Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology
Volume:7 Issue: 3, Aug 2020

High blood pressure has become a major problem in developing countries. A method of controlling blood pressure is to improve the life quality of patients. Studies have emphasized the importance of examining the role of social capital in patients’ quality of life. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between social capital and life quality of female patients with high blood pressure.

The present correlative study was carried out using the survey method. The statistical population included all women referring to the health centers of Khalkhal in Iran with care reports within January 2018 to December 2019. The current study was carried out on a total of 3,684 individuals. The sample size consisted of 357 female patients with high blood pressure who were determined using Cochran’s formula and random sampling technique. In addition, to compare high blood pressure patients with other individuals, 357 subjects were selected from other referrals as the study subjects. The data collection tool was a researcher-designed questionnaire for social capital and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) for life quality. Moreover, the data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and t-test by SPSS software (version 22).

The obtained results of the current study showed that there was a significant relationship between social capital dimensions (i.e., social trust, social support, strong relationship, and associative membership) and life quality of patients with hypertension (P<0.05). It was also indicated that the average social capital of healthy individuals was higher than that reported for those with high blood pressure (P<0.05).

By increasing social capital in patients with hypertension, their quality of life will improve.

Psychological factors possibly play a role in the process of cardiovascular disease and interact with biological agents to affect cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of solution-focused therapy in mental health and hopefulness among patients with cardiovascular diseases.

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design, follow-up, and control group. The statistical population of this study included all cardiovascular patients referring to Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan, Iran, within January to March 2018 with a history of heart attack or open-heart surgery in the last month. In this study, 30 patients with cardiovascular diseases willing to participate in the study were selected through convenience sampling. The patients met the study inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The data were collected by Snyderchr('39')s Hopefulness Scale and public health questionnaire and analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance in SPSS software (version 22).

The results of the present study indicated that the results of ANOVA was significant for within-group factor (i.e., time) and only for physical symptom variables among between-group factors. These results indicated that without considering the group influence, only the time effect was significant. However, the interaction between group and time was also significant (F=12.84; P<0.0001).

Overall, the findings of this study showed that solution-focused therapy was effective in the mental health and hopefulness of patients with cardiovascular diseases and can be used in treatment centers to improve the status of patients with cardiovascular diseases

One of the problems of diabetes in the elderly is the likelihood of another condition that makes it more difficult to control blood sugar. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of solution-based therapy on self-compassion and blood glucose reduction in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group and follow-up. The statistical population of the study consisted of 60-75-year-old patients with type 2 diabetes referring to Iranian Diabetes Association treatment centers in Tehran, Iran. A total of 36 patients were selected and randomly assigned into two groups of experimental and control. The data were collected using a self-compassion questionnaire and glycated hemoglobin test (HbA1c). The HbA1c test was also administered two months after the end of the training to follow-up and evaluate the sustainability of the treatment effects. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 26) through repeated measure ANOVA.

The results showed that the solution-based therapy increased self-compassion in the posttest phase (P<0.01), and the effect of treatment was maintained after two months (P<0.01). Moreover, solution-based therapy reduced blood glucose levels in the posttest phase (P<0.01) and retained the effect of treatment after two months (P<0.01).

It can be concluded that solution-based therapy has effects on self-compassion and hyperglycemia in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes; moreover, it can be used in treatment centers to improve the status of patients with diabetes.

Job stress is recognized as one of the leading causes of burnout. Psychological capital is another critical factor which is directly linked to burnout. Therefore, the present study aimed to model burnout based on job stressors with the mediating role of psychological capital among employees of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences.

This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 378 non-faculty members of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2019. The data were collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Health, and Safety Executive (HSE) Stress Questionnaire, and the Psychological Capital Questionnaire developed by Luthans. To evaluate the relationship among variables, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used in AMOS software (version 24).

The components of job stressors had a positive and significant correlation with all three components of burnout (P<0.05). The measurement model with the collected data had an acceptable fitness(x2/df=3.56, CFI=0.932, AGFI=0.870, GFI=0.915, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=0.081). Psychological capital positively and significantly mediated the relationship between job stressors and burnout in employees of the University of Medical Sciences (P<0.05). The sum of squares of multiple correlations for burnout variable was obtained at 0.52. This finding indicates that job stressors and psychological capital explain 52% of burnout variance.

Due to the harmful effects of burnout on employees, it is suggested that authorities take measures to reduce stressors, such as psychological and physical needs of the workplace, lack of support, lack of job security, and psychological capital.

Awareness of the relationship between anger and aggression in the sports performance of athletes can be useful in sports psychology to identify the sports population angrier, unable to control their anger, and in need of anger management interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of emotion regulation in the relationship between anger intensity and self-expression in competitive athletes.

The present correlational study was carried out based on structural relationships using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The statistical population of this study consisted of all competitive athletes (i.e., all the athletes participating in any level of competitive sports, either individual or collective) in Ardebil, Iran, in 2019. Out of all the participants, 312 athletes were selected through cluster sampling and included in the study. The Clinical Anger Scale, internal and external anger subscales of the Multidimensional Anger Inventory, and Emotion Dysregulation Scale were used to collect data. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 22) and PLS-SEM. Coefficients between paths, standard error, and t-statistic were utilized to investigate the direct and indirect effects.

The obtained results showed that emotion dysregulation mediated between the intensity of anger and its externalizing expression or aggression (i.e., behavioral avoidance) and between the intensity of anger and rumination/suppression of anger (i.e., cognitive avoidance).

Based on the obtained findings, it can be said that athletes who are not able to regulate their emotions in competitive situations are more likely to outwardly express their experienced anger.

Given the success of group psychotherapy as well as drug therapies to improve drug-dependent patients, it is increasingly necessary to compare different interventions to select the most effective way to reduce the problems of methadone maintenance therapists. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of existential group therapy with cognitive-behavioral group therapy on increasing the life satisfaction of addicted people under methadone maintenance therapy.

This semi-experimental study was conducted based on the pretest-posttest method with a control group. The study population included addicted males who underwent methadone maintenance treatment at Qazvin Addiction Treatment and Injury Clinics in 2019, Qazvin, Iran. The participants (n=90) were randomly selected and divided into experimental (existential and cognitive-behavioral therapy) and control groups. Subsequently, the experimental groups participated in 10 sessions of 120-min per week. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) through a repeated-measures ANOVA.

The results showed the improvement of life satisfaction in the existential and cognitive-behavioral therapy groups (P<0.001); however, the control group showed no significant difference in pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Furthermore, the results indicated no significant difference between cognitive-behavioral and existential therapy groups in terms of life satisfaction (P>0.05).

It can be concluded that both cognitive-behavioral and existential therapies are effective in increasing the life satisfaction of addicted patients under methadone maintenance therapy; however, no significant difference was observed between the two experimental groups regarding the increasing level of satisfaction.

Substance dependence is acknowledged as one of the major social and health issues inflicting severe and profound physical and psychological harm, as well as numerous social damages, such as divorce and unemployment. The present study aimed to make a comparison between the effectiveness of Matrix training and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatments on positive and negative affects and craving in substance abusers who referred to Ahwaz addiction treatment centers within 2018-2019.

The present semi-experimental study was conducted using a pre-test post-test control group design with a two-month follow-up. The study population consisted of all substance abusers who referred to Ahwaz addiction treatment centers within 2018-2019. A total of 60 volunteers were selected by voluntary sampling method and randomly assigned to Matrix training (n=20), tDCS (n=20), and control (n=20) groups. Data were collected by The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Desire For Drug Questionnaire and were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22).

Based on the obtained results, Matrix, tDCS, and control groups were significantly different in terms of positive and negative affects and craving (P<0.001). Moreover, it was found that Matrix training and tDCS were effective on positive and negative affects and cravings (P<0.001); nonetheless, no significant difference was observed between the matrix and tDCS groups (P>0.05).

Generally speaking,  it can be concluded that Matrix training and tDCS methods are equally effective in emotions and craving.

Due to the role of recognition in eating disorders, the identification of core beliefs and cognitive schemas becomes debatable. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of schema therapy in psychological distress, body image, and eating disorder beliefs in anorexic patients.

This was an applied quasi-experimental study with a pretest and posttest design and control group. The statistical population of the study included patients with an eating disorder, attending the psychological, clinical psychiatric, and obesity treatment centers in Ahvaz, Iran, within the age range of 16-23 years in 2019. The subjects were selected using the purposive sampling method. In this study, the pretest (i.e., filling out the Eating Disorder Beliefs Questionnaire [EDBQ]) was performed before the schema therapy intervention. Then, the intervention was conducted on the experimental group; however, no intervention was carried out for the control group. After the termination of the treatment sessions (12 sessions of 45 min), the posttest was performed. Finally, 3 months following the termination of the treatment, the follow-up test was conducted. The data were obtained using the EDBQ, Psychological Distress Questionnaire, and Body Image Concern Inventory. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and SPSS software (version 22).

The results of the present study showed that schema therapy led to a decrease in psychological distress (F=157.36, P<0.0001, Eta=0.89), body image concern (F=8.03, P<0.001, Eta=0.29), and eating disorder beliefs (F=13.85, P<0.0001, Eta=0.91).

It can be concluded that schema therapy reduces psychological distress, body image concerns, and eating disorder beliefs

3, 4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is used for recreational purposes worldwide. The use of MDMA resulted in learning and memory dysfunction. Duloxetine, a serotonin/noradrenalin-reuptake inhibitor is also utilized to treat depression and anxiety. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of duloxetine against MDMAchr('39')s effect on anxiety, cognition, and memory disturbance in the male rats.

Wistar rats received treatment of saline (10 ml/kg; sham group), “MDMA” (10 mg/kg), “Duloxetine” (10 mg/kg), and Duloxetine plus MDMA (10 mg/kg, each), or no treatment (control) through the intraperitoneal administration for four days. The elevated plus maze (EPM), passive avoidance learning (PAL), Morris water maze (MWM), and novel object recognition (NOR) tests were employed to evaluate the anxiety, memory, and cognition,  

The MDMA increased the time spent in open arms in EPM, time spent in the dark part of PAL, and swimming time to reach the platform in MWM. Furthermore, duloxetine inhibited the reduction of the discrimination index, time spent in the dark compartment, and time spent on the platform in NOR, PAL, and MWM tests among rats received MDMA. Moreover, duloxetine decreased time spent in open arms and the target quadrant in EPM and MWM tests.

Our findings suggested that duloxetine treatment attenuated the MDMA-induced anxiolytic response and could improve MDMA-induced cognitive impairment and disturbance in learning and memory.