Journal of Loss and Trauma (15325024)30(2)pp. 218-241
The present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) in facilitating post-traumatic growth, increasing self-compassion, and reducing behavior problems among the children experiencing the 2017 Sarpol-e Zahab (Iran) earthquake. Among earthquake-traumatized 9-12-year-old girls, 24 were selected through purposive sampling. The 24 participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and the control group, each with 12 subjects. The experimental group received 12 sessions of TF-CBT, although 3 subjects left the experimental group during the sessions. Consequently, the analysis included 21 participants: 9 in the experimental group and 12 in the control group. The post-traumatic growth inventory for children revised (PTGI-C-R), the self-compassion scale-short form (SCS-SF), and the Rutter children’s behavior questionnaire for parents were completed at baseline, after the intervention, and one-month follow-up. The results indicated that compared to the control group the participants in the experimental group obtained higher scores in post-traumatic growth and lower scores in behavior problems (i.e., aggression and hyperactivity, and anxiety and depression) (p <.01) which were consistent in the follow-up period. It was also find out that, the experimental group reported higher levels of self-compassion in the follow-up (p <.01). The study suggests that TF-CBT may be effective in improving post-traumatic growth, self-compassion, and behavior problems among children affected by earthquake trauma. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
European Journal of Psychotraumatology (20008066)15(1)
Background: Childhood trauma has negative immediate and long-term impacts on depression. Questions remain, however, regarding the cognitive factors influencing this relationship. This study aimed to investigate the role of three cognitive factors–cognitive overgeneralisation, rumination and social problem-solving–as mediating factors in the relationship between childhood trauma and symptoms of depression. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Iran from March to July 2023. Participants (N = 227; Mean age 32.44 ± 8.95 years) with depression completed measures of childhood trauma, depression, self-overgeneralisation, cognitive errors, memory specificity, rumination and social problem-solving. The conceptual model was assessed using structural equation modelling. Results: Structural equation modelling indicated that childhood trauma had a positive direct effect on depression symptoms. Childhood trauma had a positive indirect effect on depression symptoms through both self-overgeneralisation and rumination and a negative indirect effect on depression through effective social problem-solving strategies. Conclusions: The findings suggest increased exposure to childhood trauma may be associated with elevated depression and self-overgeneralisation, rumination, and effective social problem-solving strategies may play an important role in this relationship. These findings hold potential implications for those working with patients with depression and a history of childhood trauma. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy (14691833)49(1)pp. 118-123
Background: Depression has a profound effect on quality of life (QoL) and is associated with rumination, hopelessness and social difficulties. It is important to explore novel intervention techniques that may reduce depression, and also improve rumination, hope and QoL. Aims: In this brief clinical report, we report the findings of two pilot randomized controlled trials examining the feasibility of a potentially important novel clinical technique (MEmory Specificity Training, MEST) on depression, social problem-solving (Study 1), rumination, hope and QoL (Study 2). Method: In Study 1, Iranian women with depression (n = 24) completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Means-Ends Problem-Solving test at baseline, post-training and 2-month follow-up. In Study 2, female students with moderate depression (n = 24) completed the Ruminative Response Scale, Adult Hope Scale and Short-Form Health Survey at baseline and post-training. Assessors were blind to group allocation. In both studies participants were randomly assigned to MEST or a non-active control group. Results: In both studies, MEST was found to be feasible and associated with low drop-out rates and high rates of self-reported patient and group facilitator satisfaction. There was preliminary evidence that MEST may bring about clinical benefit in terms of depression, social problem-solving (Study 1), QoL, rumination and hope (Study 2). Conclusions: MEST is a promising technique in the treatment of depression. © 2020 British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies.
Health and Social Care in the Community (09660410)28(3)pp. 1030-1037
Interpersonal relationships play an important role in adjustment to disease, coping and improving life quality after onset of Multiple sclerosis (MS). However, considering its specific nature, MS has a considerable effect on interpersonal relationships. Thus, this study was conducted to identify and describe effects of disease on interpersonal relationships through investigating lived experiences of patients. In this research, a total of 24 MS patients were selected through purposive sampling from individuals referred to the MS Clinic of Kashani Hospital in Isfahan, Iran, during 2016–2017, and then in-depth interviews were done with participants. After analysing interviews by Giorgi Descriptive Phenomenological Psychological Method, five main themes were obtained including ‘Who is guilty?’, ‘The need for informed care’, ‘living with a secret’, ‘Change in relationships’ and ‘The Reality slap’. Content of experience for some of these themes was more influenced by nature of the disease, whereas some other themes were influenced more by patient's cultural context. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
BMC Psychology (20507283)8(1)
Background: Stress-related situations play a significant role in children's lives and result in different reaction in children. Among various methods of evaluating the stressful environment of children, 54-item Children's Coping Strategies Checklist-Revision1 (CCSC-R1) has been developed as one of the most powerful tools for assessing different aspects of coping in children. The purpose of the present study is to find the psychometric properties of Persian CCSC-R1 and to identify the coping strategies used by Iranian children. Method: Subjects included 401 female students aged between 9 and 13 who were subjected to the Sarpol-e-Zahab earthquake (in Northeast of Iran). Construct and convergence validities were examined with confirmatory factor analysis and correlated with Children's Coping Behavior Questionnaire (CCBQ). Reliability was obtained by internal consistency. Using repeated analysis of variance, the status of coping strategies in children were achieved. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good model fit to the four-factor structure, active coping, distracting action/distraction, avoidance, and support seeking strategies. The results also demonstrated that there was a strong relationship between four-factors of CCSC-R1 including their subscales and CCBQ. Internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) for the four dimensions were in the range of 0.76 to 0.88. The findings also showed that Iranian children use active coping, especially optimism, more than other strategies in order to deal with their stressful situations. Conclusions: It is concluded that CCSC-R1 is a valid and reliable instrument which could be employed for Iranian children. Furthermore, in the face of traumatic events, Iranian children acted same as people in individualistic cultures. © 2020 The Author(s).
Japanese Psychological Research (00215368)61(3)pp. 166-178
The current study was designed to examine the role of basic emotions and dysfunctional attitudes in depression. Moreover, six models related to the organization of emotions were examined through confirmatory factor analysis. Two hundred individuals with major depressive disorder were recruited from three clinical psychology centers. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires measuring basic emotions, dysfunctional attitudes, and depressive. Results demonstrated that the dysfunctional attitude of “need for approval” and the basic emotions of disgust and sadness could predict depressive scores positively and significantly. It was also shown that the dysfunctional attitudes could positively and significantly predict the two negative emotions of disgust and sadness. Thus, the findings supported an analysis in which the two basic emotions of sadness and disgust were elevated in individuals with depressive disorders. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed basic emotions model and did not support alternative models, such as the positive affect and negative affect model. © 2018 Japanese Psychological Association. Published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
Journal of Educators Online (1547500X)16(2)
Test anxiety is a serious problem for many college students. This study examines the development and validation of the Online Test Anxiety Inventory (OTAI) to evaluate test anxiety among online students. In this study, the OTAI is developed and administered to a sample of 157 postgraduate online students: 77 males and 80 females, aged 22 to 51 years. To design the initial version of the 38-item, Sarason’s Test Anxiety Scale, Abolghsemi’s Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and Spielberger’s Test Anxiety Scale were studied, and many interviews were conducted with online learning students who had a high level of test anxiety. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was employed to obtain the Goodness of Fit Indices of the model to the data. The final result is a multidimensional, 18-item OTAI comprised of three factors— online, psychological, and physiological—with a high internal consistency (α = 0.91) and acceptable criterion validity. Concurrent validity was measured by the association of the OTAI and the TAI (r = 0.83). © 2019, Grand Canyon University. All rights reserved.
Applied Neuropsychology: Adult (23279095)25(5)pp. 458-463
Up until the date of this research, studies have examined poststroke cognitive impairments in attention, memory, and executive functions. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of memory problems in various patterns of memory in ischemic stroke patients in an attempt to determine specific memory profiles of the patients. The goal was to determine the severity and patterns of memory impairments in ischemic stroke patients and to identify specific profiles of memory impairments in stroke patients, in order to help therapists to develop more appropriate memory rehabilitation programs for the patients. The sample consisted of 35 patients with ischemic stroke. Thirty-five individuals who were matched with the patients were selected as the control group. Demographic questionnaires, subscales of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III), including logical memory I and II and visual reproduction I and II, digit span from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-R (WAIS-R), and the Corsi span test were administered to both of the patients and control groups. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was carried out to unveil possible differences in memory between the two groups. The mean scores of different memory patterns were significantly higher in the control group comparing to the patient group (p < 0.05). Among different aspects of memory, visual long-term memory and visual short-term memory had the largest effect sizes. Substantial impairments were also found in visual short-term memory, visuospatial short-term memory, and visual long-term memory. The findings suggest that the stroke patients have identifiable patterns of memory impairment. © 2017, © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology (1744411X)40(4)pp. 405-410
Objective: The main cognitive impairments in multiple sclerosis (MS) affect the working memory, processing speed, and performances that are in close interaction with one another. Cognitive problems in MS are influenced to a lesser degree by disease recovery medications or treatments,but cognitive rehabilitation is considered one of the promising methods for cure. There is evidence regarding the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for MS patients in various stages of the disease. Since the impairment in working memory is one of the main MS deficits, a particular training that affects this cognitive domain can be of a great value. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of memory rehabilitation on the working memory performance of MS patients. Method: Sixty MS patients with cognitive impairment and similar in terms of demographic characteristics, duration of disease, neurological problems, and mental health were randomly assigned to three groups: namely, experimental, placebo, and control. Patients’ cognitive evaluation incorporated baseline assessments immediately post-intervention and 5 weeks post-intervention. The experimental group received a cognitive rehabilitation program in one-hour sessions on a weekly basis for 8 weeks. The placebo group received relaxation techniques on a weekly basis; the control group received no intervention. Results: The results of this study showed that the cognitive rehabilitation program had a positive effect on the working memory performance of patients with MS in the experimental group. These results were achieved in immediate evaluation (post-test) and follow-up 5 weeks after intervention. There was no significant difference in working memory performance between the placebo group and the control group. Conclusions: According to the study, there is evidence for the effectiveness of a memory rehabilitation program for the working memory of patients with MS. Cognitive rehabilitation can improve working memory disorders and have a positive effect on the working memory performance of these patients. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Journal of Isfahan Medical School (10277595)35(441)pp. 961-968
Background: Memory problems were reported to be among the most common cognitive disorders affecting patients with stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness training and memory specificity training on the aspects of memory in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pre/posttest and two experimental groups was used in this study. 16 patients with ischemic stroke were selected via available sampling among patients referred to Alzahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran, in 2014, and were randomly assigned into two equal groups. The groups were trained with either mindfulness training, or memory specificity training. Then, the patients were evaluated using Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). Findings: The effect size was calculated as 4.5 and 2.3 for mindfulness training and memory specificity training, respectively, indicating marvelous effectiveness of treatment for both groups. There was significant difference between the two groups in total score of PRMQ according to ANCOVA test (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was significant difference between the two groups in prospective memory score (P < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings, mindfulness training and memory specificity training had increasing effect on memory in patients with ischemic stroke. Mindfulness training was more effective on the prospective memory. © 2017, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.
Dementia e Neuropsychologia (19805764)11(3)pp. 255-261
Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is one of the cognitive profiles of aging. Objective: In this study, Memory Specificity Training (MEST) was used as cognitive training in patients with amnestic MCI to understand the effectiveness of the intervention on memory dimensions. Methods: Twenty patients that met the criteria for amnestic MCI were selected and randomly assigned to experimental (n=10) or control (n=10) groups. The experimental group received five sessions of training on memory specificity while the participants in the control group took part in two general placebo sessions. Participants were assessed before, immediately after, and three months after, the treatment using the Autobiographical Memory Test, the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire, the Wechsler Memory Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Results: Results from both post-test and follow-up treatment indicated that MEST improves working and prospective memory (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings support the effectiveness of MEST for MCI patients as a viable cognitive intervention. Also, the findings have implications for the role of brain plasticity in the effectiveness of this intervention. © 2017, Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. All rights reserved.
Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (17359260)26(139)pp. 258-272
Premature ejaculation is likely the most common sexual dysfunction in men with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 30%. Epidemiological studies, accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and evaluation of clinical trials need a universally acknowledged definition that is also capable of operationalization. Studies have defined premature ejaculation differently. The most widely used definition is the DSM-IV-TR definition. However, the majority of these definitions are authority-based rather than evidence-based, and has no support from clinical and/or epidemiological studies. In this article, 41 articles were examined, various definitions of premature ejaculation were reviewed, definition criteria of it were discussed and classification of this dysfunction was mentioned. The results showed that multidimensional classifications and definitions using various diagnostic criteria, especially objective criteria like IELT are the most appropriate ones. © 2016, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
Applied Psychophysiology Biofeedback (15733270)40(1)pp. 1-8
Depression and fatigue are common symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and are the primary determinants of impaired quality of life in this demyelinating neurological disease. Untreated depression is associated with suicidal ideation, impaired cognitive function and poor adherence to immunomodulatory treatment. For these reasons, systematic screening and management of depressive symptoms and fatigue is recommended for all patients with MS. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback in treating depression and fatigue in persons with MS. We conducted a randomized trial with 24 MS patients with primary fatigue and depression. Participants were randomized into two groups: neurofeedback training group (16 sessions of NFB) or treatment as usual. Participants were evaluated at 3 time points (baseline, end of the treatment, and 2-month follow-up) using the Fatigue Severity Scale and Depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale as outcome measures. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine differences between the groups. NFB significantly reduced symptoms of depression and fatigue in patients with MS patients, compared to treatment as usual (p < .05), and these effects were maintained the 2-month follow-up (p < .05). © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
The Egyptian Rheumatologist (11101164)36(2)pp. 57-64
Aim of the work: Illness perception is considered to be an important contributor in the relationship between physical and psychological factors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study examined the mediational role of illness perceptions in the relationship between depression and pain in RA. Patients and methods: Illness perception, depression and pain were assessed in 100 adults with RA (72 females and 28 males). Patients were asked to complete 4 questionnaires including socio-demographic data form, depression subscale of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief-IPQ) and Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain Scale (RAPS). Using the Baron and Kenny approach and Sobel tests, the mediation of illness perceptions in the relationship between depression and pain symptoms was examined. Results: Sixty-six RA patients (66%) endorsed a clinically significant level of depression (HADS 12.94. ±. 5.39). The mean RAPS was 41.97. ±. 23.45 (range. = 4-91.93). Depression symptoms were significantly associated with perceived pain (r= -0.57, p<. 0.001). Three illness perceptions significantly mediated the relationship between depression and pain; consequences (z= 1.39, p<. 0.05); personal control (z= 1.47, p<. 0.05) and emotional response (z= 1.51, p<. 0.05). Gender and education showed no significant effect on the presented results. Conclusions: Greater depression symptoms were associated with perceptions that pain negatively affected one's life and emotions and was difficult to control. These negative illness perceptions were, in turn, related to greater pain symptoms. Illness perceptions helped explain the depression-pain link in RA patients. Results suggest that targeting illness perceptions in adults with RA and depression may help reduce pain symptoms. © 2014.
Torkan, H.,
Blackwell, S.E.,
Holmes, E.A.,
Kalantari, M.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Maroufi, M.,
Talebi, H. Cognitive Therapy and Research (01475916)38(2)pp. 132-145
Cognitive bias modification paradigms training positive mental imagery and interpretation (imagery CBM-I) hold promise for treatment innovation in depression. However, depression is a global health problem and interventions need to translate across settings and cultures. The current pilot study investigated the impact of 1 week of daily imagery CBM-I in treatment-seeking individuals with major depression in outpatient psychiatry clinics in Iran. Further, it tested the importance of instructions to imagine the positive training materials. Finally, we examined the effects of this training on imagery vividness. Thirty-nine participants were randomly allocated to imagery CBM-I, a non-imagery control program, or a no treatment control group. Imagery CBM-I led to greater improvements in depressive symptoms, interpretive bias, and imagery vividness than either control condition at post-treatment (n = 13 per group), and improvements were maintained at 2-week follow-up (n = 8 per group). This pilot study provides first preliminary evidence that imagery CBM-I could provide positive clinical outcomes in an Iranian psychiatric setting, and further that the imagery component of the training may play a crucial role. © 2014 The Author(s).
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Yule, W.,
Kalantari, M.,
Rezvani, S.R.,
Dyregrov, A.,
Jobson, L. Memory (14640686)22(6)pp. 700-709
This study investigated the effect of bereavement (father death due to war in Afghanistan) on autobiographical memory specificity in Afghan adolescents living in Iran. Participants consisted of bereaved (n=70) and non-bereaved (n=33) Afghan adolescents. The measures included Farsi versions of the Autobiographical Memory Test, Mood and Feeling Questionnaire, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Impact of Event Scale. Results indicated that the bereaved group retrieved a significantly lower proportion of specific memories and a significantly greater proportion of extended and categoric memories than the non-bereaved group. Additionally, depression symptoms and reduced autobiographical memory specificity were significantly correlated. These findings suggest that bereaved adolescents have impaired autobiographical memory specificity. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.
Journal Of Research In Medical Sciences (17357136)19(2)pp. 90-98
Background: Conducted researches show that psychological factors may have a very important role in the etiology, continuity and consequences of coronary heart diseases. This study has drawn the psychological risk and protective factors and their effects in patients with coronary heart diseases (CHD) in a structural model. It aims to determine the structural relations between psychological risk and protective factors with quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional and correlational studies were conducted using structural equation modeling. The study sample included 398 patients of coronary heart disease in the university referral Hospital, as well as other city health care centers in Isfahan city. They were selected based on random sampling method. Then, in case, they were executed the following questionnaires: Coping with stressful situations (CISS-21), life orientation (LOT-10), general self-efficacy (GSE-10), depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21), perceived stress (PSS-14), multidimensional social support (MSPSS-12), alexithymia (TAS-20), spiritual intelligence (SQ-23) and quality of life (WHOQOL-26). Results: The results showed that protective and risk factors could affect the quality of life in patients with CHD with factor loadings of 0.35 and -0.60, respectively. Moreover, based on the values of the framework of the model such as relative chi-square (CMIN/DF = 3.25), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI = 0.93), the Parsimony Comparative Fit Index (PCFI = 0.68), the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA = 0.07) and details of the model (significance of the relationships) it has been confirmed that the psychocardiological structural model of the study is the good fitting model. Conclusion: This study was among the first to research the different psychological risk and protective factors of coronary heart diseases in the form of a structural model. The results of this study have emphasized the necessity of noticing the psychological factors in primary prevention by preventive programs and in secondary prevention by rehabilitation centers to improve the quality of life of the people with heart diseases.
Journal Of Research In Medical Sciences (17357136)19(3)pp. 221-227
Background: Emotion-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (ECBT) is a new form of CBT with emotion regulation components. Th is form of treatment is suggested to be employed to improve dysregulation of anxiety and other kind of emotions in anxious children. Th is study observed and compared the eff ectiveness of CBT and ECBT on anxiety symptoms; sadness and anger management; and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in children with separation anxiety disorder (SAD). Materials and Methods: Th is study is a randomized clinical trial. Subjects were 30 children from 9 to 13-years-old (15 girls and 15 boys) with diagnosis of SAD, being randomly assigned to CBT, ECBT, and control groups (five girls and five boys in each group). Subject children in CBT group participated in 10-h weekly sessions within Coping Cat manual; whereas, subject children in ECBT group contributed in 12-h weekly sessions within ECBT. Th e control group received no treatment. Th e Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED; child and parent forms), Children's Emotion Management Scale (CEMS; anger and sadness forms), and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) tests administered to all subjects in pretest, posttest, and the follow-up measurement (3 months later). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) repeated measure and Kruskal-Wallis were applied to analyze data by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software package (v. 20). Results: CBT and ECBT; demonstrated no significant diff erence in reducing separation anxiety and total anxiety symptoms from parent and children's reports. ECBT eff ectively increased anger coping and decreased negative cognitive strategies and dysregulation of anger in children, both in posttest and follow-up. Also, ECBT reduced sadness dysregulation and increased sadness coping, though these significant advantages were lost in 3 months later follow-up. CBT reduced negative cognitive strategies in follow-up and increased sadness coping in posttest. None of treatments aff ected on anger and sadness inhibition and positive cognitive coping in separation anxious children. Conclusion: ECBT, in comparison with CBT; eff ectively improved emotion regulation strategies in children with separation anxiety.
Journal of Isfahan Medical School (10277595)32(295)pp. 1156-1165
Background: Chronic pain is one of the most current multi-dimensional problems which its management requires medical and psychological interventions. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy on pain-related anxiety, acceptance of pain and pain intensity in patients with chronic pain. Methods: In a randomized clinical trial study, 30 patients met entry criteria were selected from medical centers affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, using purposive sampling. They were divided randomly into two groups. Research instruments were Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ), Short Form of Pain-Related Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS-20), Pain Intensity Scale (PIS) and a demographic questionnaire. Experimental group were treated with acceptance and commitment therapy during the 8 sessions of 1.5 hours. Follow-up period was two months after the last treatment session. Findings: Acceptance and commitment therapy showed a reduction in pain related anxiety and pain intensity and increase in acceptance of the pain (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Findings indicates the effectiveness of this new behavioral therapy which is probably more appropriate for Iranian patients because of integrating behavioral therapy methods with eastern treatment techniques. © 2014, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Dalgleish, T.,
Yule, W.,
Kalantari, M.,
Ahmadi, S.J.,
Dyregrov, A.,
Jobson, L. Clinical Psychological Science (21677034)1(1)pp. 84-92
The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of memory specificity training (MEST) on autobiographical memory recall and depression. Afghan adolescents with depression were randomly assigned to a MEST group or to a control group. At baseline, both groups completed Persian versions of the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT) and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ). The MEST group then had five weekly group sessions of MEST. The control group had no additional contact. The AMT and MFQ were then readministered to all participants, and the MFQ was readministered at 2-month follow-up. The MEST group retrieved a higher proportion of specific memories following training and had lower levels of depression at 2-month follow-up than did the control group. Change in memory specificity predicted follow-up depression over and above baseline depression and mediated the relationship between receipt of MEST and reduction in later depression. The results suggest that MEST can improve autobiographical memory performance and drive subsequent reduction in depression symptoms. © The Author(s) 2013.
Arya Atherosclerosis (22516638)9(1)
BACKGROUND: Although psychological factors play an important role in coronary heart diseases (CHD), it seems there is a need for more researches in this respect. The present study aimed to review psychological factors, including depression, anxiety and stress related to etiology and prognosis of CHD. METHODS: This was a review on medical and psychological literatures, particularly in the years 1995-2012. RESULTS: As protective factor or risk factor, psychological factors play an important role in CHD. CONCLUSION: Given the findings of this study, it seems necessary that we pay attention to psychological factors, as independent risk factors or protective factors for CHD.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders (08876185)27(5)pp. 469-474
The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Persian translation of the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders-child version (SCARED-C) in a community sample of 557 children, aged 9-13 years, in the city of Isfahan, Iran. In addition to the SCARED-C, all the participants completed the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). The SCARED-C demonstrated moderate to high internal consistency (alpha=0.59-0.80) and good convergent and divergent validity. The one-factor and the five-factor model of the SCARED-C fitted the data moderately. However, the five-factor model had a significantly better fit than the one-factor model (δχ2=287.346, df=10, P<.001). These findings showed that SCARED-C can be used as a reliable and valid measure of anxiety symptoms among children in Iran. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
Journal of Isfahan Medical School (10277595)30(220)pp. 2392-2402
Background: Mindfulness may mediate the influences of negative cognitions, sensations, and emotions affecting behavior. Besides, mindfulness may affect the experience of pain-related anxiety, and thereby improve other aspects of physical and psychosocial functioning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential mediating role of pain-related anxiety between mindfulness and physical and psychosocial functioning in women with chronic low back pain. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 144 women with chronic low back pain were selected by randomize simple sampling method. Mindful attention awareness scale, Hospital anxiety scale, and Health status inventory were used to assess the participants' status. The data were analyzed by LISREL8.50 software. Findings: The results showed a negative relationship between mindfulness and anxiety and a positive relationship between mindfulness and physical and psychological functioning (P < 0.01). In addition, based on the path analysis model, anxiety was found to mediate the relationship of mindfulness and physical and psychological functioning (P < 0.01). Path analysis showed that the mediation model had adequate indices for physical and psychosocial functioning. Conclusion: Regarding the mediation role of anxiety, the anxiety level should be assessed before starting mindfulness-based treatment methods among women with chronic low back pain.
Omega: Journal of Death and Dying (15413764)65(2)pp. 139-150
Effective evidence-based intervention for traumatic bereavement is one of the current major research issues in the field of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents. The "Writing for Recovery" group intervention is a new treatment approach developed by the Children and War Foundation for traumatized and bereaved children and adolescents after disasters. The purpose of this project was an empirical examination of this intervention with 12- to 18-year-old war bereaved Afghani refugees. Eighty-eight war bereaved Afghani refugees were screened using the Traumatic Grief Inventory for Children (TGIC). From those with the highest total score, 61 were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 29) or control group (n = 32). The experimental group received six sessions of group training on 3 consecutive days in their school. The difference of TGIC scores between the experimental group in pretest and posttest was significant (p = 0.001). Results of analysis of covariance also showed a significant effect of Writing for Recovery on the experimental group (p < 0.001). It is concluded that "Writing for Recovery" is an effective group intervention for bereaved children and adolescents after disasters. © 2012, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
Haghayegh, S.A.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Drossman, D.A.,
Asgari mobarakeh, K.,
Soulati, S.K.,
Adibi, P. Pakistan Journal Of Medical Sciences (1682024X)28(2)pp. 312-317
Objectives: This study investigated the psychometric characteristics (structural, concurrent and construct validity, and internal consistency) of the Persian version of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire, which is commonly used across cultures. Methodology: One hundred twenty-six patients with irritable bowel syndrome (based on diagnosis by professional physicians and the Rome II criteria) were selected from patients referred to Alzahra and Noor Hospitals in Isfahan to complete the IBS-QOL questionnaire. Results: Eight subscales of the questionnaire (sum score) had acceptable internal consistency coefficients (alpha for subscales: dysphoria, 0.88; interference with activity, 0.67; body image, 0.72; health worry, 0.57; food avoidance, 0.52; social reaction, 0.71; sexual concern, 0.76; relationships; 0.62; and overall score, 0.93). In order to assess construct validity, groups of healthy persons (n = 40) and patients (n = 40) were selected. Results of an independent t-test showed a significant difference between the mean of overall score and all subscale scores (except body image subscale) of the two groups (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation coefficients showed that the questionnaire has significant concurrent validity (with respect to IBS-QOL-36) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The Persian version of IBS-QOL-34 is a valid and reliable instrument and is suitable for used in research and clinical trials.
Dahm, T.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Golden, A.,
Horn, E.,
Hagger, M.,
Dalgleish, T. PLoS ONE (19326203)6(10)
Self-regulation depletion (SRD), or ego-depletion, refers to decrements in self-regulation performance immediately following a different self-regulation-demanding activity. There are now over a hundred studies reporting SRD across a broad range of tasks and conditions. However, most studies have used young student samples. Because prefrontal brain regions thought to subserve self-regulation do not fully mature until 25 years of age, it is possible that SRD effects are confined to younger populations and are attenuated or disappear in older samples. We investigated this using the Stroop color task as an SRD induction and an autobiographical memory task as the outcome measure. We found that younger participants (<25 years) were susceptible to depletion effects, but found no support for such effects in an older group (40-65 years). This suggests that the widely-reported phenomenon of SRD has important developmental boundary conditions casting doubt on claims that it represents a general feature of human cognition. © 2011 Dahm et al.
Iranian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (16834844)12(2)pp. 111
Introduction: This research, aimed at determining the psychometric properties of the Diabetes Management Self - Efficacy Scale (DMSES) in type II diabetes patients. Materials and Methods: We Selected 112 patients with type II diabetes (according to diagnosis of profession), reffered to Alzahra hospital and asked them to complete the questions (for determining reliability). To study the concurrent validity of DMSES, 40 patients were asked to complete the General Self - Efficacy Inventory (GSES) and Diabetes Care Behavior Inventory. Results: Result Showed that all four subscales have significant and relatively high test-retest and internal reliability. The coefficients of concurrent validity were significant (0.81, 0.48), and results of the correlation matrix showed that the scale has good internal structure. Conclusion: Results of this research is similar to other versions of DMSE in other languages, and the DMSES scale was shown to be a valid and reliable instrument and can be a common and cross-cultural instrument.
Emotion (19311516)8(5)pp. 731-736
The present study used a Color Stroop task, involving naming the ink colors of incongruous color words, to deplete self-regulation resources prior to retrieving a series of autobiographical memories to emotional and neutral cue words-the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT). Control participants either read color words written in black ink or performed no task prior to the AMT. Difficulty accessing specific memories on the AMT has been shown to index key aspects of the onset and maintenance of depression and other emotional disorders. Our hypothesis that depleted participants would retrieve fewer specific memories to cues on the AMT relative to controls was supported, even when levels of depressed and anxious mood, an index of clinical depression, posttraumatic stress, and verbal intelligence were covaried. The results indicate that self-regulation depletion via a neutral, unrelated task can impact on emotion-related autobiographical memory processes that have been shown to be dysfunctional in emotionally disordered populations. © 2008 American Psychological Association.
Canterbury, R.,
Golden, A.,
Taghavi, R.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Moradi, A.,
Yule, W. Personality and Individual Differences (01918869)36(3)pp. 695-704
Research with clinically anxious adults has revealed that they estimate future negative events as far more likely to occur, relative to healthy controls. In addition, anxious adults estimate that such events are more likely to happen to themselves than to others. Previous research with anxious children and adolescents, in contrast, has revealed no increased probability estimates for negative events, relative to controls, and the events were rated as more likely to happen to others than to the self. The present study followed up these discrepant findings by investigating probability estimates for future negative events in children and adolescents with high and low levels of self-reported trait anxiety but who had no reported history of emotional disorder. The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups with respect to their overall probability estimates for negative events, the high anxious group estimating that negative events were more likely to happen than the low anxious group. These findings are consistent with the results using adult clinical subjects and support the suggestion that previous differences between the adult and developmental literature are a function of non-normative performance specifically in clinically anxious younger participants. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Dalgleish, T.,
Taghavi, R.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Moradi, A.,
Canterbury, R.,
Yule, W. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (15374424)32(1)pp. 10-21
This study investigated theoretical claims that different emotional disorders are associated with different patterns of cognitive bias, both in terms of the cognitive processes involved and the stimulus content that is preferentially processed. These claims were tested by comparing clinically anxious (generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) and clinically depressed children and adolescents on a range of cognitive tasks measuring attention, memory, and prospective cognition, with both threat-related and depressogenic stimulus materials. The results did reveal some relative specificity of processing in that the anxious participants exhibited a greater selective attentional bias for threat relative to depressogenic material with no such difference being apparent in the depressed sample. However, this bias was only clear-cut on a dot-probe measure of attentional processing and not on a modified Stroop measure, and indeed threat-related bias on the 2 tasks was uncorrelated. On the prospective cognition task, anxious participants exhibited an other-referent bias in their risk estimations regarding future negative events that was absent in the depressed sample. No specificity effects were evident on the memory task. The results are discussed in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of carrying out direct comparisons across groups and tasks versus drawing conclusions from overall patterns across multiple studies.
British Journal of Clinical Psychology (01446657)42(3)pp. 221-230
Objectives. Research investigating attentional bias for emotional information using the modified Stroop task in younger anxious populations has produced equivocal results. The present data investigated the replicability in younger participants of the prototypical adult finding of Mathews and MacLeod (1985) with patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Method. A sample of 19 child and adolescent patients with GAD and 19 controls completed the modified Stroop paradigm with threat, depression-related, positive and neutral words. Results. The data revealed a selective Stroop interference effect for negative emotional information in the GAD patients, relative to the performance of the controls. Conclusions. The results provide evidence of a modified Stroop effect for negative emotional material in children and adolescents with GAD, suggesting that modified Stroop processing in younger generally anxious populations broadly mirrors the profile of results in adults.
Psychological Medicine (14698978)31(3)pp. 541-547
Background. The present study examined biases in visual attention for emotional material in children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and healthy controls. Methods. The participants carried out an attentional deployment task in which probe detection latency data were used to determine the distribution of visual attention for threat-related and depression-related material. Results. The results showed that children and adolescents with PTSD, relative to controls, selectively allocated processing resources towards socially threatening stimuli and away from depression-related stimuli. This attentional avoidance of depression-related information in the PTSD participants declined with age. Conclusions. The results of the study are interpreted as a consolidation and extension of previous research on attentional bias and emotional disorder in younger participants.
Cognition and Emotion (02699931)14(6)pp. 809-822
Cognitive theories of anxiety based on adult data predict that individuals vulnerable to anxiety should show threat-related interpretations of ambiguous material and it is proposed that this is an important maintaining factor in anxiety disorders. In the present study, interpretation of ambiguous emotional/neutral information was examined in child and adolescent anxious patients. Two groups of participants, anxious patients (n = 17) and healthy controls (n = 40), were presented with a series of homographs, each with a threatening and a neutral interpretation. For each homograph, the participants were asked to construct a sentence using the homograph. Anxious children and adolescents produced significantly more sentences consistent with threatening homograph interpretations and less consistent with neutral interpretations than did normal controls. Regression analyses revealed no relationship between age and this interpretive bias. Preliminary developmental and theoretical implications are discussed.
Dalgleish, T.,
Moradi, A.,
Taghavi, R.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Yule, W.,
Canterbury, R. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (00219630)41(8)pp. 981-988
Research with clinically anxious adults has revealed that they estimate future negative events as far more likely to occur, relative to healthy controls. In addition, anxious adults estimate that such events are more likely to happen to themselves than to others. Previous research with anxious children and adolescents, in contrast, has revealed no increased probability estimates for negative events, relative to controls, and the events were rated as more likely to happen to others than to the self. The present study followed up these discrepant findings by investigating probability judgements concerning future negative events generated by children and adolescents who had actually experienced an extreme negative event and who met criteria for a diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Control groups comprised a group of healthy participants, and a group of healthy participants whose parents had experienced a trauma and who met criteria for PTSD. The results revealed no overall differences between the clinical group and the controls. However, children and adolescents with PTSD estimated all negative events as significantly more likely to happen to others than to themselves, with this other-referent bias being strongest for events matched to their trauma. In contrast, the two control groups exhibited an other-referent bias for physically threatening events but not for socially threatening ones. Developmental analyses indicated that the strength of the relationship between anxiety and elevated judgements about future negative events declined with age in the control participants but that there was no significant relationship in the groups who had been exposed to trauma. The findings are discussed in the context of the literature on information processing biases and PTSD.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (00219630)41(3)pp. 363-368
The present study utilised a cognitive paradigm to investigate attentional biases in clinically depressed children and adolescents. Two groups of children and adolescents - clinically depressed (N = 19) and normal controls (N = 26) - were asked to complete a computerised version of the attentional dot probe paradigm similar to that used by MacLeod, Mathews, and Tata (1986). Results provided no support for an attentional bias, either toward depression-related words or threat words, in the depressed group. This findings is discussed in the context of cognitive theories of anxiety and depression.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders (08876185)14(5)pp. 521-534
Studies with adult participants with emotional disorders have revealed an explicit memory bias in favor of recalling negative emotional information, particularly if the information is related to the participants' emotional concerns. This process was investigated in a preliminary study with children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder and control participants. Participants were presented with sets of negative, neutral, and positive words and asked to recall them after a short retention interval. Posttraumatic stress disorder participants showed poorer overall memory performance compared with control participants. They also showed a bias in favor of recalling negative information, but there was no evidence of any specificity beyond this for threat- related material. Regression analyses revealed no relationship between mood, memory bias, and age. Results are discussed in terms of the adult literature and with respect to issues of the developmental continuity of posttraumatic stress disorder. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology (15732835)27(3)pp. 215-223
Recent research has indicated that anxious adult and child patients and high trait-anxious adults selectively shift attention toward threatening stimuli. The present study extends this research and investigates the content-specificity of the effects in clinically anxious and mixed anxious- depressed children and adolescents. Twenty four generally anxious patients, aged 9 to 18, 19 mixed anxious-depressed patients, and 24 normal controls were comparable with respect to age, sex, verbal IQ, and vocabulary level. The participants carried out an attentional deployment task in which probe detection latency data were used to determine the distribution of visual attention for threat-related and depression-related material. The results showed that clinically anxious children, relative to controls, selectively allocated processing resources toward threat stimuli. However, mixed anxious- depressed children, relative to controls, did not show any attentional bias towards either threat- or depression-related stimuli. Preliminary data on age and gender differences are also presented. The results of this study are discussed in the light of previous research.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (00219630)40(3)pp. 357-361
Adult post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients often report a wide range of cognitive problems in memory, concentration, attention, planning, and judgement. Evaluation of these cognitive aspects of PTSD in adults has helped to define the nature of the disorder. However, there is a paucity of such work in younger subjects. This study has employed the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) to examine cognitive factors in children and adolescents with PTSD. Eighteen child and adolescent patients with PTSD and 22 control subjects completed the test. PTSD subjects showed poorer overall memory performance compared with controls. Specifically, they were worse on the prospective and orientation items of the RBMT. The results are discussed in the light of research on everyday memory in adults with PTSD.
Psychological Medicine (14698978)29(2)pp. 415-419
Background. Investigators have used various experimental paradigms such as the Stroop colour naming test to study how adults with different emotional disorders process emotional information. However, to date, little research has been carried out on younger subjects. Method. In the current experiment, children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and control subjects aged 9-17 years, participated in a modified Stroop colour naming task. Results. The results indicated that the children and adolescents with PTSD showed increased Stroop interference for trauma-related material relative to neutral words and to the performance of the controls. Conclusions. These findings indicate that attentional bias to trauma-congruent information is a function of PTSD in young age groups. The results are discussed with respect to the literature on information processing in PTSD.
Journal of Traumatic Stress (15736598)12(4)pp. 663-671
Investigators have used various experimental paradigms to study how individuals with different emotional disorders process emotional information. However, little research has been done on relatives of individuals with emotional disorders, despite developments in the area of emotional contagion. In the current experiment, children of adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n = 18) and control participants (n = 21), ages 9-17 years, participated in a modified Stroop color-naming task. The results indicated that the children of adults with PTSD showed increased Stroop interference for threat-related relative to neutral words and to the performance of the controls. These findings are discussed with respect to the literature on information processing in PTSD and emotional contagion in families.
Dalgleish, T.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Taghavi, R.,
Moradi, A.,
Yule, W.,
Canterbury, R.,
Vostanis p., P. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (00219630)39(7)pp. 1031-1035
Previous research into subjective probability estimates for negative events revealed that depressed children estimated events as equally likely to happen to themselves as to other children. In contrast, both controls and anxious children estimated that negative events were more likely to happen to others than to themselves. The present study followed up this finding by investigating the subjective probability judgements concerning future negative events generated by children and adolescents who have recovered from depression. Subjects generated probability estimates either for themselves or for other children for a range of negative events on a visual analogue scale. The results revealed that both recovered depressed and matched control groups estimated negative events as significantly more likely to happen to others than to themselves. It was also found that the recovered depressed subjects estimated that negative events were less likely overall, compared to the controls. These results are discussed in the context of the adult literature.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology (0021843X)107(4)pp. 642-650
An experiment was conducted to examine memory for emotional trait adjectives in depressed children and adolescents. Two groups of children and adolescents, clinically depressed participants and non-clinical controls, were compared on computerized versions of recall and recognition memory tasks. Three groups of words (positive trait adjectives, negative trait adjectives, and categorized neutral words) were used in the experiment. Results showed that the depressed group recalled significantly more negative adjectives than positive adjectives, whereas the control group recalled the same number of positive and negative adjectives. This effect was predicted by the association between age and level of depression, with the depression- related bias becoming stronger with age. Signal detection analysis revealed that the depressed group did not show any bias in the recognition task. The findings are discussed with respect to cognitive theories of depression with consideration of the developmental implications.
Dalgleish, T.,
Taghavi, R.,
Neshat doost, H.T.,
Moradi, A.,
Yule, W.,
Canterbury, R. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines (00219630)38(5)pp. 535-541
The investigation of cognitive content and processes in childhood anxiety and depression has lagged behind similar research in the adult population. What studies do exist have largely restricted themselves to examining the nature of the thoughts that anxious and depressed children report. There is almost no research examining the ways in which anxious and depressed children perceive, attend to, remember, or think and make judgements about, emotional material. The present study investigated the subjective probability judgements that anxious and depressed children make concerning future negative events. Subjects generated probability estimates either for themselves or for other children for a range of events on a visual analogue scale. Events were either physically-threat-related or socially-threat-related. The results revealed no differences of interest with respect to type of threat but interesting differences between the groups with respect to reference. Depressed subjects estimated that events were equally likely to happen to themselves as to other children whereas both the controls and anxious children estimated that negative events were more likely to happen to others than to themselves, with this effect being stronger in the anxious group. These results are discussed in the context of the adult literature and also the limited literature on emotion-related cognitive processing in children.
Personality and Individual Differences (01918869)23(5)pp. 753-759
The study investigated selective processing of emotional information in childhood depression using a computerised version of the modified Stroop colour naming task. Three groups of children and adolescents - clinically depressed (n-19), patients with mixed depression and anxiety (n= 19), and normal controls (n = 26) - were required to name the colours of depression-related, threat-related, trauma-related, happy, and categorised neutral words. Normal subjects, compared with the patient groups, exhibited faster colour naming overall. There were no significant differences on the colour naming of different categories of words and the performance across the three groups was not significantly different for different categories of words. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
