Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology
Volume:7 Issue: 4, Nov 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of self-control and emotion regulation strategies among college students with high and normal body mass index (BMI).

The present cross-sectional causal-descriptive study was conducted on female students with a high BMI at the Azad University of Roudehen, Iran, during the academic year of 2018-2019. The sample size was selected by the convenience sampling method (50 girls with high BMI and 50 girls with normal body weight). The data were collected using the self-control scale and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 23) by ANOVA and t-test.

According to the results, students with high BMI had lower levels of self-control and positive emotional regulation, compared to those with normal BMI. Moreover, the individuals with high BMI had a higher level of negative emotional regulation, compared to those with normal BMI.

Strategies for emotion regulation are very important for self-control, eating styles, and BMI. It is, therefore, suggested to apply this intervention for the treatment of obesity.

Considering the importance of higher education and the fundamental role of faculty members in developing the quality of universities and establishing justice, it is necessary to correctly determine their performance, which is one of the main components of higher education. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a model for determining the faculty member workload at Hamadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamadan, Iran.

This multi-stage mixed study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, a qualitative research method was used to conduct 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 faculty members at Hamadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamadan, Iran, in the academic year 2018-19. The qualitative data were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundmanchr('39')s method and a content analysis approach. Subsequently, in the second stage of presenting a model for workload determination, 230 people were selected by stratified random method and Morgan table. Positive and negative emotions, self-regulation, and academic self-improvement questionnaires were used to collect the data. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed by expert opinions and Cronbachchr('39')s alpha, respectively. Qualitative content analysis method, structural equations, and LISREL were used in order to analyze the data.

According to the results of the qualitative data, the dimensions of the initial model using the content analysis approach were classified into seven categories of "education and teaching", "research", "specialized activities outside the university", "entrepreneurship", "individual development", "culture", as well as   "executive and managerial activities". Positive and negative emotions, self-regulation, and academic self-improvement questionnaires showed a good fit of the model.

According to the findings, it can be said that Azad Universities of Hamadan province, Iran, have not yet been able to consider appropriate activities for faculty members in the main categories of "research", "entrepreneurship", "individual development", "culture", and "other activities" that professors pay attention to. On the other hand, the main focus is on "teaching and learning" and "executive activities".

In order to have an occupational life with high quality and free from detrimental stress, organizations are required to provide more opportunities for their staff to influence their work and cooperate in general organizational effectiveness. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based stress management training in staff occupational stress and emotional exhaustion.

This study was conducted with a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population in this study included all of the employees (n=1,300) of the South Zagros Railway Administration in Andimeshk, Iran, in 2018, and the sample included 60 staff selected by simple random sampling and randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Data collection instruments were Job Stress Scale and Job Burnout Inventory. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data using SPSS software (version 22).

The results of covariance analysis showed that there was a significant difference in terms of occupational stress (F=17.35; P<0.001; Eta=0.24) and emotional exhaustion (F=6.93; P=0.011; Eta=0.11) between the experimental and control groups.

It can be concluded that acceptance and commitment-based stress management training influenced staff occupational stress and emotional exhaustion. Concerning the prime importance of the variables in the present study (i.e., occupational stress and emotional exhaustion), the managers and leaders of governmental and nongovernmental organizations should take into account the implementation of training intervention of this research protocol regarding the career, organizational, and personal success of staffs.

This study was conducted to model the relationships of academic identity, psychosocial sense of school membership, and teacher support with academic performance by the mediating role of academic adjustment.

In this cross-sectional research, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the relationships. The statistical sample of the study (n=422) were students selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The instruments used to gather the necessary data were the following questionnaires: Adjustment Inventory for School Students, Academic Identity Status Scale, Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale, and Teacher Emotional Support Scale. Furthermore, the studentchr('39')s grade point average in the current semester was considered as a measure of academic performance. The collected data were analyzed in AMOS software (version 24) using path analysis and SEM.

The direct affecting analysis results revealed that the variables of moratorium identity and achievement identity, psychological sense of school membership, and academic adjustment each had a direct significant effect on studentschr('39') academic performance (P<0.05). However, there was no significant relationship between teacher affective support and studentschr('39') academic performance (P>0.05). The results of the indirect-affecting analysis showed that such variables as moratorium, diffusion, and achievement identity, psychological sense of school membership, and teacher affective support by the mediating role of academic adjustment had a significant effect on academic performance (P<0.05).

The results showed that besides the teacher affective support, some aspects of academic identity, psychological sense of school membership, and academic adjustment had a significant effect on studentschr('39') academic performance. Therefore, it is recommended to develop programs based on the variables of this study to increase studentschr('39') academic performance.

Health anxiety is a broad cognitive disorder that is formed as a misconception about the symptoms and physical changes resulting from a personchr('39')s beliefs about illness or health.

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of schema therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in cognitive emotion regulation components in patients with an anxiety disorder.

This quasi-experimental study was carried out with a three-group pretest-posttest design. The study population included individuals referring to Bavar and Bamdad counseling centers located in Sari, Iran, in 2019. A sample size of 45 participants was selected using nonrandom sampling (i.e., targeted and voluntary sampling). The measurement tool used was Emotional Cognitive Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefsky and Craig; 2006). Multivariate analysis of covariance and univariate analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data by SPSS software (version 22).

The obtained results of the present study showed that schema therapy and ACT were effective in cognitive emotion regulation in patients with an anxiety disorder (P<0.001). The ACT was more effective than schema therapy in the reduction of blaming others (P<0.0001) and focus on catastrophe (P<0.010) and increase of positive refocus (P<0.012). There was no significant difference in other emotional regulation components between the groups (P>0.05).

Considering the role of beliefs and thoughts in the anxiety disorder, it is suggested that therapists consider schema therapy and ACT in psychological interventions, including cognitive emotion regulation, for this group of patients.

Major Thalassemia can be considered one of the biggest chronic physical disorders, which causes some psychological and social problems to patients and their families. This study aimed to investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on the distress tolerance and level of coping with a child’s illness among the parents of children with major thalassemia.

This study was conducted based on a semi-experimental design with pretest and posttest. The statistical population consisted of all parents of Children with major thalassemia in Zahedan, Iran, during 2016. A total of 40 parents were selected based on convenience sampling and randomly divided into two experimental (n=20) and control groups (n=20). They were then requested to complete the distress and resistance questionnaires, and they participated weekly in eight 90-min intervention sessions based on cognitive behavioral therapy Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20) through multivariate covariance analysis.

The results show that cognitive-behavioral therapy improves distress (F=9.82, P<0.004), tolerance (F=5.12, P<0.030), absorbed (F=7.43, P<0.010), assessment (F=4.73, P<0.037), and adjustment (F=6.70, P<0.014) dimension scores, and has an effect on group membership. Moreover, cognitive-behavioral therapy improved the level of coping with the disease dimension (F=32.61, P<0.0001) and the first factor (F=5.53, P<0.025). Additionally, this technique had a significant effect on posttest scores and group membership.

The results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy increased the level of distress tolerance and improved the level of coping with the childchr('39')s disease, compared to the control group. Evidence suggests that the parents of children with major thalassemia patients face many problems that can lead to high levels of anxiety and depression, tolerance of distress at a low level, despair and disappointment, as well as guilty feelings.

The manifestations of body image disorder in the eating disorder have been assessed on the cognitive-affective component; however, there is no evidence about these disorders on the behavior and perceptual components. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention protocol to improve unique eating behaviors and body image in the treatment of body image disorder and eating behaviors among women.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group using an applied research method. The statistical population consisted of all women who referred to weight loss centers in  Tehran, Iran, during 2018. The data were collected using the Dutch Eating Behaviors Questionnaire and Body Image Concern Inventory. In total, 30 women were selected through a random sampling method and assigned randomly into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. Subsequently, the experimental group participated in eight intervention sessions per week intending to improve body posture and image.

The results of the multivariate covariance analysis showed that the eating behavior (P=0.001, F=62.889) was statistically significant at 0.05. The effect size of this intervention was approximately 70% on eating behavior and body image, which was acceptable in this study.

The intervention protocol to improve eating and body image had a significant effect on eating disorders and body image. However, there is a need for more replications, as well as more robust, randomized, and controlled trials to improve the methodological standard of intervention studies in this area.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system affecting the brain and spinal cord functions, with mild to severe physical, visual, cognitive, and emotional responses. The present research aimed to predict psychological well-being based on mindfulness and emotion regulation strategies among patients with MS.

In this correlational study, 80 patients with MS were selected by the random sampling method in the academic year of 2018-19 in Shiraz, Iran. To collect the necessary data, three questionnaires were used as the tools of study, namely the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). The gathered data were analyzed in AMOS software (version 23) using the multivariable kurtosis coefficient of Mardia.

The results of this research implied that there was a significant relationship among the FFMQ dimensions (i.e., observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging of inner experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience) and the ERQ dimensions (reappraisal and suppression) with the SPWB dimensions (i.e., personal growth, self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, life satisfaction, spirituality, and pleasure and optimism) (P<0.05).

It was concluded that training mindfulness and emotion regulation strategies are applicable for patients with MS to improve their psychological well-being components in their lives. Future researchers are recommended to consider other patient groups with other diseases. It is suggested to apply the experimental research designs to promote psychological well-being.

Marital infidelity is considered a shocking issue for couples and families and common phenomenon for counselors and therapists.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of an integrated model of emotionally-focused therapy (EFT) and Gottmanchr('39')s model in internal cohesion and reduction of controlling behaviors in couples faced with spousal betrayal.

This quasi-experimental study was carried out on two experimental groups and one control group with a pretest-posttest design. The statistical population of the study included all the women referring to one of the counseling centers in Tehran, Iran, during 2018-2019 due to marital conflicts, problems related to satisfaction, and need for the improvement of marital relationships. The study population was chosen based on purposive sampling after the random screening. The data were collected by the Internal Cohesion Questionnaire and Controlling Behaviors Questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods and multivariate analysis of covariance were used to eliminate the effect of pretest using SPSS software (version 22).

The obtained results showed that the integrated model of EFT and Gottmanchr('39')s model had a greater effect on the comprehensibility of the experimental groups than that of the control group. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that EFT and Gottmanchr('39')s model had a significant effect on the reduction of controlling behaviors (P<0.001). The results also revealed that the integrated model of EFT and Gottmanchr('39')s model had a significant effect on internal cohesion and controlling behaviors, and this effect was lasting at follow-up (P<0.001).

It can be concluded that the combination of EFT and Gottmanchr('39')s therapy is an effective pattern in couples affected by infidelity and can be used as one of the therapeutic or educational methods in couple therapy programs.