[Development and validation of a metacognitive-cognitive-behavioral model for explaining trichotillomania]

Trichotillomania [TTM] is an unknown disorder and resistant to treatment. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the new metacognitive-cognitive-behavioral model for trichotillomania. The present study was a description and correlation study. In this study, 635 participants [304 male and 331 female] were selected. The participants completed the Massachusetts general hospital hair pulling scale [MGH-HPS], dysfunctional attitude scale [DAS], cognitive distortion scale [CDS], automatic thought questionnaire [ATQ], metacognition questionnaire [MCQ], and the obsessive-compulsive behavior scale [OCBS]. For reliability assessment of the factor structure of the metacognitive-cognitive-behavioral model, the structural equation modeling analysis was used by AMOS software. The results of the structural equation modeling supported a metacognitive-cognitive-behavioral model for trichotillomania. Moreover, the results showed that the model had the best fit to the data and was closely related to the theoretical assumptions. The model presented in this study illustrates a multidimensional approach that focuses on the metacognitive, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions; hence, the model presented in this study is a new explanatory model. This model may prompt future research into trichotillomania and facilitate clinical treatment and case formulation

[Efficacy of hypnotherapy in conjunction with pharmacotherapy and pharmacotherapy alone on the quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome]

This study assessed the effects of hypnotherapy in conjunction with pharmacotherapy versus pharmacotherapy on the quality of life in patients diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome [IBS]. This clinical trial used the convenience sampling method to enroll 34 IBS patients. Patients were selected according to Rome III criteria and divided into two groups: i] hypnotherapy plus standard medical treatment and ii] standard medical treatment. The QOL-IBS scale assessed patient quality of life at baseline, post-treatment and at the six month follow-up. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance [ANCOVA]. There were significant differences observed between both groups at the post-treatment and follow-up stages in terms of quality of life [p<0.05]. Standard medical treatment in addition to hypnotherapy can be used to improve quality of life in IBS patients

Standardization of a trauma symptoms checklist for children

The aim of this study was to standardize and assign validity and reliability of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children [TSCC-A].Normative data for the TSCC-A were based on 3042 students participating in a prevalence child abuse study in 19 different locations of Tehran and 140 participants who had been refered to the run-away children centers in Tehran. After the TSCC was validated on run-away and abused children, it was made available to researchers doing larger studies on a normative group.Reliability analysis of the TSCC-A scales in the normative sample demonstrated high internal consistency. The evidence for its validations [convergent, discriminant and construct validity] showed that they were significantly acceptable.This paper presents data demonstrating the psychometric reliability and validity of the TSCC-A scales in the Iranian student population. We suggest to include the TSCC-A in a battery of relevant standardized tests