Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology
Volume:6 Issue: 2, May 2019

Considering people with autism, early screening is necessary for early intervention. Parents report that questionnaires are effective tools for screening autism. The short version of the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT-10) is a new scale for screening autism in toddlers. 

The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Q-CHAT-10.

We analyzed the data of the full version of Q-CHAT. We only selected data regarding 10 items, which consisted of the short version of Q-CHAT.

The typically developing group included 50 children with the mean age of 29.62 months, and the autism spectrum disorder group included 50 children with the mean age of 27.14 months. The mean total score was 2.1 and 6.46 for the typically developing group and the autism spectrum disorder group, respectively, which was significantly different (t[98]=-11.52, P=0.000). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the checklist was 0.78, and the test-retest reliability was 0.951 (P<0.001). The estimated area under curve was 0.935.

The Persian version of Q-CHAT-10 has good reliability and predictive validity and it can be used for screening autism.

Self-compassion is a construct of mental health that facilitates acceptance and understanding without judgment of difficult mental conditions. It is also effective in creating positive emotions and improving mental well-being. 

The aim of this study is to review the concept of self-compassion in psychological health.

In this review study, the international and Persian databases, such as MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, SID, PubMed, and ProQuest were searched by “title search method”. Articles were surveyed without a time limit, using the keywords of “self-compassion” and “psychological health”. The articles containing inclusion criteria were separately selected, reviewed, and analyzed. To extract the data, the final articles included in the process of the study were extracted based on a premade checklist.

Out of 54 articles, 48 were excluded because of ignoring the relationship between the “self-compassion” and “psychological health”, as well as lacking a tool for controlling the psychological health and repetitiveness. Finally, 6 articles with the mentioned features were included in the study. Most review studies have shown that self-compassion increases psychological health and promotes well-being.

As a positive construct, self-compassion includes self-kindness, social relationships, and mindfulness, and it is effective in promoting psychological health.

Substance abuse is one of the main health challenges that lead to addiction and physical, psychological, and social issues. It can also eliminate the foundation of family and community. 

The present study aimed at determining the frequency of experience of at least once abuse of addictive drugs in high school students in Hamedan, Iran.

The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 2015 in high schools of Hamedan City. A self-report questionnaire was used to identify the number of cigarette smokers and other addictive substances abusers. The data were analyzed, using SPSS V. 14.

Out of 800 distributed questionnaires, 29 questionnaires were incomplete. In total, 18% of the students had abused addictive substances at least once. The most common substances were hookah, cigarette, and alcohol. Independent risk factors for substance abuse experience included male gender, non-governmental and vocational schools, mathematics major, history of the educational failure, an average of less than 17.00 GPA, unemployment of a student’s father, and student’s employment other than education.

The prevalence of hashish (cannabis) abuse and anabolic-androgenic steroids is high in Iran and codeine is the most commonly used substance in the non-prescribed groups.

Regarding the high prevalence of anxiety among students and its negative impact on their academic achievement, evaluating the efficacy of psychiatric-educational therapeutic interventions on anxiety is necessary. 

The aim of the present research was to predict mindfulness based on emotional regulation and anxiety among high school students in Rasht City, Iran.

The statistical population of the present descriptive-correlational study included all female high school students in Rasht during the academic year 2016-2017. A total of 150 individuals were selected as the sample of the study, using the random multistage cluster sampling method. In order to collect data, the mindful attention awareness scale, cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire, and children’s manifest anxiety scale were used. The data were analyzed by SPSS V. 22, using the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis.

There was a positive relationship between positive emotion regulation components and negative relationship with mindfulness (P<0.01). Also, there was a negative relationship between anxiety and mindfulness (P<0.01). The components of positive refocusing (B=0.83), perceptiveness (B=0.57), and refocus on planning (B=0.43) positively predicted mindfulness. The components of catastrophizing (B =-0.45), self-blame (B=-0.37), rumination (B=-0.24), and other-blame (B=-0.18) negatively predicted mindfulness.

This study showed an increase in the components of acceptance, positive refocus, refocus on planning, reappraisal, and perceptiveness. Also, the rate of mindfulness increased. With an increase in catastrophizing, other-blame, self-blame, rumination, and mindfulness increased. Moreover, with an increase in anxiety, mindfulness decreased. The components of positive refocusing, perceptiveness, and refocus on planning, respectively, had the highest predictive power of mindfulness in a positive way, and the components of catastrophizing, self-blame, rumination, and other-blame, respectively, had the highest predictive power of mindfulness in a negative manner.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is one of the behavioral disorders that cause significant clinical disorder in a person’s academic, social, and occupational functioning.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Transactional Analysis  (TA) for behavior training on parent-child relationships in mothers with children suffering from defiant disobedience in Isfahan City, Iran.

The present quasi-experimental study used a pre-test-post-test design with the experimental and control groups. The statistical population of this study included all mothers of children with the ODD and their children in Isfahan in 2017. The multistage cluster sampling method was used in this research. Thirty students, whose scores in the child symptom inventory-4 were high and had ODD symptoms, were randomly selected; 15 individuals were assigned to the experimental group and 15 individuals to the control group. Then, the mothers of the experimental group underwent 8 sessions of 90 minutes, each week one session, during a group training for TA. But, the control group did not receive any intervention. The research tool was Fine’s parent-child relationship survey.

The group TA for behavior training had a significant effect on parent-child relationships and its components (P<0.001), including positive affect (F=22.32, P<0.001), role disturbance (F=11.91, P<0.002), and identity determination (F=9.87, P<0.001).

Considering that the TA for behavior training can increase the extent of interactions, it has critical developmental consequences. Therefore, it seems that in clinical situations, by doing these kinds of interventions and promoting the mental health of the parents, positive and lasting steps can be taken to eliminate or relieve children’s behavioral problems.

The aging population is undoubtedly an optimum success created by changes in mortality decline, as well as social and economic processes. 

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between personality-based psychological well-being variables and the mediation of self-care, spiritual experiences, and death anxiety.

The statistical population of the present correlational study included all elderly individuals, who were being taken care of in private and public centers in Tehran, Iran, from 2017 to 2018. A total of 300 elderly people (76 males and 224 females) were selected by the systematic stratified random sampling method. Ryff’s psychological well-being inventory, daily spiritual experiences scale, and NEO five-factor personality traits inventory were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed by SPSS V. 22 and Amos 22, using multiple regression, path analysis, and structural equation modeling.

Personality variables (five-factor) predicted psychological well-being. Personality variables both directly and indirectly had a significant relationship with psychological well-being through spirituality and death anxiety.

The predictive model of elderly psychological well-being based on personality with the mediation of self-care, spiritual experiences, and death anxiety has fitness.