[ association between self-care and control of blood sugar and health-related quality of life in type II diabetes patients]

Diabetes is a complex and chronic disease associated with patients' quality of life. Previous studies have considered self-care as an important and necessary parameter for changing personal lifestyle and influencing the control of diabetes. The purpose of present study was to examine the relationship between self care activities of type 2 diabetic patients' and glycated hemoglobin levels [HbA1c] as well as their perceived diabetes-related quality of life. This is a cross-sectional study 100 [60 females and 40 males, aged 40 to 70 years] type 2 diabetic out-patients visiting the Labbafinejad hospital in 2012. Measures of data collection included demographic, anthropometric and clinical questionnaires, the short scale for self-care activities and the diabetes-related quality of life. Blood tests were performed to obtain HbA1c levels and other laboratory measures related to the study. Pearson's correlation coefficients showed a significant association between better reported self-care activities and lower HbA1c levels along with better perceived diabetes-dependent quality of life. Results of regression analyses, after control of age indicated that self-care activities explained 40% of HbA1c variance and 58% of quality of life. Based on the present data, diabetes-related self care predicted HbA1c levels and diabetes-dependent perceived quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes, results that draw attention to the psychological factors effective in the prevention of diabetes complications and hence help in the conceptualization, planning and design of treatment policies for more effective control of type 2 diabetes

[Psychometri properties of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire in a sample of Iranian population]

Emotion regulation refers to the ability to understand emotions and modulate emotional experience and expressions. Emotions are managed and regulated according to processes and techniques that may be employed automatically or purposely, as well as consciously or unconsciously. The main purpose of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Four hundred and seventy eight Iranian volunteers [226 males, 252 females] were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the 18-item version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire [CERQ], Depression Anxiety Stress Scale [DASS], and the Mental Health Inventory [MHI-28]. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the CERQ were examined at satisfactory levels. The CERQ scales of self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, and other-blame revealed significant positive associations with depression, anxiety, stress and psychological distress, as well as significant negative associations with psychological well-being. The remaining scales of CERQ including acceptance, positive refocusing, planning, positive reappraisal, and putting into perspective revealed significant negative associations with depression, anxiety, stress and psychological distress, as well as significant positive associations with psychological well-being. It was concluded that the 18-item version of the CERQ can be considered as a reliable and valid scale to measure cognitive coping strategies in Iranian samples

[Psychometric properties of a short form of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems]

Interpersonal problems are difficulties that an individual experiences in relating to others and are sources of subjective distress. The main purpose of this study was to examine reliability, validity, and exploratory factor analysis of a short form of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems in an Iranian students. This is a psychometric study and analysis of the data involved mainly descriptive statistics. 647 volunteers [490 females, 434 males] from universities in Tehran were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems [IIP-60], the Mental Health Inventory [MHI-28], the Self-Esteem Rating Scale [SERS], and the Emotional Intelligence Scale [EIS]. The scale was validated with construct, convergent and discriminant validity. Its reliability was measured by internal consistency and test-retest reliability methods. The results of explarotary factor analysis supported six factors for the IIP-60 as well as a single general factor of interpersonal problems. The convergent and discriminant validity of the IIP-60 were supported by an expected pattern of correlations between the scale and the measures of mental health, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence. Coefficient alpha estimates of internal reliability were between .82 and .93 for the IIP-60 subscales. Test-retest reliability of the IIP-60 was also calculated at the range of .65-.81. All correlations were statistically significant. It can be concluded that the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems [IIP-60] is a valid and reliable scale to measure interpersonal problems.

Cognitive emotion regulation in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Childhood cancer, as one of the life threatening and most serious health problems, considerably influences the cognitive and social functions of children with cancer and their families; however, surprisingly enough, these children are quite compatible with their peers and even function better emotionally compared with normal children. This matter still remains to be a mystery. In this study, the ability of ignoring negative stimuli as a technique of emotion regulation was investigated in children with cancer. For this purpose, 78 children [33 girls and 45 boys aged 3 to 12 years] with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], and 89 healthy children [52 girls and 37 boys aged 3 to 12 years] participated in this study. At the first stage, a number of positive, negative and neutral pictures were displayed to children. At the second stage, they were asked to identify the pictures from among a collection. Data analysis by MANOVA indicated that children with cancer, compared with healthy children, could recognize more positive images than negative ones. Furthermore, it was found that age, sex, duration of hospital stay, duration of disease and financial situation had an effect on the difference between the two groups. Positive bias memory can explain low depression and lack of symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder in children with ALL. Attention shifting is multifactorial phenomenon and neurologic factors and family support play important role in this happening

"Vitality" a missing link in adjustment to childhood cancer

A number of randomized trial studies and longitudinal researches emphasize that despite problems in social adjustment and cognitive damages, children with cancer demonstrate good emotional adjustment. Most of the research findings in this area are obtained using objective tools such as questionnaires. "Vitality of children", as a drawing tool, was used as a basis to draw a comparison between children with cancer and healthy children in this study. Accordingly, 112 children with cancer [5 girls and 57 boys aged 3 to 12 years] and 123 healthy children [77 girls and 46 boys aged 3 to 12 years] participated in the study. Findings showed that the vitality of the two groups differed significantly. Perhaps, children with cancer repress negative emotions and avoid expressing their feelings. MANOVA was used to compare the vitality scores between groups and to explore the impact of different variables. Making use of such tools that indirectly examine the emotional experience of children with cancer would be beneficial. Neglecting this issue can cause children with cancer to be deprived of r receiving supportive counselling

[ moderating role of coping strategies in relationship between illness perception, quality of life and HBA1c in patients with type I diabetes]

The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of coping strategies in the relationship between illness perception, quality of life and HbA1c in patients with type I diabetes. Three hundred patients [172 females and 128 males, 18-30 years] aged with type I diabetes from the Iranian Diabetes Society completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire [IPQ], Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations [CISS], and Quality of Life scale for Diabetics [D-39]. HbA1c level was obtained from patient's laboratory examination. Results of stepwise regression analysis revealed that the influence of illness perception on HbA1c was moderated by task-oriented coping strategy. The relationship between illness perception and quality of life was influenced by three coping strategies, task oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidant. Coping strategies affect the relationship between illness perception, quality of life and HbA1c in patients with type I diabetes. Results can be helpful in devising preventive policies, determining high risk patients and designing of psychological interventions

effectiveness of group contracting and behavioral activation therapy on relapse prevention opioid substance use disorders

The objective of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of Group Contracting and Behavioral Activation Therapy [GCBAT] for treatment of opioid substance use disorders. In this clinical trial study, 120 patients suffering from opioid dependence enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment programs were assigned randomly in four groups including., Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy [CBT]., group A, Group Contracting and Behavioral Activation Therapy [GCBAT]., group B, Group Contracting and Behavioral Activation Therapy plus family support education [GCBAT- FSE]., group C, and group D received only treatment of methadone. Two experimental groups [B and C] received 8 weekly sessions group therapy. Group [A] took 12 weekly sessions group therapy and group D took methadone only. All participants 5 months later followup Outcome data were analyzed with using chi-square test. Results revealed that three experimental groups had more effectiveness than methadone alone, GCBAT and CBT in relapse prevention. Patients in relapse prevention and remaining on treatment follow up their experience of a relapse group C were superior from patients in groups A, B and D

Psychometric characteristics of persian version of the toronto alexithymia scale-20 in clinical and non-clinical samples

Alexithymia as a cluster of cognitive and affective deficits has been studied for its ability to predict a variety of psychological disorders. Given its clinical importance, various selfreport questionnaires have been developed to measure alexithymia. The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric characteristics of Persian version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 [FTAS-20] using confirmatory factor analysis. 175 patients [102 women, 73 men] who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for depressive, anxiety or obsessivecompulsive disorders, and 173 normal adults [99 women, 74 men] completed the FTAS-20. Findings supported the three-factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and predictive validity of FTAS-20 in both clinical and non-clinical samples. The three FTAS-20 subscales are useful to explore the distinct facets of the alexithymia construct

Relation of alexithymia with ego defense styles

In this study the relationship between alexithymia and ego defense styles was investigated in a sample of students. The aim of this study was to examine the kind of association exist among alexithymia and its three components including difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking with ego defense styles including mature, neurotic, and immature defense styles. Two hundreds and eighty six students [135 boys, 151 girls] from the Tehran University were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale [FTAS-20] and Defense Styles Questionnaire [DSQ]. Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics including means, standard deviations, multivariate analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and regression analysis. Alexithymia showed a significant negative association with mature defense style [P < 0.001] as well as a significant positive association with neurotic and immature defense styles [P < 0.001]. It can be concluded that alexithymia is associated with ego defense mechanisms

[ comparative study of attachment styles in persons with or without substance use disorders]

The aim of this study was to compare the attachment styles of persons with or without substance use disorders. Two hundred and forty volunteers [120 patients, 120 controls] were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete Substance Use Disorders Questionnaire [SUDQ] and Adult Attachment Inventory [AAI]. Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics including means, standard deviations, t-tests, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and regression analysis. The results revealed a significant difference between attachment styles of the patients with substance, [opioid], use disorders and controls. Secure and insecure attachment styles had significant negative and positive correlations, respectively, with opioid dependency. Attachment styles of patients with substance use disorders with opioid abuse are influenced by processes of family interactions, social control, affection regulation and self-efficacy

[Effect of preparatory information on general surgical operation]

The aim of this project was to evaluate the effect of preparatory information on anxiety and physical recovery of patients undergoing hernia, hemorrhoid, and cholecystectomy surgical operations. 180 patients in the study, scheduled for surgery were randomly allocated to experimental [n=86] and control [n=94] groups. All patients completed Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire in two sessions, once the day before and then again one hour before the operation.Information through education in written and oral forms was provided regarding surgical operation and usual nursing practices only for the experimental group. Data were analyzed by statistical t-test and analysis of variance. This evaluation indicated that provision of information for the experimental group reduced patients' level of state anxiety, improved the rate of recovery process, and decreased the amount of pain and use of sedatives. Giving information reduced not only the patients' anxiety, but also lowered physiological indications such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate.Information reduces anxiety, enhances predictability, and along with increase in patients' [responsibility], it accelerated the rate of physical recovery

Dimensions of perfectionism in depressed and anxious patients

Perfectionism appears to play an important role in the etiology, maintenance, and course of psychological disorders. However, very few clinical data exist to clarify the nature and the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism with depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to compare dimensions of perfectionism in depressed and anxious patients. Eighty-eight consecutive referrals to the counseling centers of the University of Tehran and Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran Iran, were included in this study in three groups: 1] depressed patients [n= 25]; 2] anxious patients [n= 19]; and 3] matched normal subjects [n= 44] as control. All 88 participants were asked to complete the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. It was found that depressed patients had higher levels of Self-Oriented Perfectionism than did the other two groups. It was also found that anxious patients had higher levels of Socially Prescribed Perfectionism [SPP] than did either the depressed or the normal control subjects. In addition, depressed patients reported higher levels of SPP than did normal control subjects. No significant difference was found between the three groups in terms of Other-Oriented Perfectionism. Results of the present study reinforce the need to examine and conceptualize perfectionism as a potentially multidimensional construct

contribution of couple's attachment style to the adjustment to infertility

As a major life crisis, infertility is a very stressful and distressing experience leading to psychological maladjustments and disorders. To examine the contribution of attachment style to the adjustment to infertility, 46 married couples [N=92] undergoing infertility evaluation and treatment were included in this study. All 92 subjects completed the Aduit Attachment Inventory, the Mental Health Inventory and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Secure attachment style was shown to be significantly related to psychological adjustment to infertility. Secure persons reported more psychological well-being, less psychological distress and more dyadic adjustment than insecure persons. Partners of secure persons also reported higher levels of well-being and dyadic adjustment and lower levels of disterss than partners of insecure persons. Results and implications are discussed in terms of attachment theory