International Journal of School Health
Volume:6 Issue: 1, Winter 2019

Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common gynecological complaints that can affect the quality of life. The exact pathophysiology of dysmenorrhea is not yet fully understood. However, some studies have suggested an association between anthropometric indices and dysmenorrhea.

We aimed to evaluated the association between anthropometric indices and dysmenorrhea.

In this cross-sectional study conducted in Qazvin, Iran, during 2016, 400 high school students aged between 14 and 18 years old were enrolled based on the inclusion criteria. The relevant information and anthropometric indices were collected using a checklist. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 17.

Among 400 students, the prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 82.5%. There were significant differences in cycle length (29.15 ± 2.69 vs. 27.57 ± 2.38; P = 0.001), duration of menstruation (6.03 ± 1.11 vs. 5.65 ± 1.20; P = 0.011), hip circumference (93.13 ± 9.25 vs. 90.14 ± 12.15; P = 0.021), height (162.62 ± 5.47 vs. 160.72 ± 5.92; P = 0.01), and waist to hip ratio (WHR) (0.78 ± 0.06 vs. 0.81 ± 0.09; P = 0.001) between the groups with dysmenorrhea and without dysmenorrhea. Based on a logistic regression model, only WHR was a predictive protective factor for dysmenorrhea (OR = 0.896, CI95% = 0.821 - 0.971, P = 0.012) and height (OR = 1.057, CI95% = 1.006 - 1.111, P < 0.001), cycle length (OR = 1.238, CI95% = 1.117 - 1.372, P = 0.028), and menstruation length (OR = 1.269, CI95% = 1.002 - 1.608, P = 0.048) were risk factors.

WHR and height were noted to be associated with dysmenorrhea. In addition, WHR was found to be a protective factor and height to be a risk factor

  Empathy is a skill that has been proved effective in learning and teaching processes. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between students’ empathy and their learning behaviors. A fuzzy clustering-based method (an area of artificial intelligence) was used, according to which students were classified to clusters based on their empathy measures. Students’ empathy was assessed through a questionnaire. Overall, 345 students (11 to 13 years old) from six schools located in three different areas of Tehran, Iran, participated in this study, selected by multistage cluster sampling. In this method, similar samples are classified in one cluster and, then, clusters can be labeled based on their attributes (empathy measures). Two teacher-reported and student-reported questionnaires were used to assess the learning behavior and empathy levels of students. Questionnaires were completed by the students and their teachers during school year 2017 and 2018 (from autumn 2017 to spring 2018). All calculations were performed in MATLAB, a multi-purpose programming environment. Although statistical parameters showed a strong relationship between students’ empathy and their learning behaviors, AI clustering process provides a more exact analysis due to its nature. The results revealed a significant relationship between empathy scores and learning among male students. A P value of 0.0031 indicates a meaningful relationship between empathy scores and learning behavior measures. Number of students in each cluster showed that females are more uniform than males in the sense of empathy. Cultural backgrounds have significant effects on answers to questions. Processes revealed a meaningful difference between males and females when their connection of empathy and learning behaviors were investigated. Cognitive components seem to be more determinative than affective components

Nature relatedness and indoor plants can affect human mental health and behavior. In addition, students may take advantage of the green plant at schools.

This study investigated the effect of indoor plants on the happiness of female high school students in the classrooms.

384 students participated in this quasi-experimental study carried out with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The subjects of this study were selected from among all female high school students studying in the 2016 - 2017 academic year. To randomize the students, a random allocation rule was used and the subjects were divided into intervention and control groups, each including six classes (n = 192). A demographic questionnaire and the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) scale were answered by each group as a pretest. Living pot-plants were placed in the experimental group classrooms for 12 weeks and then the OHI was completed by the two groups as a posttest. Paired t-test was used to analyze the data.

The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the mean happiness score between the intervention and control groups before the intervention. However, the mean happiness score increased from 41.17 to 55.58 after the intervention. In the posttest, the happiness score was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.001).

The presence of indoor plants in the classroom could be helpful in enhancing the happiness of female high school students.

Child abuse causes serious mental, physical, and social problems, and it is considered as a universal problem occurring in every society. Pediatricians are often the first professionals who see the children with symptoms of child abuse; thus, they must play a crucial role in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of child abuse. This study evaluated pediatric residents’ knowledge and attitudes towards this issue. This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed to describe the knowledge and attitudes of pediatric residents toward child abuse. Eighty-one out of all pediatric residents of (n = 121) Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were enrolled (using the census sampling method). The data were collected by using a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed by experts in the field of pediatrics and medical ethics. The questionnaire consisted of three parts, including demographic information, questions about the knowledge of participants, and queries which were designed to assess the participants’ attitude toward child abuse. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the data. The pediatric residents had “good” knowledge with a mean score of 57.48 ± 6.46 (score range: 23 to 69) and “moderate” attitudes with a mean score of 54 ± 7.73 (score range: 16 to 80) toward child abuse, although they did not recognize some of the most important risk factors and symptoms. No relationship was confirmed between gender, age, academic level, and previous source of information and knowledge or attitudes (P > 0.05). Pediatricians serve an important role in reducing the rate of child abuse. However, a large proportion of the respondents did not recognize some of the most important risk factors and symptoms regarding suspected cases of abuse in their practice. Thus, they need more specific training and support to increase their competence with better case identification and report

Teaching is a highly stressful occupation and teachers suffer from more mental health problems than other professions.

The current research was aimed to investigate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and mental health among primary school teachers.

A descriptive correlation design was applied in this study. The statistical population consisted of all teachers working in primary schools of Darreshahr in Ilam province during 2016 - 2017 academic year (N = 430), from whom 203 people were selected randomly as a sample, applying Cochran’s sample size formula. Data were collected through spiritual intelligence self‐report inventory-24 (SISRI-24) and general health questionnaire (GHQ). The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis.

The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of mental health was 17.37 ± 9.32. In addition, findings indicated that the mean and standard deviation of spiritual intelligence and its components including critical existential thinking, personal meaning production, transcendental awareness, and conscious state expansion were 59.35 ± 12.88, 17.12 ± 4.22, 12.79 ± 3.50, 18.16 ± 4.98, and 11.26 ± 2.66, respectively. Furthermore, findings showed that there is a significant negative relationship between spiritual intelligence and mental health (- 0.43, P < 0.001). The results of the regression analysis showed that among the spiritual intelligence components, transcendental awareness (β = - 0.281, P < .001) and personal meaning production (β = - 0.244, P = 0.002) are better predictors for the teachers’ mental health.

According to the results of the present study, a higher level of spiritual intelligence leads to higher level of teachers’ mental health. Therefore, it is recommended that education officials develop programs for training and enhancing teachers’ spiritual intelligence that, in turn, can lead to the improvement of the teachers’ mental health

  Numerous studies proposed the improvement of movement skills on sport-context by virtual reality interaction. The purpose of this study was investigating the effect of virtual reality on dart throwing performance and kinematics. A total of 24 healthy junior high school boy students (aged = 13.54, SD = 0.50) participated in a virtual reality game of dart throwing in the Iranian academic year of 1396-97. We investigated the mean radial error and bivariate variable error to measure performance outcomes, and preparation time, throwing time, maximum flexion angle, release time angle, and angular velocity to measure movement kinematics. The X-box Kinect (Microsoft, USA) body movement track, standard dart board (unicorn ELIPSE HD) and Casio High-Speed camera (EX-ZR1000, China) sampling at 240 Hz were used to measure performance and capture dominant upper limb motion during dart throwing play. Before exporting data to SPSS 25, Kinovea and MATLAB R2015b were used to analyze videos and smoothing data. Repeated measure ANOVA was used to analyze variables separately. The results showed that virtual reality intervention was significantly effective on performance and movement kinematics. Mean radial error (P = 0.004) decreased from 19.67 ± 6.20 in the pre-test to 17.46 ± 5.81 in the acquisition, and 14.75 ± 4.01 in the post-test. Bivariate variable error (P = 0.001) decreased from 11.46 ± 1.21 in the pre-test to 11.20 ± 1.56 in the acquisition, and 10.03 ± 1.11 in the post-test. Other kinematics factors showed the significant difference in phases. These findings suggest that virtual reality can be applied as an effective instrument in discrete motor skill learning.

Family has a great impact on the formation of people's expectations and beliefs, and its role in the health, well-being, and promotion of various skills in children is very prominent. The current study aimed at designing and constructing a valid and reliable scale to evaluate two aspects of family functions including problem-solving and communication skills. Based on the McMaster model, the family functions scale was developed and tested in the current study. By random clustering sampling, 706 high school students (285 male and 421 female) from Babolsar city that enrolled in the academic year 2017-2018 were selected as participants and they completed the scale. The data were analyzed with SPSS version 22 and AMOOS version 22 software. Factor analysis was performed by exploratory and confirmatory analyses. The results of the exploratory factor analysis showed two dimensions (problem-solving and communication). These two dimensions explained 51.38% of the variance of the scale (the problem-solving function was 35.97% and the communication function was 15.41%). Also, the confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-dimensional structure of the scale (RMSEA = 0.046 and χ2/df = 2.517). The reliability of the problem-solving and communication dimensions by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.91 and 0.90; respectively, and by test-retest method was 0.86 and 0.88, respectively. The current study results showed that the scale could be used in studies related to the student community.

Color is one of the most important physical features of the environment that affects the architectural quality of space, behavior, and human feelings. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of classroom red walls on the aggression of female high school students. The sample size in this study included 70 female high school students studying in Shiraz, Iran, during the academic year of 2017 to 2018. The research sample was obtained using cluster random sampling. In this way, one area was selected randomly from four educational districts of Shiraz. Then, one school was selected randomly from all female high schools in a selected district. Classes were randomly divided to two groups of 35 students, control and intervention group, among all the school classrooms. At first, a pre-test including Buss and Perry aggression questionnaire was performed. Then, the classroom walls of the intervention group were painted red. While the classroom walls of the control group were white. After 12 weeks, aggression tests were performed for each group. The means and standard deviations were used at descriptive level and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used at inferential level. Pre-test and post-test score of aggression in the intervention group was 76.89 ± 25.494 and 101.00 ± 25.121. In the control group, the mean of pre-test and post-test were 79.54 ± 19.655 and 76.60 ± 19.820. The results of ANCOVA analysis showed that the classroom with red walls could significantly increase the level of aggression in general (P < 0.001) and its subscales, including verbal aggression (P < 0.001), physical aggression (P < 0.001), anger (P < 0.001), and hostility (P < 0.001). According to the results, red color of the classroom walls increased the aggression and its dimensions, including verbal aggression, physical aggression, anger, and hostility among female high school students.