مجله روانپزشکی و روانشناسی بالینی ایران
سال پانزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 56، بهار 1388)

With reference to the hypothesis of association between central nervous system infections and schizophrenia, in this study the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infections and schizophrenia was studied.

In this case-control study, the serums of 104 inpatient schizophrenic patients admitted to 22 Bahman Hospital in Qazvin, Iran and 114 matched control subjects were examined. IgG and IgM specific antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were analyzed using c2 test, t-test and Fisher exact test.

55.3% of the cases and 50.9% of the controls were seropositive for IgG specific antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and the differences were not statistically significant. The proportion of seropositive subjects was significantly lower in the first-episode patients (33.3%) than those in the next episodes (59.8%) (P<0.05). Moreover, 14.6% of the cases and 20% of the controls were seropositive for IgM specific antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. However, the differences were not statistically significant.

An epidemiological association between Toxoplasma gondii infections and schizophrenia was not observed.

Raised lipoprotein (a) concentration is known as a probable cause of development of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the present study was carried out to measure lipoprotein (a) in individuals with major depressive disorder and to compare them with normal individuals. In this case-control study, plasma levels of lipoprotein (a) and the lipid profile was measured in 35 patients with major depressive disorder and 35 normal individuals (control group) using standard methods. Data were analyzed using chi-square, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and student’s t-test. Total Cholesterol and LDL-c was significantly lower in patients (144.65± 3.74 vs. 186.14±5.82, and 72.78±3.00 vs. 110.21±5.27 mg/dl, p=0.001). The mean of lipoprotein (a) in patients with major depressive disorder was 74% higher than healthy controls (34.94±3.04 vs. 20.08±1.90 (mg/dl), p=0.001). The increase of lipoprotein (a) may contribute to higher risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with major depressive disorder

The goal of the present study was preparing and determining the validity and reliability of “Newsha Developmental Scale” as an integrated test of cognitive, social communication and motor skills of Persian speaking children.

The first version of Newsha scale was prepared in three developmental milestones of “cognition”,�“social communication”, and “motor” in 13 age groups from birth to 72 months. After a pilot study, the test was conducted on 593 normal children of both sexes in nurseries of Tehran province. The psychometric values were determined using test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, content validity and construct validity.

A correlation of more than 92% was found in both kinds of reliabilities (p<0.001). Construct validity exhibited the effect of age on test results in 91 percent of the instances. Difference between boys and girls was shown in only 4 items among all the 275 items of the scale (p<0.02).

The “Newsha Scale” is an integrated and a comprehensive scale for evaluating development process and identifying any delay in developmental abilities in Persian speaking children from birth to 6 years of age, and has an appropriate reliability and validity.

There are few scales developed to measure spiritual coping, which are not fit to the special situation and culture of Iranian adolescents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure spiritual coping in institutionalized adolescents.

This methodological research was conducted in two stages: qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative stage to develop scale items, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with institutionalized adolescents. In the quantitative stage (psychometric testing), content validity index, face, construct and criterion-related validity as well as reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest) were assessed.

Exploratory factor analysis for assessing factor structure revealed that the three factors could explain 55.29% of the variance. Correlation of the scale scores with scores of “Institutionalized Adolescents Spiritual Attitude Scale” and “Hopefulness Scale for Adolescents” were 0.897 and 0.274 respectively. According to reliability measurement, internal consistency of the scale was coefficient alpha=0.964 and test-retest reliability with a 3-week time interval was 0.712.

Institutionalized Adolescents Spiritual Coping Scale measures various dimensions of spiritual coping in this group of adolescents and has a high degree of reliability and validity.

This study was carried out with the aim of validation of Saving Inventory-Revised (SI-R), which includes subjects related to hoarding and the failure to discard possessions that are useless or of limited value, and occur in many clinical syndromes, especially in obsessive-compulsive disorder. In this descriptive cross-sectional study 348 individuals (142 males and 206 females) were randomly selected from different schools of Allameh Tabatabaie University, and were evaluated using SI-R and Padoa Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. Data were analyzed using factor analysis through principal component analysis, step by step multivariate regression analysis, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. To obtain structure validity, principal component analysis with Promax rotation identified three factors, namely, difficulty discarding, clutter, and hoarding. These factors accounted for 70.82% of the total variance. Examination of the validity was carried out at the same time as the administration of Padoa Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory, and results of multivariate regression analysis indicated a favorable convergent validity. In addition, validity was calculated using retest, half splitting, and internal consistency coefficient. Considering the features of appropriate psychometrics, the aforementioned instrument can be used in researches related to a wide variety of disorders with hoarding behavior, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, impulse control disorders, and psychosomatic disorders.

The present study was carried out to examine the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral group therapy with Heimberg’s model on Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) Symptoms Reduction among female students. Social Phobia Inventory (SPI) was administrated to 205 female students of Shahed University and 24 individuals were selected using structured clinical interview for social phobia, based on diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV. The subjects were then randomly assigned into two groups each with 12 members: the control group (8 principal participants and 4 reserves), and the experimental group (8 principal participants and 4 reserves). Then, cognitive-behavioral group therapy based on Heimberg’s model was administered to the experimental group. In the end, both groups were again evaluated using SPI. Mann-Whitney test revealed a significant difference in the social phobia post-test scores in both the experimental and control groups (p<0.001, z=-2.08), which remained stable one month after the end of treatment. The scores of both groups in subscales of fear, avoidance, and phy-siological problems did not have significant difference in the post-test stage. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy with Heimberg’s model can improve SAD in female students.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of group life skills training (anger management, assertiveness and relaxation) on decreasing of anxiety and depression among heart patients, after coronary artery bypass surgery. In this experimental design, 40 coronary heart patients aged 35-65 years, having bypass for the first time, were selected randomly and assigned to two experiment and control groups. The instruments for data gathering in this study were “Beck Anxiety Inventory” and “Beck Depression Inventory”, which were completed by the subjects both before and after life skills training. Group life skills training significantly decreased the symptoms of depression and anxiety in the patients in the experimental group (p<0.001). This change was not observed in the experimental group. There was no significant difference between males and females in the effectiveness of group life skills training. Group life skills training is effective in decreasing anxiety and depression in coronary patients after coronary bypass surgery.

This research was conducted with the objective of examining the effect of three methods of creativity development (brain storming, forced association and synectics) on creativity development in second grade guidance school students in Shahrekord. The present study was a pretest-posttest experimental design with control group. To measure the dependent variable, namely, creativity, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Form B) were used. In this study, 80 second grade guidance school students (40 boys and 40 girls) were randomly selected and divided into four groups (brain storming, forced association, synectics and control group). Results revealed significant differences between pretest and posttest scores of all groups except the control group (brain storming, p<0.05 synectics, p<0.01 forced association, p<0.05). Also, the difference between the methods of creativity development was not significant in other words, none of the creativity methods were superior to the others. However, there was a significant difference between the control group and the three training groups (p<0.001). Regardless of the method, creativity training can lead to an increase in students creativity

Test anxiety is a situation dependent anxiety that can cause a significant reduction in the ability of people in dealing with tests or assessments. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral methods in the form of group education on the reduction of test anxiety in high school adolescents in the city of Fasa (Fars province, Iran). 30 boys and 30 girls in a unisex group therapy scheme (boys and girls separately, each group containing 15 individuals), participated in 10 group therapy sessions with cognitive-behavioral methods. Intervention methods included programs for training muscle relaxation and cognitive therapy for confronting stress. Comparison of the results of the pretest and post-test revealed a decrease in the level of anxiety in the subjects to one third of the primary level, which remained constant until two months after dis-continuing the approach. The effect was higher in girls than in boys. Group therapy had a significant effect on the increase in the scores of participants’ self-esteem (p<0.001). Different methods of cognitive-behavioral group therapy can be effective in decreasing test anxiety in high school students.

The present study represents an attempt to explain the mechanisms by which, parental conflict, a stressful life event in children's lives, may have an impact on children's psychological health. For this purpose, besides examining predictive relationships between in-dependent and criterion variables, we also evaluated the mediating and moderating interactions of three important variables, children's appraisals of parental conflict and emotional security in the family and their emotional coping strategies, indicative of perceived insecurity in the family, in the prediction of children's psychopathological symptoms. This research used a stratified random sampling procedure with 413 fifth-grade primary school-children in the city of Tehran (220 girls & 193 boys).To assess children’s perceived emotional security in the family, their emotional coping strategies and their perception of parental conflict, the Security In the Family System (SIFS) Scale and the Children’s Perception of Interparental Conflict (CPIC) Scale was administered to them. To assess children’s affective and behavioral difficulties, mothers and teachers answered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Findings reveal a significant relationship between the children’s feeling of insecurity in the family as well as children’s appraisal of interparental conflicts on children’s affective and behavioral symptoms (p<0.01). In addition, the mediating role of appraisal in the relation between emotional security and affective symptoms, the mediating role of the emotional reaction in relation to conflict appraisal with the psychopathological symptoms of the child, as well as the interactional role of emotional insecurity and child appraisal of parental conflicts, were confirmed. Results indicate that in the context of parental conflict, children’s appraisal of interparental conflict is a risk or vulnerability factor and family emotional security is a protective factor for children’s psycho-pathological symptoms.

The purpose of the current research was to investigate the relation of varieties of personality aggression types according to Karen Horney’s theory (Malevolence, Power, and Strength) with negative (errors and violations) and positive driving behaviors and frequency of accidents. For this purpose, 263 volunteer drivers with generalized driving license (base two) were selected. The subjects completed Negative and Positive Driving Behavior Questionnaire (NPDBQ) and Horney-Coolidge Tridimensional Inventory (HCTI). They were also asked to indicate the number of accidents in which they had been faulty in the last 5 years. Results of multiple regression analysis and correlation matrix showed that all three kinds of aggressions had positive and significant correlation with violations and errors and negative and significant correlation with positive driving behaviors (p<0.05). There was a negative and significant correlation between aggressions and driving behaviors. There was no significant correlation between the aggressions and the frequency of accidents. However, gender had a significant relation with frequency of accidents. Different types of aggressions, regarding gender, have important role in prediction of driving behaviors and accidents.