Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Volume:15 Issue: 1, Mar 2021

Context: 

Depression is a common problem in students. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression in Iranian college students.

Evidence Acquisition: 

The study was conducted using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA). We searched both international (i.e. PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar) and national (i.e. SID, Magiran, Iranmedex, and IranDoc) databases from 1991 to June 2019 to identify relevant studies. Cochran’s Q test, I2 index, and τ2 index were used to assess the heterogeneity. A random-effects model was employed to combine the results using comparative meta-analysis software version 2.2.

 Overall, 89 studies dealing with a total of 33,564 Iranian students were included. The prevalence of depression was estimated at 48.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 43.6 - 52.5%]. The prevalence of depression was 51.3% (95% CI: 41.1 - 61.4%) and 48.9% (95% CI: 41.0 - 54.8%) in males and females, respectively. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe depression was estimated at 26.1% (95% CI: 23.8 - 28.6%), 15.5% (95% CI: 13.1 - 18.3%), and 6.4% (95% CI: 5.1 - 8%), respectively. The Beck-I Questionnaire and the GHQ-28 Questionnaire indicated the highest and the lowest prevalence of depression [68.4% (95% CI: 38.8 - 88.1%) vs. 39.2% (95% CI: 24.6 - 56.1%)], respectively. It was proved that the prevalence of depression among Iranian college students has significantly increased during the study period (P < 0.001). Interest in the field was significantly correlated with depression (P < 0.001).

 Given the high prevalence of depression among Iranian college students, prevention and treatment programs are strongly recommended.

Context:

 Self-immolation is one of the most violent methods of suicide and is considered a psychosocial problem.

 The purpose of this study was to investigate the forms of self-immolation in Iran using a systematic review and meta-analysis method.

Data Sources:

 In this study, seven papers published from 1999 to January 2020 were selected using keywords such as self-immolation and Iran in SID, Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), Scopus, and Elsevier databases.

Study Selection:

 Study selection was done by two independent researchers. The results of studies were pooled using the Freeman-Tukey Double Arcsine Transformation method. The heterogeneity among studies was checked using the Q-test and I2 index.
Data Extraction: Data were extracted using a data extraction form.

 The total sample size was 9,470. The mortality rate in self-immolation subjects was estimated at 64% (95% CI: 0.56 - 0.73). The most important means of self-immolation was oil [89% (95% CI: 82% - 96%). Winter had the highest numbers of self-immolation [29% (95% CI: 22% - 37%). Meta-regression showed no significant correlation between the mortality of self-immolation and the year of study.

 To reduce self-immolation, easy access to oil must be restricted in families, and high-risk people should have access to psychology consultation.

Context: 

Tokophobia is an intense fear of childbirth that may result in considerable outcomes. This phenomenon may also be observed in fathers. However, studies are infrequent on tokophobia frequency and its related factors in fathers. Therefore, this study aimed to address tokophobia in fathers.

Evidence Acquisition: 

A comprehensive literature search was performed in databanks such as Ovid and Google Scholar, as well as electronic databases including PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, Science Direct, Magiran, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Barakat (IranMedex), without time limit. Articles were published between 1988 and 2020.

 Initially, 150 studies were recruited, and finally, 55 of them remained for the final appraisal after omitting unrelated studies. The findings from related studies were organized as the epidemiology of tokophobia in men, biopsychosocial etiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of tokophobia in men. Considering the tendency of fathers to hide tokophobia, providing suitable knowledge and support from health providers can probably retain the trust in this population and help them cope with tokophobia.

 During pregnancy, fathers may suffer from fear of childbirth that can impact their health and abilities. Thus, during counseling and prenatal care, the providers should pay attention to fathers.

 Measuring the executive functioning in parents of children with autism is a way to specify the role of different aspects of executive functioning in the etiology of autism.

 This study aimed to compare the executive functioning in mothers of children with and without autism.

 Following a case-control design, this study was conducted on 60 people (mothers of children with (n = 30) and without autism (n = 30) referred to the welfare rehabilitation centers of Zahedan, South East of Iran, in 2017 (March to September). Participants were selected by convenience sampling techniques. Participants were assessed using the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire (Garnefski block design), digit span, and picture arrangement subscales of Wechsler Adult Intelligence (WAIS-IV) scale.

 Data analysis showed no significant difference between the executive functioning in mothers of children with and without autism (P > 0.05), except for other-blame that belongs to the emotional regulation subscale (from the executive function factors) (P = 0.048).

 This study demonstrated that the parents of children with autism do not necessarily have executive functioning deficits. Therefore, it is necessary to consider other psychological and neuropsychological aspects in future studies.

 Youth is a very important stage of human life that an individual establishes for the personal and professional future. This stage contains many developmental tasks that must be optimized to avoid falling into serious problems or disrupting one’s life.

 This descriptive correlational study was done to identify future career anxiety and its relationship with marital distress among university students.

 A sample of 487 male and female students at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University in Jordan answered the two used instruments to measure marital distress and future career anxiety.

 The results indicated a high level of Future career anxiety and a moderate level of marital distress. Also, there was a positive relationship between both of these factors. There were no significant differences in marital distress between students regarding gender, faculty, year of study, birth order, and income level. However, there were significant differences in future career anxiety due to the year of study in favor of the fourth year, also in the income in favor of the low income. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in Future Career Anxiety due to gender, faculty, and birth order.

 The present study demonstrated a relationship between future career anxiety and Marital distress.

 Persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is a chronic problem that is more prevalent among women than men. Various studies have revealed that these people experience many problems in their interpersonal relationships, which increase their suffering.

 The present study was done to identify how people suffering from PDD experience interpersonal relationships that often seem troubled and broken.

 A phenomenological approach was adopted for this qualitative study. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 individuals with PDD, focusing on exploring their experience and suffering in interpersonal relationships. All interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the transcripts were analyzed using Giorgi’s phenomenological descriptive method.

 In general, five main themes and 16 sub-themes emerged. The main themes were: (1) Feeling empty of love and compassion; (2) feeling ignored; (3) ignoring others’ needs, conditions, and suffering; (4) feeling of being annoying to others; and (5) feeling confused and helpless in relationships.

 It seems that all five themes convey the message that these individuals demonstrate less skill in feeling compassion and receiving it from others. Therefore, it appears that long-term compassion-based interventions can effectively reduce the interpersonal suffering of these individuals. It should be noted that although these themes have commonalities in different cultural contexts, the culture can influence the content and intensity of these feelings.
 

 Behavior management techniques are an integral component of pediatrics dental visits.

 This study aimed to evaluate the effect of child pretreatment conditioning by mothers on the dental behavior of children during dental treatment.

 Following a randomized clinical trial design, this study was conducted on 72 child-mother dyads, attending the pediatric dental department of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (southeast of Iran). The children were 3 to 6 years old and required pulpotomy of one asymptomatic carious primary mandibular molar under inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia. The dyads were randomly divided into control and intervention groups. Data on age and gender of children, mother’s age, and parents’ education were collected. Mothers in the intervention group received a brochure, containing information on how to prepare the child at home to better cope with the dental procedure. Those in the control group received no intervention. A one-month interval was set between the randomization and treatment. For both groups, an experienced pedodontist performed pulpotomy and stainless steel crown placement in a single session. The dental behavior of children during the operation was scored by a blind instructed and calibrated observer, using the Franckle behavior rating scale. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test in SPSS version 20 at a significance level of 0.05.

 The child dental behavior in the intervention group was more frequently acceptable than their counterparts, and a significant difference was found between the groups (P = 0.047). The intervention was successful, regardless of the child's gender and age, mother’s age, and parents’ education (P > 0.05).

 Based on the results, dental practitioners can promote child behavior by engaging mothers to prepare their children before dental procedures.

 High mobile-phone dependency may cause cognitive, emotional, and academic impairments among students; hence, proper therapies should be performed to prevent the risk.

 The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the nomophobia therapy package on self-esteem and nomophobia symptoms in high school students.

 The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design and a control group. The statistical population included all the students showing nomophobia symptoms who were in high schools in Isfahan in the academic year of 2018 - 2019. Using purposive sampling, we selected 30 students willing to participate in the project and randomly divided them into experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. The research instrument included Nomophobia Questionnaire and Self-Esteem Questionnaire. The experimental group underwent eight sessions (75-minute sessions per week) of nomophobia therapy. The follow-up was performed after two months. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics, such as mean, standard deviation, and repeated measures ANOVA. SPSS version 23.0 was further used to analyze the data.

 The mean ± SD of the post-test scores of self-esteem and nomophobia symptoms were (19.26 ± 3.34) and (50.60 ± 5.07) in the experimental group and (13.46 ± 2.47) and (71.63 ± 8.47) in the control groups. The difference between the scores of the experimental and control groups in the pre-test was not significant (all P-values were > 0.05). Also, the post-test scores did not have a significant difference from the follow-up scores (all P-values were > 0.05). Nomophobia therapy effectively increased self-esteem in students with nomophobia symptoms in the experimental group (P = 0.0001). The training intervention sessions decreased the nomophobia symptoms of high school students in the experimental groups compared to the control group (P = 0.0001).

 According to research findings, nomophobia therapy was an efficient therapy for improving self-esteem and reducing nomophobia symptoms in students who suffer from the syndrome.

 The non-pharmacological interventions for behavioral problems of adolescents diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are of great interest to researchers.

 This study aimed to examine the efficacy of group reality therapy in behavioral symptoms in ADHD and ODD.

 Forty patients diagnosed with ADHD and ODD between 12 and 18 years were randomly assigned to two groups. The patients in the intervention group were participated in group reality therapy for five 120-minute sessions, once a week. The patients in the control group were enrolled in five unstructured sessions without intervention. Conners Parent Short Form questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) were performed at baseline, the sixth week, and the tenth week for follow-up.

 Conners test showed a statistically significant difference in the intervention group in hyperactivity (P = 0.005), conduct (P < 0.001), and total score (P < 0.001) in the sixth week, as well as in conduct (P = 0.001), and total score (P = 0.008) in the tenth week. SDQ test analyzed based on partial Eta squared test, indicated the effect size in the intervention group was 81% and in the control group was 27%. Moreover, the DASS test in the intervention group showed improvement in depression, anxiety, and stress scores (P < 0.001).

 Group reality therapy is effective in the improvement of disruptive behaviors and emotional symptoms in ADHD and ODD.

 Adaptive narcissism is the presence of narcissistic personality traits in otherwise normal individuals. Considering the potential effects of narcissism on the medical profession.

 The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of adaptive narcissism and its demographic correlations among a medical student population using self-assessment tools.

 Participants were selected through cluster sampling among students spending their internship in the Medical School of Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2019 (N = 138). The 40-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-40) was used to assess the prevalence of adaptive narcissism. Next, the demographic correlations of narcissism were studied.

 The prevalence of adaptive narcissism was 18.1%, with the NPI-40 mean score of 14.43. The self-sufficiency subscale of NPI-40 was correlated with the male gender (P = 0.01).

 Among medical interns, the whole constructs of adaptive narcissism are as high as found in a normal population and are not correlated with demographic characteristics of the given sample. The self-sufficiency subscale is positively correlated with the male gender.
 

 Relapse is a common problem in substance-use disorders. Accumulating evidence has shown that diazepam can reduce the abuse potential of some drugs.

 We investigated the effects of diazepam during and after the withdrawal period on the reinstatement of conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by a single dose of methamphetamine in male Wistar rats.

 Three groups of rats were trained to acquire methamphetamine CPP. The rats in the control group received, respectively, saline and methamphetamine (1 mg/kg, daily, ip) in the extinction and priming phases. Two other groups (one and two) had a similar process, but the rats in group one received diazepam (3 mg/kg, daily, ip) in the extinction phase and those in group 2 received a single dose of diazepam just before the priming phase. The CPP was checked daily during all processes.

 We showed that a 3-day period injection of methamphetamine (1 mg/kg) resulted in a positive conditioning score on the first day after conditioning. Also, 3 mg/kg of diazepam daily in the extinction period shortened the withdrawal period for one day and extinction happened on the 9th and 10th days. Diazepam also reduced the conditioning score at the reinstatement phase (P < 0.01). Furthermore, diazepam injection (3 mg/kg) before the methamphetamine priming dose did not have any significant effect on the reinstatement of drug-seeking.

 This study demonstrated that administration of diazepam during the extinction period was associated with reduced maintenance and reinstatement of methamphetamine-induced CPP, while the single dose of diazepam could not prevent the reinstatement of methamphetamine.

 Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as inflicting damage to one’s own body. It begins in adolescence and tends to become chronic.

 Considering the high prevalence and chronicity of NSSI among girls, the present study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the prevalence of NSSI in female adolescents from their perspective.

 The participants consisted of 604 female high-school students in Saveh, aged 14 - 17 years (14.29 ± 1.11), who were selected via random cluster sampling from November 2018 to January 2019. They answered six questionnaires, including the Inventory of Statements About Self-injury (ISAS), Ways of Coping questionnaire (WCQ), Child Abuse Self-report scale (CASRS), Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism scale (FEICS), Emotion Reactivity scale (ERS), and Aggression questionnaire (AQ). Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis.

 The predictor variables of child abuse, emotion reactivity, perceived parental criticism, family emotional involvement, and problem- and emotion-focused coping styles could successfully distinguish NSSI individuals from those without NSSI (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between minor and moderate groups.

 Family emotional support is a protective factor, while criticism, child abuse, and emotion-focused coping style are risk factors for NSSI.

 Research shows that transcranial direct current stimulation is effective in reducing depression and anxiety.

 This research is aimed at reducing depression and anxiety in methadone users with transcranial direct current stimulation.

 This study is a randomized clinical trial with a pretest-posttest. The sample of this study was 60 methadone users who had severe depression and anxiety. Participants were allocated to two experimental (n = 30) and control groups (n = 30). The two regions, F3 (cathode) and F4 (anode) were stimulated with a current of 2 mA for 20 minutes in 10 sessions. Participants were assessed before and after stimulation with Beck’s depression inventory and Berger’s anxiety test.

 Data analysis showed that tDCS reduced the symptoms of depression and anxiety in methadone users (P < 0.01).

 It seems that the method of tDCS can reduce the severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety. Therefore, it can be claimed that this intervention can be considered by experts as a complementary intervention along with other psychological and pharmacological treatments.

 Social capital refers to the degree and quality of connections in a certain community. The effect of social capital on productivity, absenteeism, and health of employees is reported by studies conducted in a variety of work environments.

 The current study aimed to, firstly, provide a better understanding of social capital conceptualized by the faculty members in Iran and, secondly, developing an instrument for its evaluation.

 In this mixed-method study, initially, a search was performed to identify relevant literature for determinants of social capital at the workplace. Then, a semi-structured interview was performed with faculty members and experts. Afterward, a group of experts evaluated the obtained list of subscales and commented on the degree of relevance, importance, and grouping. Then, the questionnaire was developed based on the finalized list of determinants and expert opinions. Ten faculty members evaluated the questionnaire, comprised of 38 items, and after obtaining their approval, the questionnaire was completed by 32 faculty members from different universities.

 Identified determinants were categorized into five categories of ability and tendency to participate in workplace activities, trust in the workplace, social cohesion, access to information, and participation in groups and networks. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a structure corresponding to the theoretical dimensions previously extracted, and Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.724 to 0.959.

 According to our findings, the social capital of faculty members can be evaluated by measuring ability and willingness to participate in workplace activities, trust and social cohesion in the workplace, access to workplace information, and membership in work-related groups and networks. We also provided a 38-item questionnaire for its evaluation, with acceptable internal consistency and conformity with the theoretical constructs.

 Overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome correlates with mental disorders, especially depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, and less frequently obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and occurs mostly in older people. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is more frequent in OAB patients. Most OCD people are diagnosed at the age of about 19, typically with an earlier age of onset in boys than in girls, but the onset after age 35 does occur less frequently.

 This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between OCD and OAB.

 In this case-control study, 1,160 cases who were over 18 years old who were referred to the urodynamic clinic of Shohada-e-Tajrish center from June 2013 to February 2018 in Tehran, Iran, enrolled of whom 580 were considered the control group who were non-OAB patients, and 580 subjects were considered the case group who were OAB patients. The diagnosis of OAB was confirmed by a single urologist. All cases had detrusor overactivity (DO) in urodynamic study (UDS). The OAB-validated 8-questionnaire screen test (OAB-V8) was conducted, and the diagnosis of OCD was confirmed by a single psychiatrist according to DSM-5 criteria. Moreover, the Yale-Brown questionnaire was completed for each patient to rate the severity of OCD symptoms.

 About the Yale-Brown Obsessive-compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) total score, there is a significant difference between patients with obsessive traits and the control group (P < 0.001). OCD scores were significantly higher in the OAB group compared to the control group (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the population of the studied patients with OAB was more probable to have OCD than non-OAB control subjects in aged classified groups (OR: 6.23; P < 0.001).

 The findings of this study showed that OAB patients reported higher obsessive-compulsive scores (Y-BOCS) compared to the controls. There is an independent correlation between OCD and OAB. However, the linkage between OCD and OAB justifies the need for more research.

 Coronavirus 2019 is a new infectious disease that has been declared by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic. This pandemic may have psychological effects on populations.

 This study aimed to investigate the quality of sleep and depression in the Iranian community during COVID-19 pandemic.

 This nationwide cross-sectional web-based study was conducted from April 19 to May 12, 2020 in Iran. The data collection tools were the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Depression Center for Epidemiologic Studies’ Depression Scale questionnaires. Each province in Iran was assumed as a cluster, and generalized estimating equations models were used to determine the demographic variables that were related to depression symptoms and sleep quality during COVID-19 outbreak.

 In this study, 73.5% and 41.4% of the participants had poor sleep quality and had depression symptoms, respectively. Perceived income, hours spent outdoors, the number of people with COVID-19 that were acquainted with, and a history of depression significantly were related to sleep quality. Also, gender, age, having a child, education level, economic status, and a history of depression were significantly associated with having depression symptoms.

 Most participants had poor sleep quality, and less than half had depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. These problems can disturb daily routines, cut social ties, and increase worries and fears of the future. Interventions are necessary to reduce psychological problems in Iran.

 Plagiarism is one of the most common and important misconducts in the educational and research environment. Plagiarism means transcribing the works or ideas of others without authenticating the source and the original author and assigning them to self.

 The current research aimed to investigate the socio-cognitive constructs associated with plagiarism among Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) students using the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

 This cross-sectional study was done at KUMS, the west of Iran, among 231 medical university students in 2018, which were selected randomly to participate voluntarily. Students filled out a self-report questionnaire that included the demographics and TPB variables. Data gathered were analyzed by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 16) using a t-test, Pearson correlation, and linear regression.

 The determinants of attitude, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) accounted for 15% of behavioral intention (BI) to plagiarism. Linear regression showed that SN (beta = 0.229; P = 0.001) and PBC (beta = -0.217; P = 0.001) were the most influential predictors of plagiarism intention.

 According to the result, it seems that planning programs to increase perceived behavioral control against doing plagiarism and reduce subjective norms encouraging plagiarism may be useful for the prevention and reduction of plagiarism among university students.

 Early diagnosis of 2019-nCoV infection is of great importance and can be challenging in psychiatric patients, especially when a mental illness such as somatoform disorder causes one or more bodily symptoms because the clinical features of this group of patients may be more confusing compared with non-psychiatric patients. On the other hand, treating this infection in psychiatric patients faces some challenges.

 A case of the 2019-nCoV infection is reported in a patient who was admitted to the psychosomatic ward with a diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder. The patient had a history of numerous unexplained physical complaints, usually complained of some new physical symptoms when informed of the time of his discharge. Although the possibility of misdiagnosis was high, based on examinations and some paraclinical evaluations, the patient underwent a simultaneous diagnosis of COVID-19. Unlike usual, he did not complain of any new physical complaints after informing of the 2019-nCoV infection and was willing to be discharged. Some diagnostic and therapeutic challenges regarding 2019-nCoV infection in the patient were examined.

 There are three clinically relevant learning points to be noted from this case report. Firstly, the importance of paying attention to the patient's complaints in any mental patient, even disorders related to unexplained physical complaints. Secondly, the introduction highlights the differences in the care of patients with COVID-19 between psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients and the need for a multidisciplinary approach. Third, this introduction identifies a crucial diagnostic role for CT thorax in symptomatic patients with suspected COVID-19 because the false-negative rate with RT-PCR COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swabs is high.