مجله علمی پژوهان
سال نوزدهم شماره 4 (تابستان 1400)

One of the most modern addictive behaviors is the phenomenon of Internet addiction, which is associated with criteria, such as withdrawal, depression, loneliness, and anxiety. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of stress-based mindfulness therapy on the studentschr('39') feelings of loneliness and Internet addiction.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the study included all male high school students in Birjand in 2020-21. In total, 40 eligible individuals were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly divided into two groups of experimental (n=20) and control (n=20). The experimental group participated in eight sessions of mindfulness therapy training based on Kabat Zayn stress reduction. On the other hand, the control group did not receive any intervention. Data collection tools included the Russell et al. and Young Internet Addiction Questionnaire. The obtained data were then analyzed using mean±SD, multivariate, and univariate analysis of covariance at the significance level of α=0.05.

The results showed that stress-based mindfulness therapy significantly reduced the studentschr('39') feelings of loneliness and Internet addiction (P<0.001).

According to the results of the study, stress-based mindfulness therapy can be used as a complementary therapy along with other therapies to improve loneliness and reduce studentschr('39') Internet addiction.

Epilepsy is a chronic disease with different effects on performance. It is important to control seizures in the shortest possible time using medications with the least side effects. There are controversies regarding the effectiveness and side effects of new generation medications, compared to old and first-line therapeutic agents. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness and side effects of two medications, including sodium valproate (as a first-generation medication) and levetiracetam (as a second-generation medication).

All children over two and under 18 years old with a new diagnosis of generalized and focal epilepsy who met the inclusion criteria and were willing to enter the study were enrolled randomly. They were then divided into two groups of treatment with sodium valproate and levetiracetam. The frequency of recurrent seizures in patients and complications after taking the medications were accurately recorded with a six-month follow-up.

The results showed no significant difference of age, gender, and family history of seizures in the patients of both groups with the success rate in seizure control. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the type of medication (sodium valproate and levetiracetam), type of seizure (focal and generalized), and success in treatment (seizure inhibition). Additionally, the group treated with sodium valproate revealed more significant side effects, compared to the levetiracetam group (P<0.05).

According to the results of the present study, both sodium valproate and levetiracetam have been effective in controlling seizures. More follow-up and further studies are required to take effective steps to control the costs and complications of anticonvulsant therapy.

Covid-19 has stirred up great anxiety among people from all walks of society, including students. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the contribution of social intelligence and resilience in the prediction of Covid-19-related anxiety in students.

The present study was conducted based on a descriptive correlational design. The statistical population of the study included all male students of Farhangian University of Shahid Bahonar Campus of Birjand in the academic year 2020-2021. A total of 260 volunteer participants were selected by convenience sampling method and participated in the research online. Reliable tools were used to collect the needed information. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 24) using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regression.

The obtained results pointed to a negative and significant relationship of  social intelligence and resilience with Covid-19-related anxiety (P<0.01). The results also demonstrated that social intelligence and resilience predict 31.6 and 43.4% of Covid-19-related anxiety changes, respectively.

As evidenced by the results of the current study, the components of social intelligence and resilience perform an effective role in the prediction of Covid-19-related anxiety. Therefore, interventions focused on these components can be an important protective factor in the prevention of this anxiety among students and teachers.

Various factors are involved in promoting the psychological hardiness of students during the coronavirus epidemic. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the role of religious coping and moral intelligence in predicting the psychological hardiness of students during the coronavirus epidemic.

The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted on all male and female students of Ghaen School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birjand, Iran, within the academic year of 2020-2021. The samples (n=180) were selected by available sampling method and responded online to the scale of Religious Coping Scale ( Pargament et al.), Moral Intelligence (Lenick and Kiel), Psychological Toughness (Kiamarei et al.). The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 25) using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regressions simultaneously.

The results showed that the relationship of positive religious coping and moral intelligence with psychological hardiness was positive and significant. However, the relationship between negative religious coping and psychological hardiness was negative and significant (P<0.01). Moreover, religious coping and moral intelligence explained 47.9% of the variance of psychological hardiness.

Based on the results, studentschr('39') psychological hardiness during the coronavirus epidemic could be predicted through religious coping and moral intelligence. Therefore, it is recommended to consider these two variables in studentschr('39') education programs.

Early childhood care and education has recently attracted much attention for promoting optimal development of children. The present study was administered to evaluate the effectiveness of early childhood care and education on the intelligence of children 2 to 24 months and their mother’s affective capital and parenting stress.

A total of 25 participants (50 mothers and children) were selected through purposive sampling for each of the groups of 2 to 12 and 13 to 24 months. The Cattell Infant Intelligence Scale, Affective Capital Questionnaire, and Parenting Stress Questionnaire were used to assess independent variables. Each group of mothers and children received early care and education for 6 weeks. Data were analyzed using a paired samples t-test.

The results indicated that early childhood care and education significantly improved the intelligence of children 2 to 12 and 13 to 24 months by 1.20 and 1.59, and their motherschr('39') affective capital by 25.52 and 12.47, respectively (P<0.01). The observations also suggested that early childhood care and education reduced the parenting stress among mothers of children aged 2 to 24 months by 103.20 and 37.47, respectively (P<0.01).

It is recommended to pay more attention to early childhood care and education in families and kindergartens due to its effectiveness in improving the intelligence of children 2 to 24 months, as well as increasing the affective capital and reducing the stress of parenting in mothers.

The present study aimed to compare the academic help-seeking and meaning of education in deaf, blind, and normal students.

The research method was causal-comparative. The statistical population included blind, deaf, and normal high school students in Isfahan. A total of 36 students were selected using the convenience sampling method and then divided into two groups (18 people) due to the limited statistical population of deaf and blind and input criteria. In the following step, 18 normal students were selected. Data were collected using Ryan and Pentrichchr('39')s (1997) academic help-seeking and King and Smithchr('39')s (2006) meaning of education (MOE) Scales and analyzed MANOVA, Tukey’s test, and SPSS Software (Version 24).

The results indicated that the three groups were significantly different in the avoidance of help-seeking and meaning of education (P<0.01). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the general components of meaning of education in the profession, independence, future, learning, self, next step, social, and the world terms (P<0.05). But no significant difference was observed in the component of adaptive and escape between groups (P<0.05).

The results revealed that deaf students avoid help-seeking and use less cognitive and metacognitive strategies when faced with academic difficulties. Blind students have also problems with the meaning of education. Therefore, based on the results, it is suggested that help-seeking strategies and improving beliefs in the meaning of education in the profession, independence, hope for the future, learning, and social interaction should be considered to promote cognitive and metacognitive processes in deaf and blind students.

Due to the increasing use of smartphone-based virtual social networking and the impact of these networks on various aspects of peoplechr('39')s lives, this study aimed to investigate the effect of using smartphone-based virtual social networking on the academic performance of nursing undergraduate students.

This study included 200 undergraduate nursing students at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, who were systematically and randomly divided into case and control groups. A questionnaire on the amount of using virtual social networks was utilized to assess the membership status in smartphone-based virtual social networks, working hours with virtual social networks, reasons for using these networks, and membership duration. The obtained data were then analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) through the Chi-square test, independent t-test, and analysis of variance.

The mean working hours with social networks in the case and control groups were obtained at 0.9±1.58 and 0.5±1.18 hours per day, respectively, which showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.046). The membership duration in these networks was in 57% of the freshmen in the case group and 70% of the control group before entering the university.

The increasing use of smartphone-based virtual social networking reduces the studentschr('39') academic performance and grade point average.

Improvement of one’s competencies leads to a higher quality of life. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of positivity education on the students’ perception of competence and quality of life.

This is a  quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all fifth and sixth-grade students of Chabahar city, Iran, in the academic year 2020-2021 from whom 30 people were selected through convenience sampling method. The study population was divided into two experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups and both groups responded to Harter’s Perceived Competence and Ravens-Sieberer et al. Quality of Life scales. The students in the experimental group were educated about positivity (based on Seligman et al.) for eight sessions, each taking 60 min; however, the control group did not receive any education. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 22) and multivariate analysis of covariance at the significance level of α=0.05.

Based on the obtained results, positivity education significantly increased students’ perception of competence and quality of life (P<0.01).

Based on the obtained results, it is recommended to educate positivity to students to improve their perception of competence and quality of life.