International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Autumn 2014

Bipolar Affective Disorder is cyclic swinging of mood between mania or hypo-mania and depression. Lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder is 2.4%. A numbers of risk factors are associated with bipolar disorders including age, sex, and genetic predisposition, environmental factors and socioeconomic status. The main objective of the conducted study was to assess vulnerability for bipolar spectrum disorder among the students of different Pakistani institutes. This cross sectional survey was conducted in different undergraduate and postgraduate institutes of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Students of both genders having age 18 or above fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in this study after verbal consent. 668 students included in this study were given a Mood Disorder Questionnaire, 634 students returned the filled questionnaire. Out of which, 10 questionnaires were discarded due to their inappropriate filling giving an overall usable return rate of 93.4 % (624 out of 668) which was further used for data analysis. On screening of students included in study (624)the vulnerability for BSD was positive in 89 students (14.3%). Among the 89 students who were screened positive, 39 students were males (43.8%)and 50 were females (56.2%). The vulnerability for BSD was most common in student group of 20-21 year old. The family history of psychiatric illness was found to be positive in 39 students (43.8%). The diagnosis of bipolar disorders was also made by consultant psychiatrist in 28 (31.5%)students. The estimated rate of prevalence for bipolar spectrum disorder among students of Pakistan is 14.3%. No significant difference in prevalence of BSD was observed in either gender. However, the age group of 20-21 years was the most affected one. Genetic influence was found to have an impact on the prevalence rate.

This study investigated the relationship between symptoms of anxiety in children and early maladaptive schemas in children and their mothers. Early maladaptive schemas are dysfunctional ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that develop as a result of adverse experiences with significant others in childhood, and lead to a higher risk of psychopathology. A sample of 200 non-clinical children (aged 9-13 years) completed the SCARED and SIC, their mothers completed the YSQ-SF. Regression analyses found that child anxiety scores were mainly predicted by the child schemas of loneliness, submission and vulnerability, which are similar to the anxiety predictors identified in adult samples. The failure schema was strongly related to anxiety symptoms in girls. Differences in schema predictors were found between girls and boys, and between different anxiety scales. Mother schemas were generally poor predictors of child anxiety symptoms. Support was found for the proposal that the schemas of self-sacrifice and enmeshment may not be maladaptive in children. This study identified several early maladaptive schemas that are significantly related to child anxiety symptoms, but further research is required to establish the causal direction of these relationships. Research in clinical samples is recommended to determine whether specific child schemas can differentiate between different types of psychopathology. The reliability and validity of the SCARED in Iranian children is questionable, and requires further examination.

Depression and Anxiety literature in Iran is suffering from the lack of culture/indigenous studies in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of emotional disorders especially in Azeri ethnic zone, and still there is no comprehensive research on how Azeri speaking individuals percept and experience depression and anxiety. Current study is carried out in order to identify depression and anxiety dimensions in Azeri ethnic group with emphasis on dimensional classification of emotional disorders. In a cross sectional qualitative design, 32 informants from Azeri ethnicity (14 patients, 13 lay people, and 5 professionals) participated in the study from September 2013 till December 2014. Individual in-depth interviews had been conducted with regard to highlighted themes of explanations, reporting the experiences and perceptions of the participants from emotional disorders. Data were analyzed through content analysis technique. Primary results indicated that 11 main theme categories identified in Azeri ethnic group which are dimensional constructs related to emotional disorders: Avoidance, Dysfunction, Arousality, Disorganized Personality, Repetition, Somatization, Problematic Behavior, Maladaptive Cognition, Awareness, Positive, and Negative Emotionality. In the same line with related researches in the field, Somatization had the highest frequency of symptom report by participants. However, current evidences are not supporting the hypothesis of "Somatizing" depression and anxiety in non-western people including Iran, and perhaps other psychological processes are involved in somatic symptom report. Theoretical advantages and implications of the study in the framework of clinical and indigenous studies are discussed.

Shared neuropathology hypothesis in schizophrenia and temporal lobe epilepsy has been introduced long term ago. Similar neuropathology leads to the analogous clinical features like neuropsychological features as an example. The aim of this study was to examine this hypothesis by the means of comparing neuropsychological functions in these two patient groups. Present study consisted of 28 DSM_IV_TR schizophrenics and 29 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy recruited from Roozbeh, Razi and khatamolanbia hospital in Tehran by convenient sampling method. SCID in schizophrenic group and EEG, MRI in epileptic patients were taken in regard to diagnostic determination. Neuropsychological tests were taken later. Package of neuropsychological tests consisted of Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Color- Word Test, Logic Memory, Visual Reproduction and Digit Span subscales of Wechsler Memory Scale- Revised and Block Design, Vocabulary and Symbol Digit subscales of Wechsler Adult intelligence Scale- Revised. there was no significant difference in two groups of patients with respect to demographic and clinical (Age, Depression, premorbid function and duration) variables. Analysis of MANOVA was taken to compare two groups of patients in neuropsychological functions. The results revealed no significant differences between schizophrenics and temporal lobe epileptic patients except for Symbol Digit subscale that was significantly lower in schizophrenic group (p<0.05). the result of current study is consistent with shared neuropathology hypothesis in schizophrenia and temporal lobe epilepsy. Profile of neuropsychological functions in both groups was generalized and beyond temporal lobe.

This paper compares preferences in mate selection criteria for permanent marriage and temporary marriage. The research population participants consisted of single persons in Tehran who were in the age range between “22 - 40” and being educated and having at least Diploma. In addition, they have not been diagnosed any of psychological problems. The samples available and interested in participating in the study included 122 (61 girls and 61 boys). The researcher set up a program that mate choice is a computer program written in the C programming language and is comprised of two parts; 1) Demographic characteristics of participants 2) Testing mate selection Inventory. Measures of central tendency and parameters of dispersion were used to describe the data. Binomial test, correlation test, the median difference distribution, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for inferred statistical. The results showed that only 23% of participants (12% women and 45% men), agree with temporary marriage. The criteria of «education» and «loyalty» were more important in permanent marriage than the temporary marriage with amount of 0. 551 and 0. 912, respectively. “Pleasant mood” and “being obedient” had higher priority in temporary marriage than the permanent marriage. Our study showed that criteria for permanent and temporary marriage differ based on their relation''s duration and its expectations. In fact, understanding of reasons for agreement and disagreement regarding temporary marriage, can provide a more accurate and expertise reference for reading possible in the Muslim world.

Behavioral disorder is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders among children. It can affect the psychological and social functions of all members of the family. This study has been caring out with the aim of determining the effect of positive parenting program (3P) on depression, anxiety, and stress level of mothers who had children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The design of current study was a single group semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test. Samples had been chosen with convenient sampling from mothers who had children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder referring to Andishe No clinic (Tehran/ Iran). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children confirmed by The Revised Conner's Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R) and interview by a psychiatrist. Then, depression, anxiety, and stress level of 53 mothers had been investigated with DASS-21and 18 of them were chosen (6 mothers dropped out due to different reasons). Then, the group received Triple-p training for 8 weekly sessions each lasted 120 minutes and 12 mothers were retested after finishing the sessions. Data obtained from this study were analyzed using paired sample T-test in SPSS 21 software. The results indicated significantly lower levels of depression (p<0.001), anxiety, and stress (p<0.05) in the post test. The results of this research suggest that positive parenting program can effectively lead to prevention or decline secondary problems such as depression and anxiety disorders in mothers who have children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The aim of the present research was to study correlation between family functioning components and internalizing and externalizing disorders as well as to determine the contribution of each family functioning component in creating these disorders in 7-11 year old children. This was a descriptive (correlation of prediction type) kind of research. Family functioning components were as predictor variables and internalizing and externalizing disorders were as criteria variable. Research sample was in the form of cluster sampling in which 95 mothers responded to family assessment device (FAD) and child behavior check list (CBCL) questionnaires. In this research, statistical method of correlation and regression analysis with entry method were utilized. Findings showed that all subscales of emotional/behavioral disorders in children have negative correlation with family functioning indexes and all these indexes have meaningful negative correlation with internalizing disorders. The two indexes of problem solving and control of behavior have meaningful negative correlation with externalizing disorders. Amongst family functioning indexes, the two indexes of emotional responsiveness and overall performance are capable of predicting internalizing disorders and only the control of behavior index is capable of predicting externalizing disorders in children.