Journal of adolescent and youth psychological studies
Volume:4 Issue: 4, 2023

One of the factors that exist as a challenge in school and that students face is anxiety. The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of two methods of teaching interaction analysis (TA), imaginary exposure and response prevention (ERP) on reducing students' academic anxiety.

The research method was semi-experimental in the form of a pre-test-post-test design and a two-month follow-up with three experimental groups and one control group. The research community was made up of high school students in Tehran. The research sample was 45 students who were diagnosed with academic anxiety after answering the Phillips (1978) academic anxiety questionnaire. Students were randomly replaced in two experimental groups and a control group of 15 people. Each of the experimental groups was exposed to one of the methods of imaginary exposure and response prevention (in five 90-minute sessions) and mutual behavior analysis (in ten 90-minute sessions).

The results of data analysis using multivariate covariance analysis showed that according to the adjusted averages of the academic anxiety variable in the three studied groups and the results of the LSD follow-up test, both methods of imaginary exposure and prevention from the response and interaction analysis, it has been effective in reducing students' academic anxiety (F=6.33, P<0.001).

It can be concluded that the method of imaginary exposure and response prevention has a greater effect in reducing academic anxiety compared to the interaction analysis method.

This research was conducted with the aim of investigating the mediating role of Islamic quality of life in the relationship between basic psychological needs and addiction to online games in high school students. It was a descriptive correlational research based on the structural equation modeling method. The statistical population of the research was made up of all 658 male students of the first secondary school of the ninth grade in 5 public schools of Babol city in the academic year of 2023. In this research, to determine the sample size according to the number of observed variables and assigning a coefficient of 30 (9 observed variables in the model), and taking into account the possibility of incomplete questionnaires, 300 people were selected as the sample size using the available method. The research tools included online game addiction questionnaire of Whang, & Chang (2002), basic psychological needs questionnaire of Deci & Ryan (2000) and quality of life questionnaire of Islaminejad Mohammadnamaghi et al.'s (2014). Data analysis was done by structural equation method based on regression equations. The findings showed that there is a significant relationship between basic psychological needs and the quality of Islamic life with addiction to online games in first secondary school students, and the research model was confirmed, and in general, 41% of addiction to online games is caused by basic psychological needs. Knowledge and quality of Islamic life in first secondary students can be explained. Also, the variables of basic psychological needs and quality of Islamic life have a significant direct effect on addiction to online games in first secondary school students, and the indirect path of basic psychological needs with the mediation of quality of Islamic life on addiction to online games in first secondary school students is confirmed. Became this research provides practical implications for psychologists and counselors regarding the role of cognitive and religious factors in students' tendency to become addicted to online games.

Today, heart diseases are one of the main causes of death in most countries of the world. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on emotion regulation and personality type D syndromes in cardiac patients with ICD.

The research method was a quasi-experiment with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a three-month follow-up. The statistical population of this study were cardiac patients who had referred to Rasht hospitals from the beginning of 2021 to the end of September 1400 for the purpose of ICD implantation. Using simple random sampling, a sample of 30 people was selected. The data collection tool was the emotion regulation scale (Gross and John, 2003) and the type D personality type scale (Denault, 1998). The experimental and control groups were pre-tested using research tools. Then cognitive therapy based on mindfulness was implemented during eight sessions for the experimental group, but the control group did not receive any intervention. At the end of the intervention, the experimental and control groups were post-tested using research tools. Three months later, a follow-up test was performed on both experimental and control groups.

The results of multivariate covariance analysis showed that cognitive therapy based on mindfulness on emotion regulation (F=28.94, P<0.05) and type D personality type symptoms (F=4.66, P<0.05) P) is effective in cardiac patients with ICD. These results were sustained in the three-month follow-up.

Considering the economic, social and psychological burden that heart disease imposes on individuals, families and society, the results of this research can be promising for heart patients, health and mental health professionals.

Cancer is considered as the major health problem of the century, and its increasing growth in the last two decades and its harmful effects on the physical, psychological, social and economic aspects of human life are causing more concern to experts than ever. The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and psychotherapy based on acceptance and commitment on life expectancy and body image of women with breast cancer.

The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with three groups (two experimental groups and one control group). The statistical population included all female patients aged 20 to 45 with breast cancer who received a definite diagnosis of breast cancer according to clinical and laboratory examinations by a specialist. Among these, 45 people were selected by non-random sampling and were replaced in two experimental groups (positive psychotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment) and a control group in a simple random manner (15 people in each group). Then, the first experimental group was treated in 10 90-minute sessions (one session per week) with positive psychotherapy methods, and the second experimental group was treated with acceptance and commitment-based therapy, and the waiting list group was not subjected to any intervention until the end of the follow-up. The data were collected with the help of Snyder's life expectancy questionnaires and body image questionnaires and were analyzed through the analysis of variance test with repeated measurements and using SPSS-22 software.

The research results showed that there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in all variables (p<0.01). Also, Bonferroni’s post hoc test indicated that positive psychotherapy has a greater effect on life expectancy (P<0.001) and body image (P<0.001) than treatment based on acceptance and commitment.

As a result, it can be said that the use of both methods along with other treatment methods is effective in improving the psychological status of vulnerable groups, including breast cancer patients.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is one of the most common anxiety disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on Emotional Processing, Irrational Beliefs and Rumination in Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

The research method was quasi-experimental pretest-posttest with a control group. 30 patients with generalized anxiety disorder referred to daily psychiatric treatment centers in Golpayegan in the first half of 2019 were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program in 8 sessions of 90 minutes. However, the control group did not receive this intervention during the research process. The questionnaires used in this study included Spitzer Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (2006), Baker Emotional Processing Scale (2007), Jones Irrational Beliefs Questionnaire (1968), Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1991) Rumination Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by analysis of covariance using SPSS 24 software.

The results of data analysis showed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy has significantly influenced Emotional Processing (p<0.001), Irrational Beliefs (p<0.001) and Rumination (p<0.001).

Considering the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy on emotional processing, irrational beliefs and rumination in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, it is suggested that training workshops be held to become more familiar with the principles and techniques of this training for counselors and therapists active in the field of this disorder.

The aim of this research was determine the effectiveness of compassion focused training on life expectancy, health promoting lifestyle and health hardiness in patients with type 2 diabetes.

This study was semi-experimental with pretest and posttest design with a control group. The research population was type 2 diabetes patients had files in Diabetes Association of Zahedan city in the spring of 2021 year. After reviewing the inclusion criteria, number of 30 people were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly replaced into two equal groups. The experimental group was trained 8 sessions of 70 minutes with the compassion focused training method and the control group was placed on a waiting list for training. The research instruments were the life expectancy questionnaire (Snyder et al., 1991), health promoting lifestyles profile II (Walker et al., 1995) and revised health hardiness inventory (Gebhardt et al., 2001). Data were analyzed by tests of chi-square and multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS-19 software.

The findings showed that the experimental and control groups did not significantly different in terms of gender, age, education and marital status (P>0.05). Also, the compassion focused training method led to increase the life expectancy (F=403.86, P<0.001), health promoting lifestyle (F=93.90, P<0.001) and health hardiness (F=89.20, P<0.001) in patients with type 2 diabetes (P<0.001).

The results indicated the effectiveness of compassion focused training on life expectancy, health promoting lifestyle and health hardiness in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, for improving the psychological traits can be used from compassion focused training along with other training methods.

Bullying is one of the forms of aggressive behaviors with many negative consequences that is widespread among students today and preventing and dealing with this phenomenon and examining its obstacles and challenges, has become one of the priorities of the education system of many countries. the purpose of this study was to investigate the level of awareness of bullying and the challenges and strategies for training to deal with this phenomenon in Kurdistan province schools.

The research was methodologically mixed and explanatory-follow-up design. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect information in a quantitative part and semi-structured interviews were used for a qualitative part. The research population consisted of school staff and teachers of the second primary and secondary schools of the province. For quantitative sampling, first in two stages, by cluster random sampling, four education districts of the province and eight schools were selected and all school staff and their teachers responded to the researcher-made questionnaire "Awareness of bullying a and strategies to prevent and deal with it". In the qualitative phase, among those who received the highest scores in the questionnaire, 20 people were purposefully selected to semi-structured interviews. The interviews continued until the data reached theoretical saturation and Finally, 14 interviews were conducted.

Quantitative findings from univariate t-test showed lower than average knowledge of both school staff and teachers about bullying and strategies to prevent and deal with it (P <0.05). In the qualitative part, data were analyzed by interpretive analysis and challenges of bullying education in schools were classified in the four final categories: a) lack of priority for department of education, b) systemic and organizational challenges, c) formal education-related challenges, d) family-related challenges, and twelve sub-categories, that all of them indicate many problems in the management of bullying and its effective education in the schools of the province.

Based on these findings, it is suggested that the Kurdistan Education Department put the practical and comprehensive suggestions presented in the present study on its agenda in order to facilitate bullying management and remove obstacles to effective bullying education in schools.

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of training to overcome learned helplessness on academic procrastination and self-efficacy of female high school students

The present study was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population was all female students of Javad Al-A'meh High School in Baharestan 2 who were studying in the 1400-99 academic year. The research sample consisted of 30 students who were selected by available sampling method based on the criteria of the study and were randomly divided into two groups of experimental (n = 15) and control (n=15). The experimental group received 10 sessions of 90 minutes of intervention to overcome the learned helplessness and the control group remained on the waiting list. The measuring instruments were the general self-efficacy questionnaire of Scherer et al. And the academic procrastination questionnaire of Solomon & Rothblum. The results of analysis of covariance showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in academic procrastination and self-efficacy.

The results showed that the training of overcoming learned helplessness has a significant effect on reducing academic procrastination and its components (P>0.05). Also, training on overcoming learned helplessness on increasing self-efficacy. Students have a positive effect (P>0.05).

The findings of this study show the effectiveness of learned helplessness training on academic procrastination and self-efficacy. Therefore, it is suggested that psychologists and therapists use this method to improve self-efficacy and reduce academic procrastination.

Marital relationships are the primary source of support and affection, and spouses are expected to show an exclusive relationship, honesty, interest, affection, as well as intimacy and support. purpose of this research was to compare the effectiveness of integrative couple therapy and reality therapy on the quality of marital relationships and dysfunctional attitudes in incompatible couples.

The current research was a semi-experimental type with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all the couples who referred to the counseling centers of Amol city during May 2021, who referred due to incompatibility or the psychologists of the center identified the cause of the conflict as incompatibility. The sample size is 30 couples (60 people) (10 couples in the first experimental group, 10 couples in the second experimental group, and another 10 couples for the control group) from the entire statistical population, cluster sampling method was used, and finally with this method, out of five centers were used to select samples. For the first experimental group, integrative couple therapy was implemented using Christensen and Jacobson's integrative couple therapy (2000), for the second experimental group, reality therapy group training sessions were implemented using Glasser's (1965) reality therapy protocol. The questionnaires of the study were Busby et al.'s Marital Relationship Questionnaire (1995) and the questionnaire of dysfunctional attitudes was Weizman and Beck (1978). Findings were analyzed using repeated measures with a mixed design.

The results of the research showed that integrative couple therapy increased the quality of marital relationships (P<0.001, F=46.30) and reduced ineffective attitudes (P<0.001, F=62.35) has been effective.

Therefore, it can be concluded that integrative couple therapy was effective in improving the quality of marital relations and dysfunctional attitudes of incompatible couples.

Adolescence is a period of profound changes that separates a child from an adult, and considerable changes take place in the concept of self. The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of group therapy based on emotion regulation training on strengthening adolescent identity base and increasing family relationships on adolescent girls in Isfahan city.

The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a three-month follow-up with the experimental and control groups. The statistical population of all girls aged 15 to 18, studying in secondary schools, about 40 people were selected by available sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups of 20 people, experimental and control. The research tools included the identity questionnaire of Benyon and Adams (1986) and family relationships (Ritchie & Fitzpatrick, 1990), which were completed in three stages: pre-test, post-test and follow-up by both groups. Barlow's Emotion Regulation Training Program (Allen, McHugh & Barlow, 2009). It was conducted in 12 weekly sessions of 90 minutes for the experimental group. The data were analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (variance analysis with repeated measures).

The results of the research showed that there is a significant difference between the average scores of the dimensions of identity behaviors (postponed identity, confused identity, early formed identity and advanced identity) and family relationships (dialogue orientation and conformity orientation) in the two stages of pre-test and post-test.

The results showed that education based on emotion regulation had a significant and positive effect on increasing the score of the identity database and family relationships. The follow-up phase also remained stable.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness on rumination, perfectionism, and thought-action fusion of women suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder who are clients of counseling centers in Neka city.

The present research method is practical in terms of purpose and in terms of field situation and in terms of quasi-experimental method with pre-test and post-test design and follow-up with reference group and random assignment. The statistical population of this research included all women who referred to counseling centers in Neka city in the first three months of 2019. Purposive sampling and 30 women who obtained the highest score in the obsessive-practical research tool of Foa et al. (2002) were selected as a sample and then randomly assigned 15 to the cognitive therapy group based on mindfulness and 15 People were assigned to the control group. The experimental group underwent eight sessions of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness based on the protocol of McKenzie et al. (2018), while the control group did not receive any intervention. Also, the rumination questionnaire of Nalen-Hoeksma and Maro (1991), the identity perfectionism questionnaire of Hewitt and Felt (1991), and the thought-action fusion questionnaire of Shafran et al. (1996) were used in the pre-test, post-test and follow-up stages. Finally, the data were analyzed using ANOVA with repeated measures and Bonferroni's post hoc test.

The results showed that cognitive therapy based on mindfulness on rumination (F=20.17, P<0.001), perfectionism (F=17.94, P<0.001) and thought-action fusion (F=13.95, P<0.001) women with obsessive-compulsive disorder has an effect.

It can be concluded that cognitive therapy based on mindfulness is effective on rumination, perfectionism, and thought-action fusion of women suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, and this therapy can be used to improve women's psychological problems.

Previous studies have shown that compared to the general population, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder often have disorders in relational functioning, including interpersonal problems, mistrust, and unhappiness in interpersonal relationships, and the probability of marriage is lower and increased. Marital problems, ambivalence, severe interpersonal conflicts, revenge, and sexual problems are common. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of paradoxical therapy on relational practical obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

In terms of the practical purpose and data collection method, the current research design was a single-case experiment of the multiple baseline type, sometimes called a single-subject experiment or a time series experiment. It is an experiment that consists of intensive research on a person or several people who are considered a single group. Among the single-subject designs, the baseline-intervention-follow-up (A-B-C) design was used in this study. The research community included all undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students aged 20 to 45 years in Tehran. For sampling, six people were selected from the available sampling method and completed the treatment sessions. The clinical interview was used to diagnose the relational obsessive-compulsive disorder and its differential diagnoses. Quantitative data was collected by completing questionnaires and research scales in three phases: baseline, intervention, and follow-up.

The statistical analysis of the research data showed that the hypothesis of the research entitled "Paradoxical psychotherapy improves my strength in relational obsessive-compulsive patients" was confirmed with 56.5% overall improvement.

Based on the findings of the visual analysis of six participants and the results of the strong effect size and the improvement rate of relational obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, the results of the paradox treatment can be considered very effective.

Some research has been conducted on the determinant of media literacy. However, this is less done in a causal mode.  Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a causal model of media literacy based on metacognitive skills, self-regulatory learning strategies and self-efficacy mediated by creative thinking in students.

For this purpose, 318 students of Azad University, North Tehran Branch were selected as the subjects by available sampling method.  Data were collected using the Media Literacy Questionnaire, Wells Metacognitive Skills, Pintrich and De Groot Self-Regulatory Learning Strategies, Schwarzer Self-Efficacy, and Abedi's Creative Thinking. Data were analyzed with the aid of structural equation modeling and AMOS-graphic software.

The results showed that the fit of the proposed conceptual model of the research is approved, and all the three predictor variables of metacognitive skills, self-regulated learning strategies and self-efficacy mediated by creative thinking effect on media literacy.

The findings of the present study can be used by universities, educational centers, IRIB, cultural centers and other related experts and can play a role in the development and improvement of media literacy.

Substance abuse in adolescents is considered one of the most serious problems leading to various physical, social, and educational damages and consequences. This study aimed to improve the effectiveness of resilience training on quality of life, self-efficacy, and problem-solving skills in drug-dependent adolescents.

The present study was one of the applied and quasi-experimental designs of pre-test-post-test with the control group. This study's statistical population included all male adolescents referred to Tehran welfare organizations for addiction treatment between November and February 2020. The statistical sample consisted of 30 adolescents (15-19 years old) addicted in Tehran who were selected from among the patients for treatment based on screening the change stage. After screening, 30 subjects who were consented to participate in the treatment group were randomly assigned to the two groups. This study's data were collected using the world health organization quality of life questionnaire, self-efficacy questionnaire, problem-solving skill questionnaire. Data were analyzed by MANCOVA using SPSS.22 software.

The results showed that resilience training was effective on quality of life (P<0.001), self-efficacy (P<0.001), and problem-solving skills (P<0.001) in substance-dependent adolescents.  

It can be concluded that resilience training affects the quality of life, self-efficacy, and problem-solving skills in substance-dependent adolescents.

The digital self-efficacy scale was prepared and developed in 2022 by Ulfert and Schmidt in order to measure the subject's competencies in using digital technologies. This scale consists of 25 items and measures digital self-efficacy in five dimensions, which are: 1) information and data literacy; 2) collaboration and communication; 3) production of digital content; 4) security; 5) Problem-solving. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the digital self-efficacy scale in the Iranian sample.

The current research was applied in terms of purpose and validation research. The current research was a quantitative study in which validity and reliability determination methods were used to validate the digital self-efficacy scale. The statistical population of the present study included all students of Islamic Azad University, South Tehran branch, who were studying in the 2022-2023 academic year. The statistical sample of this research included 500 students who were selected by the available sampling method and completed the questionnaire. In order to statistically analyze the data, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, KMO and Bartlett test, Cronbach's alpha, combined reliability coefficient (CR) and Pearson correlation coefficient were used. Statistical analysis of data was done with SPSS software version 23.

After confirming the face validity, 5 factors with a greater eigenvalue of 1 were identified through exploratory factor analysis, so that the 5 factors obtained in total were able to explain 70.55% of digital self-efficacy. Confirmatory factor analysis also showed the significance of the items of all 5 factors. Moreover, the coefficients obtained for convergent validity, test-retest reliability, Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability were all higher than 0.70, which indicates the appropriate reliability of this questionnaire.

It can be concluded that the digital self-efficacy scale has good validity and reliability.

Problems in each of these important areas of married life, such as sexual relations between couples, or the quality and pattern of communication governing their relationship, and finally, the inefficiency of the overall functioning of the family, can have many negative personal and marital consequences. The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of schema-based couple therapy on sexual satisfaction and communication patterns in married women.

The current research was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group and a two-month follow-up period. The statistical population included all married women working in the education department of Tabriz city in 2022. The sample of this research included 30 sample people who were willing to participate in the research and were selected through available sampling. Then, among the research sample, 15 people were randomly replaced in the control group and 15 people in the intervention group (schema-based couple therapy). Data were collected using Hudson et al.'s (1981) sexual satisfaction questionnaire (ISS) and Christiesen et al.'s (1984) communication patterns (CPQ). Schema-based couple therapy intervention was conducted during 8 sessions of 60 minutes once a week; But the control group did not receive any intervention.

The research data was analyzed by mixed variance analysis (repeated measurement). The results showed that the effectiveness of schema-based couple therapy on sexual satisfaction and communication patterns was significant (p<0.05).

According to the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that schema-based couple therapy is effective on sexual satisfaction and communication patterns in married women.