correlations between the scale and the measures of mental health, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence. All correlation coefficients between the mean scores on the IIP-60 and scores of the MHI-28, the SERS, and the SEI were statistically significant. Coefficient alpha estimates of internal reliability were between. 84 and. 95 for the IIP-60 subscales. Test-retest reliability of the IIP-60 was also calculated at the range of. 74-.84. All correlations were statistically significant.

The purpose of this study was to compare cognitive deficits in patients with bipolar disorder type I with schizophrenic patients. The samples were comprised of 30 male patients with bipolar disorder type I and 30 male patients with schizophrenia (these disorders were diagnosed by a psychiatrist) after they had reached stability level and showed a decreased in their signs. This sample was chosen from the inpatients who were accessible from three hospitals (Razi, Azadi, and Saadat Abad) in Tehran, Iran. Two groups were matched in age, education, marital status, in terms of time of the onset of the disorder and time of hospitalization. In addition, they were examined by Cognistat, a Neurobehavioral and Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE; Kiernan & Mueller, 1985-1987) which assesses five major cognitive ability areas: language, memory, construction, calculation and reasoning. Data were analyzed by use of independent T-test and results showed that there were significant differences between the cognitive functions of schizophrenic and bipolar disorder type I patients in: orientation, attention, comprehension, repetition, naming, calculation, similarities, judgment. There were no significant differences between the two groups in memory and construction (P<0/05). It can be concluded that schizophrenic patients have poorer cognitive function than patients with bipolar disorder type I. This deficit is seen in orientation, attention, comprehension, repetition, naming, calculation, similarities and judgment.

The present research was designed to investigate the cognitive and motor inhibition in persons suffering from obsessive compulsive and schizophrenic disorders and comparing them with a normal group. 90 persons with obsessive compulsive and schizophrenic disorders and normal persons (30 persons in each group) age range between 25-45 were selected. The participants were asked to answer individually the computer based form of the stroop test (Golen, 1978), as index of cognitive inhibition and stop signal task (Gorlyn, Keilp, Tryon & Mann, 2005), of motor inhibition. Results indicated that persons with schizophrenic disorder in both the cognitive and motor inhibitions performed significantly poorer than obsessive compulsive and normal persons but there was no significant difference between obsessive compulsive and normal groups. The group with schizophrenic disorder performed significantly poorer than the obsessive compulsive group in cognitive inhibition but there was no significant difference in motor inhibition between these two groups. Therefore, on the basis of results it can be concluded that poor cognitive and motor inhibition have an important role in the pathology of schizophrenic disorder and in obsessive compulsive disorder, despite relative poor motor inhibition, is a need for there designing more careful studies.

The effects of causal attributions on stereotype was examined in an experiment. Preliminary study showed that student studying in public universities have negative attitude towards IQ of Azad University students as compared with public university students. This stereotype was used as a means to determine the ingroup favoritism condition. In the main experiment, 80 Mohaggeg Ardabili university students (30 male and 50 female) and were assigned to 8 experiment groups, randomly. In experiments conditions, target individual’s positive or negative counter stereotype behavior was attributed to stable internal, unstable internal and situational causes. Control subjects were exposed to no attribution for target individual’s behavior. The following instruments were used: Explicit Scales designed by researcher as well as Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998) were used with some modifications. Consistent with cognitive dissonance theory, results of the experiment showed a change in explicit stereotype when counter stereotype behavior was attributed to stable internal causes, but implicit stereotype was not affected by causal attribution manipulations. Moreover, explicit and implicit levels of stereotype were correlated in experimental conditions, except the stable internal causal attribution condition. Result is that, manipulation for correcting the individual’s explanation style, changes the explicit stereotype whereas the implicit stereotype perseveres.

The recognition of determinants in individual's coping strategies with stressful situations to empower their abilities in management and control of stress, has been a substantial issue in behavioral studies. The aim of this study was to determine the role of perceived severity of stress in individual's coping strategies with stressful situations. Using data were collected from 373 students of Yazd University, from seven educational groups, between 22 June and 22 July 2006. These Students were selected randomly. Students then responded to the following standardized scales: Coping Strategies Scale (CSS-R, Masoudnia, 2005), and Perceived Severity of Stress (PSS, Newcomb, Huba & Bentler, 1981). The results showed significant differences among students with different levels of perceived severity of stress concerning coping strategies, in general, and in regard to merely two components of coping strategies namely avoidance coping and active coping. No significant difference among groups concerning others components of coping strategies were found. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the perceived Severity of Stress was failed to explain the variance in coping strategies. according to Health Belief Model and Lazarus and Folkman's Coping Behavior Model, it was expected that individuals with high levels of perceived severity of stress would show higher levels of emotional coping strategies as compared to individuals with lower levels who would be expected to use more avoidance and active coping. However, results of the present study showed no significant differences.

This study was aimed to investigate the direct and indirect effect of social support on mental and physical health which was analyzed according to a structural equation modeling method in a propositional model. The target populations of this research were undergraduate students of Tarbiat Moallem University. Three hundred and twenty students (188 females, 132 males) were included in this study who were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling method. All students were asked to complete College Academic Self-efficacy Scale (CASEA, Owen & Fronman, 1988), Social Support Inventory (SSA, Sameti, Najarian & Shokrkon, 1997), Students Stressors Questionnaire (SSQ, Pooladyereyshahri, 1995) and Mental and Physical Health Questionnaire (SF-36 Version 2, Ware, 1996). The results of this study revealed that a higher level of mental and physical health was accompanied with both by higher level of social support and academic self-efficacy, and low level of academic stress. Also, relationship between social support and mental and physical health was mediated by academic self-efficacy and academic stress. The relationship between academic self-efficacy and mental and physical health was mediated by academic stress. All of the relations between the variables were statistically significant, and model's predictor's variables accounted for 0.194 of the mental and physical health variance. Results and implications are discussed.