مجله علمی پژوهان
سال بیست و یکم شماره 4 (پاییز 1402)

Children are highly vulnerable to psychological crises and this can lead to serious problems in their mental health. Based on this, this study was conducted to investigate the behavioral and emotional problems of children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present cross-sectional study was performed with a descriptive-analytical approach. The study sample consisted of 360 children aged 6 to 18 years who referred to the health centers of Borujerd City, Iran, in 2021. The data collection tools included the demographic form and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist - parent version. Data analysis was done using descriptive and analytical tests, including independent t-test and analysis of variance test, by SPSS version 25 software.

The mean age of the studied children was 9.98±3.274 years. The majority of the participants were girls (54.1%) and first-born children (38.1%). The majority of children (83.6%) were in non-clinical or normal condition, 5.3% of children were in clinical-borderline condition, and 11.1% of children were in clinical condition. The highest and lowest mean scores of behavioral problems were related to aggressive behavior 7.08±5.68 and physical complaints 1.44±1.60, respectively. There was a significant relationship between birth order, paternal education, family income level, and the history of the child's close relatives being infected with COVID-19 with the child's general emotional-behavioral problems during the COVID-19 pandemic (P<0.05).

In general, it can be said that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to various psychological consequences in children. Therefore, it seems necessary to identify these consequences for preventive measures and early intervention for treatment.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at risk of insufficient nutrient intake due to inappropriate eating habits, problems in sensory perception, and choosing monotonous foods. Minerals play an essential role in the central nervous system, and their deficiency or excess can cause a variety of health issues and can contribute to the development of ASD. This study aimed to compare the dietary intake of zinc, copper, selenium, and manganese in two groups of children, with ASD and healthy controls, in Gorgan City, Iran.

In this study, the food intake of 35 ASD children aged 6 to 12 years and 70 healthy children was recorded using the semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. The average daily intake of zinc, copper, selenium, and manganese was estimated using ShaFA software.

There was no statistically significant difference in the dietary intake of zinc, copper, and selenium; however, the intake of manganese was significantly lower in ASD children (median±IQR: 2.39±1.83) than in healthy children (median±IQR: 3.24±1.94; P=0.03).

Considering the existence of problems related to eating habits in children with ASD, the results of this study showed the necessity of frequent and regular nutrition assessment for ASD children. Studies with larger sample sizes are recommended.

Bullying in schools is a type of interpersonal violence that can have adverse short-term and long-term academic and social consequences. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of bullying prevention education on bullying, empathetic behaviors, and academic procrastination among students.

This semi-experimental research was carried out with a pretest-posttest and follow-up design. The statistical population included all boy students aged 12 to 15 in a secondary school in Isfahan City. To carry out the research, 30 of the mentioned students with an average or higher cut-off score in the bullying behavior questionnaire were purposefully selected. To evaluate the pre-test, the students completed the Bullying Behavior Questionnaire by Splich and Hallett (2001), the Empathic Behavior Questionnaire by Vossen et al. (2015), and the Academic Procrastination by Solomon and Rothblum (1984). In the next step, the experimental group received bullying prevention training proposed by Akbari Balootbangan (2018), while the control group received no training. The data was analyzed through analysis of variance with repeated measurement variance.

The results showed that, in the post-test and follow-up stages, there was a significant difference in the variables of bullying behaviors, academic procrastination, empathic behaviors, and the dimensions of these variables between the control group and the experimental or bullying prevention training group (P<0.001). The effect of bullying prevention training on reducing bullying behaviors and academic procrastination and increasing sympathetic behaviors was in the post-test 0.94, 0.89, and 0.63, respectively, and 0.93, 0.90, and 0.60 in the follow-up phase.

Therefore, it can be said that if the bullying prevention program is provided in schools and educational places for children and students, it will prevent the occurrence of bullying behavior and academic procrastination and lead to the learning of empathy.

Addiction to online games negatively affects the physical and mental health of adolescents. The present study was conducted to investigate the mediating role of metacognitive beliefs in the relationship between behavioral brain systems and addiction to online games.

This research was a descriptive-correlation type. The statistical population included all the first-year high school students (teenagers) in the Bastak education district in Hormozgan, Iran, who were studying in the academic year of 2021-2022, and 350 people were selected as a sample using the multi-stage cluster random sampling method. They responded to the questionnaires on behavioral inhibition/activation systems, the metacognition scale of online games, and addiction to online games. Structural modeling was used to analyze the collected data.

The results showed that behavioral activation systems and behavioral inhibition systems had a significant direct relationship with addiction to online games, with coefficient values of 0.41 and 0.32, respectively (P<0.001). In addition, behavioral activation systems and behavioral inhibition systems had a significant relationship with online game addiction indirectly, with a coefficient value of 0.18 and 0.13, respectively (P<0.001) through the mediation of metacognitive beliefs.

To reduce addiction to online games, therapists and specialists should examine and evaluate the behavioral brain systems of people on the one hand and, on the other hand, seek to reduce the mechanism of incompatible metacognitive beliefs, along with cognitive and retrospective challenges.

One of the professional goals of pediatric dentistry is to promote a positive attitude and improve the dental health of society. The percentage of unmet medical needs in primary and permanent teeth in children is high, and dental fear and anxiety are some of the factors involved in this. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between 4-11-year-old children's dental anxiety and their behavior during treatment.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 272 children referred to pediatric dental clinics. After obtaining their consent, the children's parents completed a questionnaire containing the children's demographic information. In the waiting room, the child's fear and anxiety were evaluated based on two standard scales: Facial Image Scale and the Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale. After the treatment, the Frankle index was recorded by the dentist to assess the child's behavior. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 20) using the chi-square test.

The average score obtained in the CFSS-DS test for children was 28.08. Anxiety Levels showed a statistically significant relationship with age (P=0.008) and history of dental visit (P=0.006). Children in the very happy group in the FIS and those in the anxious group in the CFSS-DS test displayed more negative behavior with the FBRS index (P=0.000).

As evidenced by the obtained results, dental anxiety is lower in children with older age and a history of dental visits. The fear of injection and the sound of dental instruments were, respectively, the most important causes of dental anxiety in children.

Pediatric cancer poses significant challenges for physicians, giving rise to numerous ethical dilemmas during diagnosis and treatment of affected children. This study explored the ethical experiences of pediatric oncologists across various phases of patient care and their interaction with patients’ families.

This qualitative study was performed by purposive sampling method, involving pediatric oncologists from different provinces of Iran. Research data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, continuing until saturation of codes was achieved among new participants. Research data were extracted using MAXQDA 10 software and categorized by qualitative content analysis with the agreement of the research team.

Through 11 interviews conducted with pediatric oncologists representing 10 provinces in Iran, 158 initial codes were extracted. Following code analysis and classification, three main themes were identified, encompassing a total had 10 sub-themes. The main themes included parental reactions, therapeutic challenges, family communication strategies, and the physicians' inner experiences.

The findings of this study showed a broad spectrum of ethical and clinical experiences of pediatric oncologists in Iran, with influences from geographical, religious, and demographic factors. The study underscores the need for tailored educational programs, protocols, and guidelines to improve the ethical performance knowledge of these physicians in alignment with the cultural, geographical, and religious conditions of Iran.

 This study aimed to investigate the applicability of assistive technology in the education and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders, which was done in a systematic review.

By searching keywords such as autism spectrum disorder, treatment, education, and assistive technology in foreign databases, including Science Direct, Sage Pop, Eric's Information Base, Wiley Online Library, Springer, National Center for Biotechnology Information (PubMed), ProQuest Global Information Center, all articles between 2010 and 2021 were reviewed. A total of 280 English-language articles with the mentioned keywords were found. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were fully and carefully examined.

The results of these studies show that assistive technology is effective in the education and treatment of children with autism and can be used as an aid in the education and treatment of these children.

Therefore, it is suggested that new technologies be used as an educational aid in therapeutic and educational settings for the autism spectrum.