فصلنامه روانشناسی تحولی: روانشناسان ایرانی
پیاپی 24 (تابستان 1389)

this research explored the effects of storytelling on the development of the concept of God in Iranian and Lebanese children. 238 (138 Iranian and 100 Lebanese) girls and 222 (107 Iranian and 115 Lebanese) boys 6-11 years old were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received eight sessions of forty-five minute storytelling. The control group received none. Before and after all sessions of storytelling, clinical interview (Lawrence, 1965) was conducted to measure the concept of God. Analysis of covariance showed that storytelling had a positive effect on the development of concept of God and all its components. There were no gender and cultural differences in the total score of the concept of God; but Iranian children scored higher on the components of “existence of God” and “omniscience”. The Lebanese children scored higher in the “invisibility” component. Boys described God as more omnipotent than girls did. In the post test, boys in experimental group scored higher on the “nature of God” component than the girls and control group.

the validity and reliability of the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents (QIDA, Ingles, Hidalgo & Mendez, 2005) was investigated. 276 female and 224 male adolescents living in Tehran, aged 12-18, completed the QIDA and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SASA, Puklek, 1997). Results demonstrated that the Farsi version of the QIDA, consistent with the principal factorial structure of the QIDA, replicated the five-factor structure of assertiveness, heterosexual relationships, public speaking, family relationships and close friendships in the Iranian sample. The significant positive correlation coefficients between the factors of QIDA and SASA total scores, ranging from r= 0.10 (close friendships) to r=0.35 (assertiveness), confirmed the convergent validity of the QIDA. The test-retest reliability coefficients over a two week period were 0.82 for QIDA total score and 0.82, 0.77, 0.84, 0.71, 0.62 and 0.51, respectively for its factors. The results confirmed the validity and reliability of the QIDA Farsi version. The universal construct of interpersonal difficulties based on similar findings in different cultural contexts is discussed.

this study assessed the reliability and validity of Quality of Life Scale for patients with diabetes (D-39, Boyer & Earp, 1997). 263 female and 197 male diabetic patients (age range 20-60 years) of the Iranian Diabetes Society completed the D-39 and psychological well-being subscale of the Mental Health Inventory (Besharat, 1388). The coefficients of internal consisten- cy and test-retest reliability, done in a 4 week interval, were 0.89 and 0.75 respectively. Results of principle component analysis using Promax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the structure of the D-39 scale contains the following factors: diabetes control, energy and mobility, social burden, anxiety and worry, diabetes complications and other illnesses, and sexual functioning. These factors accounted for almost 64% of the variance. A significant negative correlation between the total score of the D-39, scores from its extracted sub-factors and the psychological well-being subscale of Mental Health Inventory confirmed the convergent validity of the scale. Differences among factors in the original scale and the Farsi version are discussed based on the age range of patients.

to study the efficacy of attributional style retraining for increasing couples’ marital satisfaction, 20 Iranian couples from the city of Isfahan’s Center for Family Counseling and Intervention, were nonrandomly selected and assigned into an experimental and a witness group. The experimental group received a weekly session of attributional style retraining for 7 weeks; the witness group received nothing. The Enrich Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire (Olson, Fournier, Druckman, Cub- bin, Barnes, 1989) was administered three times: before training started, soon after termination of training, and 2 months after termination of training. MANCOVA outcomes showed that attributional style retraining significantly (p=0.001) increased ma- rital satisfaction. Findings are discussed based on the role of attributional style retraining in increasing the positive and reducing the negative interactions in couples.

the distribution of procrastination in students studying at Tehran state and private (Islamic Azad) universities was exa- mined. A sample of 1202 females and 770 males with an average age of 22, answered the Tuckman Procrastination Scale (1991). The results illustrated that procrastination among 54.6% of students was above average (M=69.2, SD=11.3). The significant negative skewness of distribution of procrastination in females (-0.11, P<0.05) and private universities’ stud- ents (-0.66, P<0.05) indicated that these two groups reported higher levels of procrastination behavior than the male students in state universities. The findings were discussed based on the structural and qualitative differences between state and private universities in Iran.

sixty-two married female employees of Isfahan university were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. Both groups completed the Work-Family Conflict Questionnaire (Netmaier, 1996) and Belief of Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Henessy & Saimon, 2005). The experimental group received six sessions of work-family conflict training over one month, each lasting two hours. The control group received none. Covariance analysis results showed a significant reduc- tion in work-family conflict and a rise in belief of self-efficacy in the experimental group, as compared to the control group. Findings emphasized the effectiveness of training in solving conflicts.

this research assessed the relationships between the psychological characteristics of managers. 50 male managers of Islamic Azad University, whose average age was 40 years old, responded to Kobasa's Personal Views Survey (1986) measuring hardiness, World Health Organization Quality of Life, short-form questionnaire (1998), and the Well-Being subscale of the California Psychological Inventory (Gaff, 1987). Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for analyzing the data. Results in- dicated significant positive correlations among hardiness, quality of life, and well-being of managers. The factors of hardiness (commitment, control, and challenge) could respectively explain 18.2%, 28.5% and 10.1% of variance in the quality of life. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of hardiness in managers’ health.

forty male substance abusers aged 18-28 years old, reffered to a well-being center in the city of Rasht in Iran, responded to the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory-short form (1997) and the Problem-Solving Style Questionnaire (Cassidy and Long, 1996). Pearson correlation results indicated that emotional intelligence was correlated positively with helplessness, prob- lem-solving control, avoidant and approach styles and negatively with creative problem-solving and problem-solving confidence styles. Findings are disscused in terms of the specific characteristics of the sample group.