نشریه اندیشه و رفتار در روان شناسی بالینی
پیاپی 40 (تابستان 1395)

Sexual variety seeking is a sexual behavior that is characterized by the preoccupation with multiple sexual relationships and, in behavioral domains with the attempt to establish sexual relationships with new people and in different forms. The aim of this study is to provide a structural model to explain the sexual variety seeking based on early maladaptive schemas, parenting styles and moods. In this study, 422 married men from the community of theologians and students of Qom were selected through random sampling method and tested for sexual variety seeking, temperament, early maladaptive schemas, and parenting styles. The results of exploratory, confirmatory and modeling factor analysis of structural equation indicated that early maladaptive schemas (43 percent), paternal parenting styles directly (32%) and indirectly (9%) account for sexual variety seeking. Maternal parenting styles and moods indirectly (respectively 13% and 19%) and through the early maladaptive schemas explain sexual variety seeking. In general, it seems that early maladaptive schemas play an important role in explaining sexual variety seeking.

Dyslexia, a complex neurocognitive disorder that affect literacy development, decoding and encoding processes causes significant deficiencies in the process of developing the basic skills of reading and spelling. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of cognitive rehabilitation on working memory and verbal fluency among dyslexic students. Therefore, in an ABA single subject study with a control group, 8 students with dyslexia diagnosis for whom cognitive difficulties such as attention deficit, and working memory was significant were selected through purposive sampling method and randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The subjects participated in 15 sessions of rehabilitation and were presented by assignments related to attentional functions. The subjects were evaluated for working memory and verbal fluency three times in three stages, and also in a time span of four months. The subjects in each group were evaluated10 times using N-BACK and verbal fluency test. The results (visual analysis and effect size) showed that cognitive interventions based on attention games are effective on dyslexic students’ working memory and verbal fluency performance. Strengthening basic cognitive factors such as attention with the use of cognitive rehabilitation in the early years of school can be an effective approach to improve executive functions and treatment among dyslexic students.

The relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorders and psychotic disorders, in particular schizophrenia, has always been important and studying schizotypal samples as a way to research the schizophrenia spectrum has been increasingly considered. Since the research on schizotypal personality among the general population may be an important opportunity to study susceptible bio-cognitive parameters of schizophrenia, without the effect of long term hospitalization and medical intervention and severe psychological symptoms, the purpose of this study is to examine the collateral dimensions and operating traits of schizotypal and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Therefore, in a descriptive and correlational study, 627 undergraduate students of Tabriz University were selected using stratified random sampling method and evaluated for schizotypal personality and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The results revealed that variables such as paranoia, extreme social anxiety, unusual perceptual experiences, superficial emotion, bizarre speech, attribution opinions, and interpersonal and cognitive-perceptual factors could predict obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Additionally, negative schizotypal could better anticipate OCD symptoms compared to positive schizotypal. Evidence supports high overlap between obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizotypal personality.

Marital satisfaction is a very important aspect in a couple relations and plays an important role in their psychological health. On the other hand, the couple’s psychological health can be affected by factors such as marital and sexual satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between marital and sexual satisfaction with mental health among married couples. Therefore, in a descriptive and correlational study, 220 couples were selected through availability sampling method and evaluated for marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and mental health. Regression analysis showed that marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction have a significant and positive relation to psychological health among the group ranges of 20 to 30, 31 to 40, and 41 to 50. Furthermore, marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction could predict 57% of the variance in mental health in the age period of 20 to 30 years. In fact, marital satisfaction could predict %38 and %44 of the variance in mental health for the age periods of 31 to 40 years and 41 to 50 years respectively. The results indicate the importance of a positive and significant relationship between marital and sexual satisfaction with mental health among the married couples.

Affectivity refers to the individuals’ mood and states of mind that is experienced as positive or negative emotions. The aim of this study was to examine the pathological anxiety, rumination, and cognitive emotional regulation strategies within the positive and negative affectivity levels. For this purpose, 287 male and female students of Urmieh University were selected through multistage cluster sampling method. Following initial analysis of the results, 74 of the subjects were designated based on the end distribution of scores (Z standard) on a scale of positive and negative affectivity. Lastly, to test the hypothesis of the study, participants were evaluated for pathological anxiety, rumination and cognitive emotional regulation strategies. The data were analyzed using uni-variate and multivariate variance and follow-up tests. The results showed that pathological anxiety and rumination are related with high levels of negative affectivity and low level of positive affectivity. Further, the results indicated that individuals with high negative affectivity (HNA) had higher scores in negative emotional regulation strategies and subjects with high positive affectivity (HPA) obtained higher scores in positive emotional regulation strategies. It seems that the positive and negative aspects of emotions are the predisposing factors of psychopathology through the mediation of pathological anxiety, rumination and cognitive emotional regulation strategies.

Perceived stress is a psychological state or process in which a person perceives their physical and psychological well being as threatening. The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and perceived stress among students. For this purpose, 360 students of Islamic Azad University of Tabriz were selected through multistage cluster random sampling method and evaluated in terms of perceived stress, anxiety sensitivity, and acceptance and practice. Regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between perceived stress with anxiety sensitivity and experiential avoidance. Further, it was indicated that experiential avoidance has a significant positive correlation with anxiety sensitivity. Additionally, hierarchical regression analysis showed that anxiety sensitivity and experiential avoidance, alone and in interaction with each other, have the ability to predict the perceived stress. Furthermore, simple slope analysis presented that experiential avoidance has a moderating role in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and perceived stress; it has an increasing effect so that in both high and low levels of experiential avoidance there is a significant relationship between perceived stress and anxiety sensitivity; however, when anxiety sensitivity and experiential avoidance are at a high level, the amount of perceived stress at the various levels of experiential avoidance (highest and low) is relatively closer. It seems that experiential avoidance has a moderating role in the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and perceived stress.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the sets of individual’s reactions following exposure to an extreme stressor. The aim of this study is to compare the meaning of life, suicidal thoughts and cognitive distortions between women who experience PTSD after trauma and women who does not experience PTSD after trauma. For this purpose, during a comparative study, 200 women who had been exposed to traumatic events in Gilane Gharb were selected by simple random sampling method and allocated into two groups (with and without PTSD symptoms) based on clinical interview and the cut off point of 107 on the scale of post-traumatic stress disorder. All the subjects in both groups were individually evaluated for meaning of life, suicidal thoughts and cognitive distortions. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that the mean scores of subjects with PTSD were significantly lower than the other group in cognitive distortion and meaning of life and its subcomponents such as; the meaning present in life, and the search for meaning in life; however, it was significantly higher in suicidal thoughts and its subcomponents including; tendency to death, preparation for suicide, and suicide completion tendencies. Given the importance of meaning in life, suicidal thoughts and cognitive distortions among PTSD patients, it is critical to prioritize these topics in therapeutic interventions and derive a formulation to reduce suicidal thoughts and cognitive distortions in order to increase mental health among patients.

Awareness and escape from awareness are the fundamental concepts of integrated and holistic treatment approach. In this approach, it is believed that intangible awareness that is independent of the brain is nonexistent and awareness is the production of the entire brain functions. For this, when brain functions is temporarily or permanently halted, there would be no consciousness. The ability of awareness, recreations, integrations and identifying actions and emotions requires the use of performance measures that can be emanated from various ways in individual’s behaviors, character, beliefs, and environment; and becomes stable or relatively stable based on learning principles. What Anna Freud, Freud and others have believed in respect to defense mechanisms; or what recent psychologist such as Bandura have proposed in relation to self-exoneration processes are the result of an operation that through escape from awareness seeks to preserve the integrity, comfort, pleasure, homeostasis and even resolving inconsistency. We strongly believe that humans have always used the measures that facilitate feeling of comfort and prevent feeling of suffering and blame. Patterns that are formed involuntarily and in response to the perceived danger or psychological conflict, and in the face of unexpected internal or external changes and imbalances in the environment and enable the individual, in addition to escape from consciousness, justify own or other’s behavior, pursue unreasonable ideals, rationalize their irrational behaviors, and center their objectives upon fragile foundations.