International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture
Volume:2 Issue: 2, Summer-Autumn 2015

Perinatal loss, especially in the advanced stages of pregnancy, is associated with severe psychological distress. Insufficient processing of the loss experience can result in a psychological disorder for some of those affected. This holds true especially for women who have suffered a pregnancy loss after the 20th week of pregnancy. Depressive disorders, symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, and functional physical complaints can also be observed in the foreground. Following an evaluation of a current Cochrane review, the available studies on the evaluation of psychotherapeutic measures after perinatal loss provide no conclusive indicators for evidence-based approaches within the realm of secondary prevention. Health risks in women affected by the loss of a pregnancy have been alternatively proven by a number of studies. Thus, a noticeable desideratum of research exists with regards to empirically-controlled psychotherapeutic studies on evaluation of the treatment of grief reactions after the loss of a pregnancy.
 

 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder with chronic abdominal pain, bowel habit variations, and lack of structural causes. Symptom intensity has a statistical relation with patients' quality of life (QOL) and mental health. The first objective of the present study was to develop and provide a therapeutic plan based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for IBS that was operated for the very first time in Iran. The second objective was to determine the effectiveness of these treatments on IBS symptoms intensity, health-related QOL, and psychological health among patients with IBS.

 The participants were 15 women with IBS. The participants were diagnosed on the basis of ROME-III diagnosis criteria. The data collection tools consisted of IBS Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire, and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) used to evaluate mental health. Data were collected during the weeks of 0, 4, 12, and 24, during the treatment process. The extracted data was examined statistically via repeated measures MANOVA in SPSS software.

 CBT has a significant effect on IBS symptoms reduction, QOL improvement, and mental health promotion of the patients. The effect of the therapeutic plan persisted until the follow-up stage.

 According to the results, applied CBT can be specifically implemented as an effective treatment for IBS. Therefore, the use of this treatment is advised.

 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the lower gastrointestinal tract caused by stress, and may benefit from a psychological intervention such as unified treatment approach. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of unified treatment approach on the symptoms and quality of life (QOL) of patients with IBS.

 The study population included all patients with IBS referred to gastrointestinal clinics of Ahwaz, Iran. Therefore, in a semi-experimental method, patients diagnosed with IBS were selected and underwent 8 2-hour group interventions. The data collection tools included Rome-III Diagnostic Criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) Questionnaires which were completed in three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures MANCOVA in SPSS software.

 The results of repeated measures MANCOVA and the follow-up study indicated significant decrease in the scores of symptoms and significant increase in the scores of QOL.

 According to the results of the present research, we can conclude that devising a treatment plan based on the unified treatment approach is effective in the increasing of QOL and decreasing of IBS symptoms.

 Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic diseases with significant impact on patients' well-being. The aim of this study was to determine stress coping strategies in IBD patients and their association with disease activity, psychological health, and quality of life (QOL).

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on IBD patients referred to a gastroenterology clinic in Isfahan city (Iran). Disease activity, severity of anxiety and depression symptoms, stress coping strategies, and QOL were assessed using self-administered questionnaires. Coping strategies in IBD patients were compared to an unaffected control group.

 In the present study, 80 patients with mean age of 52.9 years (57.5% female) and mean disease duration of 6.5 years were studied. Compared to the controls, IBD patients had higher scores in the maladaptive coping styles (evasive and palliative) (P < 0.05). Association between coping strategies and disease activity was not significant. Severity of anxiety and depression was directly correlated with the maladaptive strategies (fatalistic and emotional) (r = 0.283 to 0.468) and inversely correlated with the adaptive strategies (confrontive, optimistic, and self-reliant) (r = -0.320 to -0.534). In addition, QOL was inversely correlated with the maladaptive strategies (fatalistic and emotional) (r = -0.278 to -0.327) and directly correlated with the adaptive strategies (confrontive and optimistic) (r = 0.262 to 0.355).

 Patients with IBD use more maladaptive and less adaptive stress coping strategies which are associated with their psychological health and QOL. Larger and prospective studies on the dynamic and interactive network of biopsychosocial factors in IBD patients are required.
 

Personality can be defined as the dynamic arrangement of psycho-physical systems. This study was conducted with aim to assess the prevalence of personality traits and their relation with psychological factors in the general population.

The present research was designed as a cross-sectional study. We extracted our data from the framework of the Study on the Epidemiology of Psychological, Alimentary Health, and Nutrition (SEPAHAN), in 2013. Participants (4763 adults) were selected from among healthy people in 20 counties across Isfahan Province, Iran, through convenience sampling. Personality traits and psychological factors including depression, anxiety, and psychological distress were assessed using the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to
find the association among the personality traits and psychological variables. Odds ratios were reported with the corresponding 95% con;dence intervals.

The mean score ± SD of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were 18.72 ± 7.87, 29.03 ± 7.08, 24.04 ± 5.28, 31.05 ± 6.37, and 36.26 ± 7.22, respectively. In depressed and anxious subjects and subjects with high psychological distress, the score of neuroticism was higher, but the scores of other factors were significantly lower (P <0.05). Through multivariate analysis, high levels of neuroticism and low levels of extraversion and agreeableness were associated with being depressed, anxious, or having significantly high psychological distress.

In conclusion, in our population, high levels of neuroticism and low levels of agreeableness and extraversion were associated with being depressed or anxious, or having high psychological distress.

 The comparison of physical appearance may play an important role in many body-related variables. The Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R) is a recently developed instrument for measurement of physical appearance comparisons in a number of contexts. The aim of the present study was to validate the Persian version of this scale.

 The scale was administered following a standard back-translation procedure. The sample consisted of 206 female university students. The Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), Life Orientation Test (LOT), Interest in Aesthetic Rhinoplasty Scale (IARS), and Body Mass Index (BMI) were used for assessment of concurrent validity. The factor structure of the scale was investigated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), bivariate correlation coefficients, and one-sample t-test were used in SPSS software for statistical analysis. Effect sizes were also computed in comparisons between the Iranian sample and the American sample on which the scale was developed. Moreover, the reliability of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha.

 All items had adequate psychometric qualities in item analysis. The instrument was internally consistent (alpha = 0.97) and one-dimensional. It was positively correlated with BMI and interest in aesthetic rhinoplasty. Furthermore, PACS-R was inversely associated with optimism and body appreciation. Cross-cultural comparisons suggested that Iranian female participants had lower scores in physical appearance comparison.

 The Persian version of the PACS-R is a reliable and valid psychometric scale and may be used in clinical and research settings.

 The present study was conducted with the aim to investigate the effectiveness of self-review technique on women's happiness.

 This experimental study was conducted with a pre-test and post-test and a control group. The Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) was used to measure the dependent variable. In order to implement the research project, 22 individuals were randomly assigned to the control and experimental groups in the pre-test phase based on acquisition of the lowest happiness scores. The 8-session self-review single intervention was presented to the experimental group. Repeated measures ANOVA was used in order to analyze the data.

 The research findings indicated that the rate of happiness of individuals in the experimental group had significantly increased in the post-test and even follow-up stages (P < 0.01).

 In conclusion, the self-review method can be considered as a positive activity-based intervention.