International Journal of Behavioral Sciences
Volume:6 Issue: 1, 2012

The current study used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship among willingness to innovate, computer anxiety, user support, and intention to use, with regard to the mediational effects of perceived usefulness and ease of use using the partial least squares (PLS) method. 300 male high school teachers in Qom city filled the following questionnaires: intention to use;perceived usefulness and ease of use; willingness to innovate;computer anxiety;and user support. Partial least squares method was used for analyzing data. Findings, in general, showed that usefulness and ease of use had a mediational role in the relationships among willingness to innovate, computer anxiety, user support, and intention to use. Willingness to innovate and user support exerted an indirect positive influence on intention to use through usefulness and ease of use. In addition, computer anxiety had an indirect negative influence on intention to use through perceived ease of use and usefulness, while perceived ease of use influenced intention to use computer indirectly and positively, with the perceived usefulness being the mediation variable. Individuals’ cognitive beliefs about information technology can mediate the relationship between individual and organizational factors with this technology acceptance.

The current research aims to investigate the relationship between individual’s image of God and obsessive-compulsive behavior in students. To this end, 464 students were selected by means of correlation and proportional sampling procedure. The Image of God Inventory and Scale of Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors in Symptom Checklist-90-Revised were administered to them. Analysis of data using multiple regression analysis revealed that the magnitude of obsessive-compulsive behaviors can be predicted from the quality of student's images of God. Moreover, data revealed that students who had a positive and accepting image of God were lower in obsessive-compulsive behaviors than students who had a negative image of God. According to the findings, we can conclude that mental health of college students is dependent on their image of God.

The present study investigated the role of thinking styles on anger expression and anger control styles in university students. In a descriptive study, 310students (77 male and 233 female) were selected through simple random sampling of the total number of students of Kangavar Payame Noor University. The tools administered were Sternberg- Wagner Thinking Styles Inventory and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Results obtained from this research revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between male and female in liberal and external thinking styles scores, but the study did not show any statistically significant difference between gender and anger management scores. Multiple regression analysis indicated that monarchic, hierarchic, and judicial thinking styles predicted Anger Control-Out, while anarchic and hierarchic thinking styles predicted Anger Expression-Out. Also, hierarchic and global thinking styles predicted Anger Control-In. The present study revealed the role of thinking styles on patterns of expressing and controlling anger. Therefore, its results can be used by university counselors who understand thinking styles to have more efficient behavioral interventions.

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of couples coping skills enhancement on quality of marital relationship in distressed couples.

The research method was quasi experimental with pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The population of the study includes every couple referred to the Health Room Centers in two zones in Tehran. The sample consisted of 12 couple's randomly selected based on convenience and placed randomly in experimental and control group;each group comprised 6 couples. The experimental group received 8 sessions of couples coping skills enhancement training, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) was used as pre-test and post-test measurement and obtained data was entered into SPSS16 software. Mean, standard deviation, chi-square, and covariance analysis were used for analyzing the data.

The results of covariance analysis showed that the experimental group was significantly higher in marital relationship quality than the control group.

Couples coping skills training program in decreasing marital distress and enhancing marital relationship quality is effective.

This research aims to investigate the factor structure and Psychometric Properties of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in an Iranian sample. The statistical population of this study comprised all the students of Shiraz University. Among them, a total of 363 people (181 male, 182 female) were selected using stratified random sampling. To achieve the study objective and assess convergent validity, the Persian version of DERS and Beck Depression Inventory were used, respectively. The results obtained from explratory factor analyses showed that from among eight extracted factors of the scale, six were associated with DERS and two other factors were omitted as a result of loading of just one item. In addition, internal correlations and correlations of all subscales of DERS with BDI were significant. Finally, internal consistency of this scale using Cronbach’s alpha for all subscales ranged from r=0.86 to r=0/88. Furthermore, the one-week test-retest coefficient also ranged from r=0.79 to r=0.91. Based on the results obtained from the research, DERS can be applied to attain research and clinical objectives in Iranian society.

The present study investigated three components of executive functions including inhibition, set shifting, and updating of working memory in OCD patients by controlling depressive symptoms. To this end, after screening students with Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), those who received above cut-off scores in obsession subscale were selected to complete Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) and 30 students who received above cut-off scores in MOCI were selected among them. These subjects’ scores in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were under 20. In addition, thirty students who did not show above cut-off scores in any of SCL-90 scales during the screening stage were selected and matched by demographical variables. Both groups completed executive functions tasks. Data analysis showed that there were significant differences between OCD group and healthy control group in Stroop variables (reaction time interference and error interference). Also, there were significant differences between two groups in Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (errors, categories, and reaction time) and number-digit test. Generally, patients with OCD showed poor performance in all instruments. OCD patients without depressive symptoms showed deficits in executive functions (inhibition set shifting and updating of working memory) and these deficits do not depend on depressive symptoms.

Mood and anxiety symptoms are frequently present in patients with schizophrenia. Like schizophrenia, schizotypal has been described as a multidimensional construct comprising three factors. These factors include cognitive perceptual deficits, interpersonal deficits, and disorganization factors. The present study examined the relationship of three-factor model of schizotypal and depression-anxiety symptoms in non-clinical sample. The current study was conducted in correlational context. A group of 248 normal participants (113 male and 135 female), using stratified random sampling method, took part in this research. Participants answered to Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Data were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that depression is more strongly associated with the cognitive perceptual deficits and disorganization dimension of schizotypal than with the interpersonal deficits dimension. In relation with anxiety, the results indicated that anxiety is more strongly associated with the disorganization, cognitive perceptual deficits, and interpersonal deficits dimensions, respectively. In line with previous research on schizotypal and schizophrenia, the general finding is consistent with the fact that depression and anxiety symptoms are more closely associated with positive schizotypal. The present findings are consistent with the notion that both positive schizotypal and anxiety/depression involve affect dysregulation, especially regarding the experience of negative effect.

This research aimed to evaluate the effect of phonological awareness training package on reduction of spelling errors in elementary school third grade students with writing disorder in Tehran. Research method was quasi experimental. At first, 20 third-grade students in Tehran who had spelling problems were selected at convenience and administered Wechsler children’s intelligence test and writing disorder test. Then, they were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Experimental group received Phonological Awareness Training Package in 13 sessions but control group did not receive any intervention. Later, both groups took post-test and follow-up tests (after 3 months). Data were analyzed through covariance analysis (ANCOVA). Research findings indicate that spelling errors of the experimental group significantly improved in comparison with the control group. This training package can have permanent effect on learning (after 3 months) in children. Furthermore, it is recommended that learning disability educators, counselors, and psychologists use this training package to reduce spelling errors in students with writing disorder.

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the ability to retrieve episodic and semantic autobiographical information from previous lifetime periods and post-traumatic stress disorder. To this end, a group of women with cancer who suffered from PTSD and a control group were matched for age and IQ. Participants completed the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI), followed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the translated versions of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R). The cancer survivors were able to generate fewer specific episodic and semantic details about the past compared to the control group. The amount of these defects had a direct relationship with PTSD specific symptoms. The more symptomatic survivors showed greater memory impairment. The data from this study were discussed in terms of compromised access to specific autobiographical material in distressed trauma survivors reflecting a process of affect regulation.

This research investigated the efficacy of play therapy on the progress of pre-school children’s social behavior. After conducting a pilot study on 131 six-year-old children in 10afternoon-shift kindergartens in Varamin City, two kindergartens were selected randomly to implement the checklist to observe social behavior. Among this group, 45 children were diagnosed with social skill problem. Then, at a session held to inform parents and invite them to contribute, 32 of those parents announced that they were ready to contribute. Later, Rutter’s Evaluation of Behavior Scale was completed for the children, and finally, they were divided into two groups randomly.The experimental group was under play therapy for ten sessions in a month. Afterward, the Social Behavior of Children Observational Checklist and Rutter’s Evaluation of Behavior Scale were completed again as post-test. The results of the questionnaires were analyzed using variance analysis test in frequent measurements and T-test with SPSS 16 software. The post-test play therapy resulted in considerably increased positive social behavior and its subscales of empathy, social orientation, moral behavior, self controlling, self esteem, compliance, assertiveness, respect to the law, and tendency to participate. With respect to the considerable difference between the experimental and control groups, play therapy could be used to monitor progress of pre-school children's social behavior.

This study examined the humor styles (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating) as moderator's link to the Big Five personality and general health in the university students. 250 male and female undergraduate students in Imam Khomeini International University, Faculty of Social Sciences, in academic year of 2009-2010, were selected through relative stratified sampling and asked to fill Humor Styles Questionnaire, Big Five Inventory, and General Health Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using partial correlation, multivariate regression, and T-test methods. Results indicated that the humor styles moderated the relationship between the big five personality and general health. Several significant correlations were found between each of the four humor styles with the big five and general health. Differences among affiliative, aggressive, and self-defeating humor styles in male and female students were not observed, but the self-enhancing humor style observed was significantly different between male and female students. The findings indicate that the effective role of humor styles used by moderators link the Big Five personality and general health.

This research aims to investigate the factor structure and Psychometric Properties of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in an Iranian sample. The statistical population of this study comprised all the students of Shiraz University. Among them, a total of 363 people (181 male, 182 female) were selected using stratified random sampling. To achieve the study objective and assess convergent validity, the Persian version of DERS and Beck Depression Inventory were used, respectively. The results obtained from explratory factor analyses showed that from among eight extracted factors of the scale, six were associated with DERS and two other factors were omitted as a result of loading of just one item. In addition, internal correlations and correlations of all subscales of DERS with BDI were significant. Finally, internal consistency of this scale using Cronbach’s alpha for all subscales ranged from r=0.86 to r=0/88. Furthermore, the one-week test-retest coefficient also ranged from r=0.79 to r=0.91. Based on the results obtained from the research, DERS can be applied to attain research and clinical objectives in Iranian society.