Iranian Journal of Practice in Clinical Psychology
Volume:12 Issue: 1, Winter 2024

The coronavirus pandemic has presented a significant challenge and brought about dramatic changes for universities and their students. This study evaluated machine learning algorithms for estimating COVID-19 stress levels among Iranian university students.

We conducted an online survey from May 10th to November 20th, 2021, to determine how Iranian university students responded to the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. The survey invitations were sent to Iranian university students via e-mail, forums, and social media platforms, such as internet advertisements. We collected data from 3490 university students, using sociodemographic characteristics and the COVID-19 Stress Scale (CSS; Nooripour et al. [2022]). The adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) network for prediction and fuzzy logic-based rules were used for analyzing the data. For classification, eight machine learning algorithms were employed: support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest, multilayer perceptron, decision tree, and passive-aggressive algorithm. These algorithms were selected based on their principles and suitability for stress detection in the desired category.

Among the algorithms, the decision tree algorithm showed the best performance in accurately classifying the data into the correct stress intensity categories. Moreover, analyses revealed that gender, age group, and education significantly influenced stress intensity levels, with men experiencing less stress; stress intensity decreased with age, and higher education was associated with lower stress levels. The results indicated that education and marital status were the most influential parameters for all three top-performing algorithms (random forest, multi-layer perceptron, and decision tree).

Our research suggests that innovative methods such as machine learning algorithms can be used to evaluate psychological distress caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, such as stress. Evaluating stress levels can help prevent mental health problems and enhance students’ coping capabilities.

Addiction is one of the main obstacles to achieving psychological well-being in a person. This study analyzed the experiences, opinions, and facilitators of psychological well-being in women after addiction recovery. 

This study was conducted using a qualitative and grounded theory approach. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. The data were saturated through semi-structured and open-ended interviews with 14 women who had given up addiction and had follow-up visits to addiction rehabilitation centers in Districts 18 to 20 from April to September 2022 in Tehran. The collected data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding proposed by Strauss and Corbin (2008). 

Analysis of the lived experiences of the women who recovered from addiction revealed five main factors including causal conditions (physical condition, mental/psychological distress, and economic condition), contextual conditions (receiving social support and environmental restrictions), facilitators (social support and influence, individual determination and effort, and religious beliefs), consequences (cognitive, psychological, and behavioral consequences), and strategies (individual and social strategies). 

Participants pointed out that the strong facilitators to getting rid of addiction were social support, individual determination and effort, and religious beliefs. The insights from this study add to the knowledge about recovery from addiction among addicted women who are about to quit and can contribute to a better understanding of facilitating factors and treatment and rehabilitation strategies in the process of psychological therapies.

Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is a surgery performed to reassign the physical gender identity of transgender people. Despite the physical consequences of this surgery, research has indicated its significant effects on patients’ mental health; however, the findings are contradictory. This study determined the effects of sexual reassignment surgery on life satisfaction and psychological well-being in transgender people. 

In a multicenter prospective cohort study, from January to March 2019, a total of 40 patients with sexual dysphoria of both sexes were selected using the purposive sampling method and after meeting the necessary criteria, they were entered into the research process. Patients were placed in one of two groups of gender reassignment surgery and the surgery waiting list. Life satisfaction and psychological well-being indices were evaluated in the surgery group, before and after surgery (one week to one month and more than six months). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance test in SPSS software, version 21, and the significance criterion was considered as 0.05. 

Data analysis showed that the life satisfaction index in patients undergoing gender reassignment surgery had a significant difference as compared to the waiting list (P<0.001). Also, the six components of psychological well-being, including self-acceptance, positive relationship with others, personal growth, independence, purposeful life, and mastery of the environment in patients undergoing sexual reassignment surgery showed a significant improvement compared to the waiting list (P<0.001). 

Sexual reassignment surgery has significant psychological effects on patients’ psychological characteristics. These findings may be associated with clinical applications in designing complementary psychological interventions in transgender individuals.

People can easily be infected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus unless they adhere to the globally suggested preventive behaviors. Metacognition about health is a crucial factor that may affect health behaviors. Our study investigated the relationship between metacognition and COVID-19 preventive behaviors mediated by experiential avoidance and COVID-19 anxiety. 

After distributing online participation advertisements, 702 participants, 430 female (61%) and 272 male (39%) were recruited from the general population in Iran. They answered four questionnaires, including the preventive COVID-19 behaviors scale (PCBS; Toussaint et al., 2020), acceptance and action questionnaire II (AAQ-2; Bond et al., 2011), coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS; Lee, 2020d), and metacognition questionnaire-health anxiety (MCQ-HA; Bailey & Wells, 2015). SPSS software, version 22, LISREL software, version 8.85, and MPlus software, version 7.4 were used to analyze the data and investigate the research hypotheses. Model fit for the modified hypothetical model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). 

The results showed that COVID-19 anxiety and experiential avoidance could significantly predict preventive behaviors (P<0.01). However, metacognition could indirectly predict these behaviors by changing COVID-19 anxiety (P<0.01) and experiential avoidance (P<0.01). 

Identifying and modifying dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs that lead to experiential avoidance and COVID-19 anxiety can help us modify COVID-19 preventive behaviors and, as a result, reduce the spread of COVID-19 and behavioral problems.

The use of rTMS, a form of brain stimulation, has shown to be successful and authorized for treating individuals with OCD. The study aimed to comparison of the effectiveness of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and drug therapy on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

The study adopted a quasi-experimental method and a pre-post control group design. The statistical population of the present study included all patients referred to specialized clinics in regions 2, 3, and 7 of Tehran from July to September 2022. Study participants included 45 obsessive-compulsive disorder who were selected purposefully and were assigned to two experimental groups (rTMS: 15 participants, Drug therapy: 15 participants), and a control group: 15 participants. The rTMS treatment sessions was three sessions a week for four weeks. Therefore, rTMS treatment was performed with the parameters specified below regarding the variables of the present study. For obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the supplementary motor area with a frequency of 1 Hz (HZ) for 20 minutes, 1200 pulses and the F3 and F4 areas were worked with the tablets. The MCMI-III or Checklist-90-Revision pre and post interventions measured. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software version 26 with an analysis of covariance test.

findings showed that the differentiation between the treatment technique of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and drug administration is significant in obsessive-compulsive disorder (P=0.0001). The decrease in obsessive-compulsive disorder based on considered repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was more than the drug therapy group(P=0.0017).

This study revealed that rTMS is an effective neurostimulation therapy for OCD. Therefore, rTMS provides better results in terms of treatment effectiveness and clinical response rate.  Furthermore, drug treatment appears to have a significant therapeutic effect.  In subgroup analysis, it was found that DLPFC stimulation and inhibition produced better treatment effects.

Given the well-established and irreversible psychological consequences associated with the COVID-19 disease, it becomes imperative to develop interventions tailored to address these effects and comprehensively evaluate their efficacy in promoting the mental well-being of individuals who have successfully recuperated from COVID-19. The current investigation primarily ascertained and juxtaposed the efficacy of guided imagery and Lazarus multimodal therapy in alleviating COVID-19-induced anxiety and enhancing life expectancy among post-COVID-19 patients

The present study employed a semi-experimental design, encompassing the objectives, application, and research methodology. Specifically, a pre-test-post-test design with a control group was utilized, incorporating a three-month follow-up period. The statistical population comprised individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 and were residing in Tehran City, Iran, in 2021. Participants were selected from various government hospitals in Tehran who received treatment for COVID-19. A total of 45 participants were randomly assigned into three groups: the guided imagery group (15 participants), the Lazarus multimodal therapy group (15 participants), and the control group (15 participants), using the lottery method. The experimental groups underwent 10 sessions of 90 minutes each, wherein guided imagery and Lazarus multimodal therapy interventions were respectively administered. The control group did not receive any form of training or intervention. The research instruments employed in this study were the COVID-19 Anxiety Questionnaire (CDAS, 2020) developed by Alipour, Gadami, Alipour, and Abdulzadeh, and Miller’s Life Expectancy Questionnaire (MLEQ, 1998). Data were analyzed using covariance analysis in SPSS software, version 26. Inferential analysis was performed with alpha 0.05

The findings of the study revealed that both guided imagery and Lazarus multimodal therapy demonstrated effectiveness in mitigating COVID-19 anxiety (F=11.16, P=0.000) and enhancing life expectancy (F=5.49, P=0.008) among individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 (P<0.05). Furthermore, no significant difference was observed between the effects of these interventions on the aforementioned variables.

Based on the research findings, the educational packages developed in this study hold the potential for utilization in reducing COVID-19 anxiety and enhancing life expectancy among individuals amidst the ongoing pandemic outbreak. These packages offer valuable resources for addressing and managing anxiety related to COVID-19, thereby contributing to improved psychological well-being and overall life expectancy during this challenging period.

Binge eating disorder is a type of eating behavior disorder that occurs with voluntary limitations in eating food. It has a psychological and social origin and is one of the concerns of the World Health Organization. The present study explains the relationship between perfectionism and binge eating disorder in female college students and the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation.

In this descriptive-correlation study, data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The statistical population of this research consisted of all the female college students of Isfahan City, Iran, in October and November 2022. A total of 214 students were selected by the available sampling method. The participants answered the perfectionism inventory (PI, 2004), the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ, 2001), and the binge eating severity (BES, 1982). The data were analyzed using EMOS 22 software and SEM.

The results showed that adaptive cognitive regulation strategies could negatively mediate the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and eating disorder (P<0.01, β= -0.113) while positively and significantly mediating the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and eating disorder (P<0.01, β=0.124).

Based on the results, physicians and therapists can incorporate cognitive regulation techniques into eating disorder treatments and help individuals manage perfectionism and negative thoughts. Additionally, educational programs can be developed in counseling centers, schools, and universities to empower individuals to recognize signs and seek help promptly.

Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent and persistent psychological disorder that is characterized by an intense fear of negative judgment from others, leading to avoidance of social interactions. This study compared the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in reducing social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms, including cognitive distortions, rumination, and anxiety sensitivity, in adolescents diagnosed with SAD.

The study was semi-experimental, with a pre-test and post-test design featuring a control group. The research sample comprised 45 adolescents diagnosed with SAD, who were recruited from psychological service offices in Bukan City, Iran, between April 4th, 2022, and September 6th, 2022. Fifteen adolescents were assigned to the first experimental group, 15 to the second experimental group, and 15 to the control group. The subjects were selected using the purposive sampling method and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. CBT (12 sessions) and ACT (8 sessions) were implemented in two sessions per week for the experimental groups. Each session lasted for an hour. The control group did not receive any intervention. The participants completed the social phobia inventory (SPIN) (2000), the ruminative response scale (RRS) (2003), and the dysfunctional attitude scale (DAS) (1978). The data of the research were analyzed using the analysis of variance test using SPSS software, version 23 and a significance level of 0.05. 

The results of the analysis of variance showed that CBT and ACT have a significant effect on cognitive distortions and rumination in adolescents (P<0.001). Also, there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of CBT and ACT on cognitive distortions and rumination in adolescents (P>0.05). The Mean±SD difference before (54.76±13.88) and after (49.51±13.42) the rumination in the CBT group was significant (P<0.001). The Mean±SD difference before (98.32±7.44) and after (83.90±7.77) the cognitive distortions in the CBT group was significant (P<0.001). The Mean±SD difference before (52.33±14.78) and after (47.73±14.23) the rumination in the ACT group was significant (P<0.001). Also, the Mean±SD difference before (98.70±7.02) and after (85.13±6.83) the cognitive distortion in the ACT group was significant (P<0.001). 

Based on the results of the analysis, it can be concluded that CBT and ACT can be considered in cognitive distortions and rumination in adolescents with SAD.