Avicenna Journal of Neuro Psycho Physiology
Volume:9 Issue: 2, May 2022

Resilience refers to a protective factor that reduces stress in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Given the significance of this issue, the present research aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in PwMS.

The present cross-sectional study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of CD-RISC in the statistical population of Guilan MS Society (GMSS). In this study, 442 people with MS participated and responded to CD-RISC in an online survey. The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 23) and Amos (version 21) software packages.

The confirmatory factor analysis results of the first stage with five factors revealed that 25 CD-RISC items benefited from high factor load and good fit indices were reported (ꭕ2=605.55; df=265; P-Value=.0001; ꭕ2/df=2.28; GFI=.88; CFI=.93; TLI=.92; RMR=.06; RMSEA=.05); therefore, CD-RISC has good construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the whole scale and subscales were calculated at 0.94 and 0.71-0.89, respectively, indicating the optimal reliability of CD-RISC in PwMS.

The current study presented evidence for CD-RISC validity and reliability. Further studies are recommended to ensure the psychometric properties of this scale in other chronic patients.

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of training based on choice theory and Pilates exercises on sexual function and the general health of infertile women.

The present experimental study with a pre-test, post-test, and control group was conducted on infertile women referred to Kermanshah Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran in 2019-2020. A total of 75 individuals who observed the inclusion criteria were selected by the available non-random sampling method. Then the subjects were randomly divided into three groups choice theory, Pilates, and control training. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) by Ferguson and Augustine and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used to measure the research variables. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

The results indicated that training based on choice theory and Pilates exercises has been significantly effective in increasing sexual function and general health of infertile women (p< 0.001). A comparison of the obtained means shows that training based on choice theory greatly affects changes in sexual function and general health of infertile women than Pilates exercises (p< 0.001).

According to the findings of the study, satisfaction with sexual function in women is significantly related to the level of general health due to infertility and psychological training promotes satisfaction with the relationship between couples.

Adolescence is one of the most critical and sensitive stages of human development associated with the confusion of needs. Suicidal tendencies are directly related to unmet needs, feelings of despair and helplessness, conflicts in life, and unbearable stress. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and reality therapy in suicidal ideation, self-harm, and aggression in adolescents.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest multi-group design with a follow-up period. The statistical population of this study included 12th-grade female students in Sari in the academic year of 2019-2020. Out of this population, 60 subjects were selected via the purposive sampling method and assigned to three groups (n=20 in each group): acceptance and commitment, reality, and control groups. The research tool included the Bass and Perry Aggression Questionnaire (1992), Suicide Thought Questionnaire by Mohammadifar, Habibi and Besharat (2005), and Self-Harm Inventory (Sansone, Wiederman, and Sansone,1998). Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate covariance in SPSS software (version 18).

The results pointed out that acceptance and commitment therapy and reality therapy affected suicidal ideation, self-harm, and aggression in adolescents. Moreover,  it was detected that acceptance and commitment therapy had a more significant effect on suicidal tendencies, self-harm, and aggression in adolescents than in reality therapy (P<0.001).

As evidenced by the results of this study, acceptance and commitment therapy and reality therapy can be used to reduce suicidal ideation, self-harming behaviors, and aggression in adolescents.

In line with Lakoff’s theory of embodied cognition, several studies in the field of emotional processing have demonstrated that positive and negative valence is represented based on spatial and bodily characteristics.

The present study aimed to investigate the implicit link between body parts and the emotional valence of Persian words.

The participants included 33 right-handed undergraduate students in the field of psychology who were selected via the convenience sampling method. A priming task with emotional negative and positive words (prime) was used, and the participants had to recognize the leftness or rightness of hand stimuli (target). Reaction times were recorded for target stimuli. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 24) using repeated-measures ANOVA.

The obtained results pointed to the implicit association of positive and negative words with bodily features (right hand and left hand).

The findings of the current study are finally discussed within theories of embodied cognition, as well as hemispheric and language processing, for emotional stimuli.

Depression is a serious mental health condition experienced by bereaved earthquake survivors. It seems that distress tolerance, emotional self-regulation, and social support can be good predictors of depression. The present study aimed to determine the mediating role of social support in the relationship of distress tolerance and emotional self-regulation with depression.

This descriptive study was conducted based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population of this study included the survivors of the Kermanshah earthquake who were suffering from depression in Kermanshah, Iran, in 2019. The sample size was calculated at 384 subjects who were selected via the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using social support questionnaires, a distress tolerance questionnaire, Gross and John's Emotional Self-Regulation Questionnaire, and Beck depression inventory. Data were analyzed in two descriptive statistics sections using SPSS software (version 23) and inferential statistics using structural equation modeling in SMART PLS2 software.

The results of this study pointed out that the relationship between research variables is significant and distress tolerance, self-regulation, and social support can predict depression. Moreover, social support plays a mediating role in the relationship of distress tolerance and emotional self-regulation with depression. The quality of the measurement model was confirmed by the cv.com test, and the structural model was verified by the cv.red test. The effect factor of R2 variables is strong and according to the goodness of fit, the quality of the final model of the research was 0.586, indicating a strong fit of the model.

As evidenced by the obtained results, it can be expected that post-earthquake depression can be reduced by the enhancement of distress tolerance, emotional self-regulation, and social support.

The incidence risk of psychiatric disorders is higher in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) than in the general population. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the frequency of psychiatric disorders in patients with MS referring to Sina Hospital in Hamadan, western Iran, from 2016 to 2019.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 95 patients with MS referring to Sina Hospital in Hamadan, 2016-2019. Demographic information, illness duration, and psychiatric disorders were collected using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) questionnaire in 2016-2017. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 16) using the Chi-square test and Spearman correlation coefficient.

The most common psychiatric disorders in these patients were found to be depression in 36 (39.1%) cases, phobic anxiety in 33 (34.7%) subjects, and somatization in 33 (34.7%) patients. The least prevalence rates of the disorders were reported for psychoticism in 17 (17.9%) cases and paranoid ideations in 18 (18.9%) cases. In all psychiatric disorders, except obsessive-compulsive disorder, the frequency of psychiatric disorders was higher in women than in men (27.1% vs. 13.8%), and the only significant difference between the two groups was observed in the anxiety dimension (P=0.002). There was a significant positive correlation between the mean scores of the global severity index and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (r=0.41, P =0.001).

The findings of this study showed that in patients with MS, depression, somatization, and phobic anxiety were the most common psychiatric disorders that were associated with increased severity of the disability.

The Perth Emotional Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was designed to assess healthy and unhealthy behavioral responses to maladaptive conditions and stressful life events. The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the PERCI in a sample of Iranian students.

In order to evaluate the psychometric properties of PERCI, 379 (including 201 males and 178 females) students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) were selected using the available sampling method (between June 2018 and Feb 2019). Subjects completed the PERCI, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Thereafter, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, convergent and divergent validity, as well as confirmatory factor analysis, were performed using Lisrel (version 8.5) and SPSS (version 25) software packages.

The participants' mean age was 25.31±7.26 years, and the majority of them (%53) were female. The result of internal consistency of the total score and its subscales using Cronbach's alpha was calculated to be in the range of 0.66-0.94. The results of factor analysis supported the eight-factor structure of the PERCI for positive (controlling experience, inhibiting behavior, activating behavior, and tolerating emotions) and negative (controlling experience, inhibiting behavior, activating behavior, and tolerating emotions) emotion regulation strategies in the sample of Iranian students (RMSEA=0.07, CFI=0.90, NFI=0.89). Furthermore, the results pointed out that the positive factors of the PERCI had a positive and significant relationship with positive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (P<0.05), and it displayed a negative and significant correlation with difficulties in emotion regulation, anxiety, and worry (P<0.05).

In general, the results of the present study indicated the appropriate psychometric properties of the Persian version of PERCI. This inventory can be used in treatment interventions and future studies to access adaptive and maladaptive reactions.