role of religious coping strategies in predicting depression among a sample of women with fertility problems in Shiraz

Background: One of the most common mental health problems among women with infertility problems is depression. Research has shown that religious beliefs and practices can help people to cope with difficult situations. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of different religious coping strategies in predicting depression in a group of infertile women in Shiraz

Methods: A total of 72 women with fertility problems were recruited from several private infertility clinics in Shiraz using convenience sampling. The participants completed the research questionnaires including Beck Depression Inventory and Religious Coping Scale. The Religious Coping Scale consists of five dimensions including practice, active, passive, benevolent reappraisal and negative religious coping. Descriptive statistics [frequency percentage, mean and standard deviation], Pearson's correlation and simultaneous multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis using SPSS version 16. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: The present study showed that about 30% of women with fertility problems experienced the symptoms of depression. The findings also indicated that the most commonly used religious coping strategy was practice religious coping, while the least commonly used religious coping strategies were passive and negative religious coping. The findings also showed that active religious coping, practice religious coping and benevolent reappraisal coping predicted depression reduction

Conclusion: This study highlights the effect of religious coping on depression reduction of women with fertility problems. In other words, women who used religious coping strategies were less likely to experience depression symptoms

role of self-efficacy and social support in predicting depression symptoms in diabetic patients

Chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus have negative effects on physical and mental health. Depression is the most common psychological problems in this group of patients. The purpose of this study was to predict depression symptoms based on self-efficacy and social support. A total of 130 patients with diabetes recruited from several clinics in Shiraz. The participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI], the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey [MOSSS] and the Diabetes Self-Efficacy Scale [DSES]. Results indicated that 22% of the patients with diabetes experienced the symptoms of depression. The findings also showed a significant association between low level of self-efficacy and social support and depression. The study also showed that self-efficacy and social support significantly predicted the lower rate of depression. The study findings indicated that patients with a lower level of self-efficacy and social support were more likely to experience the symptoms of depression. This study highlights the I importance of self-efficacy and social support on patients' mental health

Association between coping strategies and infertility stress among a group of women with fertility problem in Shiraz, Iran

Studies have shown that individuals with fertility problems experience psychosocial problems. The use of various coping strategies seems to have different impacts on women with infertility stress. The aim of this study was to examine the role of coping strategies [active-avoidance, passive-avoidance, active confronting and meaning based] in predicting infertility stress among a group of women seeking infertility treatment in Shiraz. One hundred twenty infertile women were recruited from several infertility clinics in Shiraz using convenience sampling method. The participants completed research measures including the Infertility Problem Stress Inventory and the Ways of Coping Scale [passive-avoidance, active-avoidance, active-confronting, meaning-based]. Multiple regression analysis was used for data analysis. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The findings showed that participants had the highest scores on passive-avoidance coping strategies followed by meaning-based coping, active-confronting coping and active-avoidance coping. The findings also indicated that women who utilized more active-avoidance coping strategies reported less infertility stress. Furthermore, the results of regression analysis demonstrated that two coping strategies including active-avoidance [beta=0.35, p<0.001] and meaning-based coping [beta=-0.50, p<0.001] predicted infertility stress significantly. Moreover, meaning-based coping strategy was the strongest predictor of low infertility stress. The present study showed that the majority of infertile women used passive-avoidance coping strategy. Furthermore, those who perceived their infertility problem as meaningful had a low infertility stress, while those who used active-avoidance coping strategies had high infertility stress

Health beliefs as predictors of breast cancer screening behavior in a group of female employees in Shiraz

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the frequency of getting such health screenings as mammography and breast self-examination among a group of women and also to identify the role of health beliefs in predicting mammography practice. The data were collected from a convenience sample of 113 female staff at the University of Shiraz and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The participants completed the Champion Health Beliefs Scale [CHBS] designed to measure patients' perception on mammography of breast cancer screening. The scale assesses health beliefs components such as perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits of mammography screening, and perceived barriers to mammography screening. The participants also answered several questions on practicing Breast Self-Examination [BSE], mammography screening behaviors and health factors such as family history of cancer, and physicians' recommendation for mammography. The results indicated that 51% of women had BSE, and only 21% had a mammogram. Logistic regression showed that physician's recommendation, and the perceived barriers significantly predicted mammography screening, explaining 27% of the total variance of mammography practice. The participants who saw fewer barriers to have a mammogram and those who had been recommended to have one by their physician were more likely to get it. The present study provides some supports for the health beliefs model. Data indicated that perceived barriers to have a mammogram predicted not getting one, and physicians' recommendation predicted getting a mammogram by women

role of social support and coping strategies on mental health of a group of Iranian disabled war veterans

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of social support on the mental health of disabled war veterans alongside the role of physical disability and deployment type. The second aim of the study was to examine the relationship between coping strategies and mental health. 85 disabled Iranian war veterans participated in this study. All of the participants were asked to complete the Medical Outcomes Study [MOS], Social Support Survey, Impact of Event-Revised Scale [IES-R], Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS], The Short Form [SF-36] Health Survey Questionnaire, and Brief COPE Scale. The results showed that social support had a significant contribution on the mental health of the participants above and beyond the physical disability and deployment type. The physical disability also predicted the mental health of veterans, but deployment type did not have any significant contribution on mental health of the participants. The findings also showed that those veterans who used constructive coping strategies had better mental health status. The findings suggest that after more than twenty years of war, social support still plays an important role in the life of Iranian disabled war veterans