Iranian Journal of Psychiatry
Volume:13 Issue: 3, Summer 2018

According to the transdiagnostic view, emotion regulation strategies are common among emotional disorders. Despite the vast majority of studies demonstrating the common role of emotion regulation strategies in emotional disorders including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD), distinct functions of these strategies are largely unknown. So, the aim of the present study was to assess the distinct and shared use of emotion regulation strategies in individuals with GAD and SAD symptoms.
Participants were recruited from a community sample of Tehran using purposive sampling method. The sample (N = 346) consisted of 269 nonclinical individuals, 47 individuals with generalized anxiety symptoms, and 30 individuals with social anxiety symptoms. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants and they were asked to fill in a series of self -report questionnaires including BDI-II, GAD-IV, SIAS, DERS, EQ, ACS, and RRS. Data were analyzed by discriminant function analysis using SPSS-23.
Findings revealed significant differences between the 3 groups in non-acceptance, focusing, shifting, brooding, and decentering (P The findings of the present study support both splitter and lumper approaches as there were some emotion regulation strategies common between GAD and SAD, including shifting, decentering, and brooding. However, some of them were distinct, such as focusing and non-acceptance. Nevertheless, there are still inconsistencies in research about the findings, and thus examining the pathways may illuminate these findings.

In recent years, many researchers have been searching for effective cognitive factors in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). One of the scales designed to measure this characteristic is the contamination cognition scale (CCS) that evaluates 2 dimensions: overestimating the likelihood and severity of contamination. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of CCS.
The study population of this descriptive psychometric study included students of Shahed University. A total of 490 students were selected via cluster sampling and completed the CCS. CCS was translated and back- translated before given to the students. The Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ) and the Padua Inventory (PI) were used. To assess the evidence for the validity of the scale, the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used. The gathered data were analyzed by SPSS-22 and Amos-22 software.
The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that one-factor model did not have adequate fitness (RMSEA>.05). Therefore, to explore the factors of this scale, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used, and it revealed 3 factors (public equipment, food, and restroom) for each of the dimensions (likelihood and severity). CFA by AMOS-22 confirmed the three-factor model (GFI, CFI, and NFI>.95; RMSEA The results indicated that one-factor model of CCS did not have adequate fitness, but three-factor model was confirmed in both dimensions (likelihood and severity). According to the results of the present study, the reliability and validity of the Persian version of CCS were acceptable.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a common gastrointestinal disorder. The perception of stress and GI-specific anxiety play a key role in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The present study aims at comparing the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy with emotion regulation on the quality of life and severity in patients IBS.
This randomized clinical trial was conducted in 3 phases: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Follow-up was performed 2 months after the last intervention. The study population consisted of 24 IBS patients who were randomly selected according to Rome-IV Criteria and were then divided into 3 eight-member groups: (1) mindfulness-based stress reduction, (2) emotion regulation, and (3) control group. IBS-QOL34 and IBS-SSS were administered as assessment tools to all the 3 groups. The experimental groups were subjected to MBSR and ER psychotherapy, while the control group received no psychological intervention. After the 2-month follow-up, the 3 groups were evaluated again.
The results revealed that MBSR improved the quality of life of IBS patients and dicreased severity of their condition. The findings of between and within subjects design revealed that the difference between MBSR and control groups was significant in IBS at follow-up (p = 0.01).
MBSR could be considered as a new, effective, and stable method in psychotherapy, in irritable bowel syndrome.

Individuals with substance use disorder are not homogeneous as we might regard. Thus, this study was conducted to present a novel classification of substance use disorder based on temperament, addiction severity, and negative emotions.
In this correlation study, Temperament and Character Inventory, Addiction Severity Index, Aggression Subscale of MMPI-2, Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale, Emotional Schema Questionnaire, and Psychosocial Checklist were used for data collection.
The cluster analysis of 324 individuals with substance use disorder explored 4 subtypes. Subgroups were named based on the main features as emotionally distressed, constitutional, nonconformist, and impulsive. Significant differences were found among groups in emotional schemas, history of mental disorder in the family, rate of relapse, and history of imprisonment.
It seemed that temperament dimensions, addiction severity, and negative emotional states were valid components in classifying individuals with substance use disorder.

This study was conducted to recognize the problems of living with a sibling with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to improve their quality of life.
A total of 30 participants were selected among the 4-to11- year-old siblings of children who had referred to Tehran Psychiatric Institute due to autism spectrum disorder. For the control group, 30 children aged 4 to11years old who were the siblings of patients with chronic diseases referring to Pediatric Clinic of Rasoul-e Akram (PBUH) hospital were selected. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2) was filled out for patients and siblings participating in the study and Child Behavior Checklist was completed by their parents.
The mean age of the patients in this study was 4.46 ± 9.66 years (range: 1.5-22 years), and the mean age in the healthy children was 2.54 ± 8.18 years (range: 4-11 years). The mean scores of anxiety/depression, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, and rule-breaking behavior subscale of CBCL (Child Behavior Checklist) were not significantly different between groups. Aggressive behavior was the only subscale that showed such difference (p = 0.008). Externalizing problems in children who had siblings with ASD was higher than children who had siblings with physical illness. In a group in which a sibling had ASD, sisters were more anxious/ depressed than brothers.
Due to various psychological and social problems that siblings of children with ASD experience throughout their life, studying their psychological problems to improve their quality of life seems to be of paramount importance.

Mothers have an important role in child- rearing, and maternal personality has theoretically been considered as the most influential factor determining the parenting style, because it is thought to affect parental behavior. However, the influence of personality on parenting styles has received surprisingly little attention. The aim of the present study was to compare personality components among mothers with authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles.
Using a multistage random cluster sampling method, we selected 8 kindergartens in Tehran. The sample consisted of 270 mothers with preschool children aged 4 to 6 who completed the NEO and Parental Authority Style Questionnaire.
Results revealed significant differences among the authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive styles in personality characteristics. There were significant differences between groups in extraversion (f(2,267) = 151.65, p≤0.0001 ), agreeableness (f(2,267)=215.23, p≤0.0001 ), conscientiousness (f(2,267)=336.016, p≤0.0001 ), neuroticism (f(2,267)=1151.1, p≤0.0001 ), and openness to experience (f(2,267)=110.8, p≤0.0001 ).
This study revealed the significant role of personality in parenting style.

Cognitive impairment is a major public health problem among elderly population. The aim of this study was to assess some psychosocial predictors of cognitive impairment (age, education, living alone, smoking, depression and social support) in the Iranian elderly population.
A total of 1612 elderly (over 60 years) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Cognitive function was assessed using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). In addition, data from psychological tests and demographic characteristics were analyzed.
Older age, low education level, living alone, smoking, depressive symptoms, and lower social support were associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. Ages 70 to 74 (OR = 3.47; 95% CI, 2.13-5.65), 75 to79 (OR = 3.05; 95% CI, 2.11-4.41) and 80 to 85 (OR = 5.81; 95% CI, 2.99-11.22) and depression symptoms (OR = 1.64; 95% CI, 1.27-2.13) were significant positive predictors, whereas social support with scores ranging from 26 to 30 (OR =0. 32; 95% CI, 0.16-0.62) and 31 to 33 (OR =0.29; 95% CI, 0.14-0.61) and more than 5 years of education (OR = 0.19; 95% CI, 0.14-0.27) were the negative predictors of cognitive impairment.
The findings suggest older age and depression as positive predictive factors and higher education level and social support as negative predictive factors of cognitive impairment in the elderly population.

Schizophrenia is a common psychiatric disease and is characterized by changes in several brain metabolites detectable by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a general method of management for most severe psychiatric conditions that may play a role in changing the brain metabolites. This study examined the effectiveness of adjuvant ECT with oral medication compared to that of oral second generation antipsychotic medication alone on brain metabolites in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
This study was conducted on 20 patients with chronic schizophrenia who were admitted to a hospital; of them, 10 underwent ECT as an adjuvant therapy with oral medication at least 8 times, and 10 patients were given a second- generation antipsychotic therapy drug (risperidone and olanzapine) without ECT for at least 4 weeks. MRS was used to assess brain metabolites, including N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), myoinositol (MI), and Glx (glutamate [Glu] and glutamine [Gln]), in the left prefrontal cortex, left thalamus, left hippocampus, and left occipital cortex. Differences between the 2 groups were not significant, except for method of treatment.
The NAA/Cr ratio in the left prefrontal cortex was significantly higher in ECT-treated patients (P = 0.035). In addition, the Cho/Cr ratios in the left prefrontal cortex and left thalamus were statisticaly lower in the ECT-treated patients than those treated with oral antipsychotic drugs alone (P = 0.019). No statistically significant changes were observed between the 2 groups in other sites of the brain. In addition, no statistically significant differences were detected between the 2 groups in SAPS and DES scores.
Compared to oral antipsychotic drug treatment, ECT had improving effects on at least 2 metabolites in the brains of patients with schizophrenia. Therefore, ECT may have a neuroprotective effect in these patients.

Schizophrenia is a disease with unknown etiology. There is evidence suggesting that oxidative damage occurs in schizophrenia. Oxidative damage may arouse from imbalance between oxidant and anti-oxidant factors in cellular and tissue environment. Although it may not be the primary cause, it can worsen the disease and may be a reason of poor response to therapy in these patients. The present study aimed at evaluating the pro-oxidant antioxidant balance (PAB) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum of schizophrenia patients. PAB is an assay to determine the pro-oxidant load and antioxidant capacity in a single measurement.
In this cross- sectional study, patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia, who referred to a psychiatry university hospital (Ibn-e-Sina Hospital) affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, were enrolled. Patient's demographic characteristics and laboratory data were recorded from patients’ files. Serum PAB and TAC were measured using a special PAB assay and commercial kit, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.
A total of 84 individuals (42 schizophrenia cases and 42 healthy controls) participated in this study. Controls were age and sex-matched with the patients’ group. The mean TAC in the patient and control groups was 0.49±0.04 and 0.51±0.04 nmol/L, respectively (p = 0.16). PAB was higher in patients’ group than in controls (127.36±36.44 vs. 118.93±52.34 HK), however, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). The change was correlated with the chronicity of the disease.
Pro-oxidant antioxidant balance was elevated in serum of patients with schizophrenia. These data suggested the occurrence of oxidative stress during the progression of the disease. Lower antioxidant capacity might suggest that patients with schizophrenia could be more susceptible to oxidative stress damage.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been the most widely used psychopharmacological agents prescribed for depression worldwide. Some adverse effects of SSRI drugs on central nervous system are insomnia and bruxism. These drugs also affect sleep. Quetiapine is used as adjunctive therapy to antidepressants for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). It is a low- dose dibenzothiazepine with more potent 5-HT2 than D2 receptor-blocking properties that can be used to manage bruxism because of its antagonist effect on the 5-HT2 receptor.
Cases: The cases were 5 patients who have recently been treated with SSRIs and presented with bruxism. Low- dose quetiapine (between 25 and 50 mg daily) was prescribed for the patients, and after a few days, they reported no bruxism and continued taking the medication.
We found that quetiapine can improve bruxism and mandibular dystonia, which are side effects of SSRIs.