Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Volume:10 Issue: 2, Jun 2016

Context: Agent abuse is a dire predicament worldwide. Learning and memory deficits stemming from the withdrawal of such agents is an increasingly burning issue for researchers.
Evidence Acquisition: The present review revisits the literature generated by far pertaining to the research on memory and cognition deficiencies after withdrawal of agent abuse and corresponding mechanisms.
Deficiency on spatial memory, episodic memory and working memory are common after withdrawal of agent abuse.
The present review suggests that memory dysfunction may result from withdrawal of agent abuse.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of group psychotherapy with transactional analysis (TA) approach on emotional intelligence (EI), executive functions and substance dependency among drug-addicts at rehabilitation centers in Mashhad city, Iran, in 2013.
Patients and In this quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, case- control stages, 30 patients were selected from a rehabilitation center and randomly divided into two groups. The case group received 12 sessions of group psychotherapy with transactional analysis approach. Then the effects of independent variable (group psychotherapy with TA approach) on EI, executive function and drug dependency were assessed. The Bar-on test was used for EI, Stroop test for measuring executive function and morphine test, meth-amphetamines and B2 test for evaluating drug dependency. Data were analyzed using multifactorial covariance analysis, Levenes'' analysis, MANCOVA, t-student and Pearson correlation coefficient tests t with SPSS software.
Our results showed that group psychotherapy with the TA approach was effective in improving EI, executive functions and decreasing drug dependency (P The result of this study showed that group psychotherapy with TA approach has significant effects on addicts and prevents addiction recurrence by improving the coping capabilities and some mental functions of the subjects. However, there are some limitations regarding this study including follow-up duration and sample size.

Social anxiety disorder is often related to specific impairment or distress in different areas of life, including occupational, social and family settings.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the persian version of the social anxiety-acceptance and action questionnaire (SA-AAQ) in university students.
In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 324 students from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences participated via the cluster sampling method during year 2015. Factor analysis by the principle component analysis method, internal consistency analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were conducted to examine the validity of the SA-AAQ. To calculate the reliability of the SA-AAQ, Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability were used.
The results from factor analysis by principle component analysis method yielded three factors that were named acceptance, action and non-judging of experience. The three-factor solution explained 51.82% of the variance. Evidence for the internal consistency of SA-AAQ was obtained via calculating correlations between SA-AAQ and its subscales. Support for convergent and discriminant validity of the SA-AAQ via its correlations with the acceptance and action questionnaire - II, social interaction anxiety scale, cognitive fusion questionnaire, believability of anxious feelings and thoughts questionnaire, valued living questionnaire and WHOQOL- BREF was obtained. The reliability of the SA-AAQ via calculating Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest coefficients yielded values of 0.84 and 0.84, respectively.
The Iranian version of the SA-AAQ has acceptable levels of psychometric properties in university students. The SA-AAQ is a valid and reliable measure to be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions.

Death anxiety among elderly is a major public health concern. Few studies, however, have been conducted on factors associated with death anxiety.
This study investigated race and gender differences in psychosocial correlates of death anxiety among elderly in the US.
With a cross-sectional design, we used data of the Religion, Aging, and Health survey. 1,074 White and Black elderly (age > 65 years, 615 women, 359 men) were entered to this study. Demographic (age, gender, and race), socio-economic (family income, perceived financial difficulty), health (number of chronic medical conditions and self-rated health), and psychological (perceived control over life) factors were measured. Death anxiety was measured using four items. We used linear regressions to determine factors associated with death anxiety based on race and gender.
Although race and gender did not have main effects on death anxiety (P > 0.05), they altered correlates of death anxiety. Age was a predictor of death anxiety among women (B = 0.165, P = 0.002) but not men (B = 0.082, P = 0.196). Self-rated health was associated with death anxiety among Whites (B = - 0.120, P = 0.050) but not Blacks (B = - 0.077, P = 0.268). Total family income was only associated with death anxiety among White men.
Demographic, socio-economic, health, and psychological determinants of death anxiety in United States differ based on race, gender, and their intersection. Findings advocate that geriatric psychiatrists and gerontologists who wish to reduce death anxiety among elderly people may need to tailor their interventions to race and gender.

Medication treatment compliance among bipolar patients is quite widespread.
Treatment compliance depends on multiple factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predicting factors of noncompliance in patients with bipolar I disorder admitted to an Iranian hospital during a six-month follow up period.
This cross-sectional study included 47 bipolar I disorder subjects who were admitted to the Iran psychiatric hospital and that were chosen using a non-randomized convenient sampling model. The patients were assessed at baseline, and at two and six months after admission. For evaluating the patients, we used the medication possession ratio (MPR), the drug attitude inventory (DIA-10), the young mania rating scale (Y-MRS) and the scale for the assessment of positive symptoms (SAPS). The data were analyzed using a general linear model by SPSS 16 software.
The repeated measures analysis revealed that medication compliance increased successively (P = 0.045), and age, gender and symptom severity did not alter the pattern.
There is an increasing pattern in treatment compliance in bipolar I disorder patients, regardless of the known predicting factors for nonadherence.

Studies on the association between psychosocial factors and obesity have provided mixed findings.
Current study used a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults to investigate how intersection of race, gender and age alters the psychosocial correlates of body mass index(BMI).
Data came from the national health measurement study (NHMS), a cross-sectional study with nationally representative sample of Black and White (n = 3,648) adults ages 35 - 89. We tested bivariate correlations between BMI and physical and mental quality of life, purpose in life, number of chronic medical conditions, and discrimination across race × gender × age groups.
Higher purpose in life was associated with lower BMI among middle aged and older White women, middle aged Black men, middle aged Black women, and older Black women but not middle aged or older White men and older Black men. There was a positive association between multi-morbidity and BMI in all groups other than older White men. High BMI was associated with poor mental quality of life among older White women, older Black men and women, but not any of middle aged groups, and older White men. High BMI was associated with poor physical quality of life among all groups. Everyday discrimination was positively associated with BMI among older White women but not any other group. Lifetime discrimination was not associated with BMI among any of the groups.
Race, gender, and age shape psychosocial and health related correlates of BMI. There is a need for further research on group differences in psychosocial correlates of obesity.

The knowledge and attitude of parents about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a public health issue in which management and rehabilitation approaches may be influenced.
The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the parents of children with ADHD towards this disorder in Tabriz, Iran.
The current cross-sectional study evaluated 295 parents of children and adolescents with ADHD referred to psychiatric clinics of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The subjects were diagnosed based on Kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-aged children (K-SADS) and recruited according to a convenience sampling method in the first five months of 2014. The parents’ knowledge and attitude towards ADHD was studied by a researcher-made questionnaire.
The overall knowledge of parents was 66% in which 76.72% were aware of related signs and symptoms and 43.38% were able to identify the aberrations. Meanwhile, 44.62% of the parents knew the etiology and 54.75% had information about treatment strategies. In addition, 33.55%, 37.91%, 25.52% were aware of ADHD consequences, diagnosis and prevalence dimensions, respectively. Moreover, 82.72% of the parents had a positive attitude towards ADHD. A positive correlation was found between parents’ attitude towards ADHD and their overall knowledge (identification, etiology, treatment, consequences and prevalence dimensions), ranging from 0.12 to 0.36 (P While the overall knowledge of parents regarding ADHD was favorable, they were mostly unable to identify the aberrations in children with ADHD. These results may help practitioners address pitfalls in parent management training programs.

To explore the components of marital satisfaction in a group of 35 Iranian mothers of six to twelve years old children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in comparison with 35 mothers of normal children in Tehran, Iran, during year 2013, all mothers completed the demographic checklist and Golombok Rust inventory of marital satisfaction. Data were analyzed by performing descriptive statistics and independent t-test using the SPSS software version 21. There was no statistically significant difference between scores of marital satisfaction (P = 0.162) yet further data analysis revealed that martial satisfaction of employed mothers (22.27 ± 10.71 vs. 28.73 ± 12.3, P = 0.42) and those mothers who had a monthly income of more than 6,000,000 Rials (22.95 ± 12.31 vs. 22.21 ± 11.67, P = 0.04) was significantly better compared with the comparison group. It may be concluded that employment and reasonable income may contribute to a lower level of stress and improved relationship among mothers with ADHD children.

Patients with heart failure (HF) older than 65 years have a two-fold increased risk of cognitive impairment than elders without HF. Identifying factors affecting cognitive impairment in HF may present targets for intervention.
The aim of the present study was to determine cognitive function and related factors among elderly patients with heart failure.
Patients and In this cross-sectional study, 184 elderly patients with heart failure were selected from four Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences teaching hospitals using convenience sampling. Data were collected from patients’ medical records and by interview, using the abbreviated mental test, geriatric depression scale, and Charlson comorbidity index.
There were significant relationships between cognitive status and living arrangement (P Screening of cognitive impairment in elderly patients with heart failure seems necessary.

Hookah smoking has increased worldwide, especially among young people.
The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hookah use and related factors in a sample of Iranian students of medical sciences.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1992 randomly selected sample of students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2012 - 2013. A multistage sampling method was used and anonymous structured questionnaires were distributed to the students of each selected class. Chi-square test, Fisher''s exact test and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were performed and P Lifetime, last year and last month prevalence rates of hookah smoking were 26.6% (95% CI: 24.7 - 28.6), 17.8% (95% CI: 16.1 - 19.5) and 8.9% (95% CI: 7.7 - 10.2), respectively. The results of logistic regression model showed that male gender [odds ratio (OR) = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.86 - 4.21], cigarette smoking in the past year (OR = 5.6, 95% CI: 3.21 - 9.83), alcohol use in the past year (OR = 7.4, 95% CI: 4.01 - 13.06), cigarette or hookah smoking in the family members (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.13 - 2.51), cigarette or hookah smoking among friends (OR = 4.4, 95% CI: 2.69 - 7.33), alcohol use by friends in the past year (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.20 - 3.14), and illicit substance use among friends (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.22 - 4.05) were associated with hookah smoking.
The results of our study indicate a relatively high prevalence of hookah smoking among Iranian students. The findings emphasize the importance of planning preventive interventions by considering different high-risk behaviors simultaneously.

Striae are a common change during pregnancy, leaving striae in various body parts after delivery, which most women find unpleasant. They create a big aesthetic concern for most women. Although striae do not endanger the mother and the fetus, they may cause a desire to scratch the region leading to small wounds, induce stress over beauty, decrease self-confidence, and create psychological disorders. They may try various treatments and often refer to dermatology clinics and receive long-term treatments; these time-consuming and costly behaviors and may affect their quality of life.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life in Iranian postpartum women with and without striae gravidarum.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 145 women who had referred to health centers of Mashhad to receive post-delivery health care six weeks after delivery during year 2013. Multi-stage sampling was applied to select the participants. The tools used were demographic, SF-36 quality of life, Skindex29, Atwal and Fitzpatrick classification questionnaires. Data were analyzed using the SPSS V.11.5 software.
The subjects’ mean age was 26.3 ± 5.7. Mann-Whitney test showed there was a significant difference between mean of Skindex29 and its dimensions (P 0.05).
The results showed that striae lead to reduced quality of general life and reduced skin quality index in women postpartum.

Depression and anxiety are common among hemodialysis patients and affect their treatment outcomes. Dialysis adequacy also affects the hemodialysis patients’ survival rates.
This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between anxiety and depression with dialysis adequacy.
Patients and In this cross-sectional study, 127 hemodialysis patients (73 males, 57.5%) with the mean age of 55.7 ± 17.5 were enrolled. Demographic and recent laboratory data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and by reviewing medical records. Dialysis adequacy measures including the Kt/V and urea reduction rate (URR) were calculated using standard formulas. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to diagnose depression and anxiety. Independent sample t-test and Chi-square test were used to compare the values in different groups. Pearson correlations and linear regression were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 21.
The prevalence rates of depression and anxiety (HADS score ≥ 8) were 31.5% and 41.7%, respectively. The prevalence of both conditions was significantly higher in women than in men (P Depression and anxiety are common among hemodialysis patients. There are no statistically significant correlation between depression and anxiety and dialysis adequacy.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a distressing psychiatric disorder. So far there have not been any studies on BDD in Saudi Arabia.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in female medical students and to investigate whether there is an association between BDD and body features of concern, social anxiety and symptoms of BDD.
A cross sectional study was carried out on female medical students of the college of medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during January to April, 2015. Data were collected using the body image disturbance questionnaire, Body dysmorphic disorder symptomatology and social interaction anxiety scale. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze the results.
Out of 365 students who filled out the questionnaire, 4.4% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.54% to 7.04%) were positive for BDD with skin (75%) and fat (68.8%) as the most frequent body features of concern. Ten features (skin, fat, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, legs, lips, fingers, and shoulders) out of twenty-six were significantly associated with BDD. Arms and chest were independently associated with BDD. The odds of presence of body concern related to “arms” was 4.3 (95% C.I: 1.5, 12.1) times more in BDD subjects than non-BDD subjects, while concern about “chest” was 3.8 (1.3, 10.9) times more when compared to non-BDD subjects. No statistically significant association was observed between BDD and social anxiety (P = 0.13).
This was the first study conducted in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on female medical students, which quantified the prevalence of BDD and identified the body features associated with it. Body dysmorphic disorder is prevalent in female medical students but it is relatively rare and an unnoticed disorder.