Journal of Research in Psychopathology
Volume:3 Issue: 8, Spring 2022

As a negative thinking and dysfunctional attitude, cognitive distortion is considered an important factor in the etiology of mental disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the role of early maladaptive schema domains and childhood trauma in predicting cognitive distortion. The research method was descriptive-correlational and the target population was all students of Urmia University in the first semester of the academic year 2020-2021. In this regard, 285 students were selected by availability sampling and were evaluated by Young's maladaptive schema (1998), Noorbakhsh's child abuse (2012) and cognitive distortions of Abdullah Zadeh and Salar (2010) questionnaires. The results of correlation coefficients showed that cognitive distortion has a positive relationship with the dimensions of childhood trauma and areas of early maladaptive schema. Also, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that early maladaptive schemas and childhood trauma significantly explain 0.63% of the total variance of cognitive distortion and primary maladaptive schema domains have a higher power in predicting cognitive distortion. The results of this study support the key role of early maladaptive schemas and childhood trauma with emphasis on the field of disconnection and rejection and the dimension of emotional child abuse as a vulnerability to cognitive distortion.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training on psychological well-being and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in patients with chronic depressive disorder. By purposive sampling method, 30 patients with a diagnosis of chronic depressive disorder were admitted to the Aramesh Psychiatric Care Center in Tehran and randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 15). The instruments included mindfulness-based cognitive therapy protocol (MBCT) by Garnfski et al. (2006) Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Ryff Psychological Well-Being Questionnaires (1989). The results of the analysis of covariance showed that at the level of p < .05 there was a significant difference in the variables of psychological well-being and cognitive emotion regulation between the experimental and control groups. In psychological well-being (F = 174.30, p < .05), and effect size equal to 0.87, in adaptive cognitive emotion regulation (F = 99.20, p < .05) and effect size (0.80), in cognitive emotion regulation incompatibility (F = 93.87, p < .05) and effect size (0.79) and a significant difference at the significance level of p < .05 were observed between the experimental groups and the control group. Therefore, mindfulness training had a significant effect on psychological well-being and cognitive emotion regulation of people with depressive disorder.

High-risk behaviors are defined as acts that increase the likelihood of physical, psychological and social disastrous consequences for the individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of compassionate mind therapy on cognitive deficits and emotional processing deficits among adolescent soldiers aged 18 to 20 years old with high-risk behaviors. The method of the present study was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design. The population included all adolescent soldiers aged 18 to 20 years who referred to Valiasr Medical Center in Tehran in 2020. The sample consisted of 30 soldiers with high-risk behaviors who were selected purposefully among those who had completed the consent form based entry and exit criteria. The selected individuals were randomly divided into two groups (15 people in each group). In order to collect data, Iranian adolescents’ risk-taking questionnaires, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire and Toronto Alexithymia scale were used. The experimental group was trained for eight sessions of compassion treatment and the control group did not receive any treatment. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and SPSS-23 software. The results showed that compassion-based therapy reduced cognitive deficits (p < .01) and emotional processing deficits (p < .05). According to the findings of the present study, employing compassionate practice and increasing positive emotions can expand an individual’s behavioral-intellectual treasury pave the way for successful problem solving, reduce negative intra-individual emotions, provide interpersonal, and thus reduce risky behaviors.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of social cognition training on social cognition and social functioning in people with a psychotic disorder. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and a control group was used for this study. A purposeful sampling method was used to select 20 schizophrenia patients at the Razi psychiatric hospital in Tehran, Iran from 2019 to 2020. The participants were randomized to an experimental group (n=10) and a control group (n=10). The experimental group received ten, 60-minute sessions, but the control group was treated as usual. Eye Test-Test Revised Version Reflective Function Questionnaire for Adult (RFQA) was used to collect data. In addition to descriptive statistics, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data, and SPSS-24 software was used for all analyses. The results showed that F for social cognition (p < .05, F=11.462) and social functioning (p < .05, F=12.256) were significant. Based on these findings, these variables differ significantly between the two groups. Taking these findings into consideration, it is possible to conclude that social cognition training is effective in improving social cognition and social functioning. The current study supports the feasibility and potential effectiveness of SCT in Iranian community settings.

The prevalence of adolescents who self-injure each year indicates a public health problem requiring attention and intervention. This study investigated the effectiveness of mentalization-based treatment on negative affection and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence. The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The study included 22 adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury selected with a snowball sampling method and randomly divided into two groups, experimental (n=11) and control (n=11) from November to January 2021 in Tehran, Iran. To collect data, questionnaires such as the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury and the Positive and Negative Affect Questionnaire were administered. For the experimental group, mentalization-based treatment was administered in ten sessions of 90 minutes each week, while the control group received no treatment. The data were analyzed using MANOVA in SPSS software version 23. The participants ranged in age from 14 to 18 years old, with a mean age of 14.89 years (SD = 2.01). The results suggest that the mentalization-based treatment had positive effects on negative affection (p < .01, F_1.18 = 9.396) and non-suicidal self-injury (p < .01, F_1.18 = 10.048) in adolescent girls with non-suicidal self-injury (p-value < .01). The study found that mentalization-based treatment for negative affection and non-suicidal self-injury was an effective intervention for adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury aged 14 to 18.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of compassion-focused therapy on thought fusion, ambivalence over emotional expression and impulsivity in married individuals with a history of suicide. This study was applied in terms of purpose and quasi-experimental in terms of method with pre-test and post-test design and control group. The population of this study includes all married individuals with a history of suicide whose disease was diagnosed by a specialist in the second half of 2020 to May 2021 referring to psychiatric centers in Sari to receive medical services. In this study, purposive non-random sampling was used. First, 50 individuals from the population were selected of whom 30 individuals were selected as a sample based on their scores in the questionnaires, and by random assignment, 15 individuals were placed in the experimental group and 15 individuals in the control group. Data collection included both library and field methods. In order to collect data, questionnaires of Beck Suicide (1961), Ambivalence over Emotional Expression (King & Emmons, 1990), Impulsivity (Barratt et al., 2004), and Thought fusion (Wells et al., 2001) were employed. Due to the standardization of questionnaires, their face validity was approved by the supervisors and consultants. The participants in the experimental groups received eight sessions of 70 minutes and two sessions per week for one month of compassion-focused therapy training interventions based on Gilbert (2018) treatment plan, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Data analysis was performed according to the assumptions and using SPSS software version 24, i.e. ANOVA and MANCOVA. The results showed that compassion-focused therapy is effective in thought fusion, ambivalence over emotional expression and impulsivity in married individuals with a history of suicide.