Research in psychological health

Structural model of relationships between integrative self-knowledge, perception of suffering and quality of life among cancer patients (stages 3 & 4)

mosayeb yarmohammadi vasel

Cancer makes various changes in quality of life and identifying the influential components in this variable can significantly influence patients' quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the structural association between integrative self-knowledge, perception of suffering and quality of life regarding cancer patients. This research was a correlational study and participants were 340 patients selected via available non-random sampling from Karaj medical centres. Patients completed the quality of life (sf-36), self-knowledge and perception of suffering questionnaires. Data were analysed using structural equations model (LISREL) version 8.5 and SPSS version 19. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between integrative self-knowledge and physical suffering, psychological suffering and existential suffering with patients' quality of life. Moreover, the equation-structural relationship between integrative self-knowledge with the components of perceiving suffering and quality of life were significant. In other words, integrative self-knowledge can predict quality of life in the case of cancer patients directly with the meditating role of physical and existential suffering. Fitness indices showed that the proposed model is suitable for explaining the quality of life through the variables of integrative self-knowledge and perception of suffering. Integrative self-knowledge has significant effects on people's cohesiveness and psychological integrity and has a significant impact on improving the quality of life of patients by affecting how they perceive suffering.

Psychological Experiences of Terminal Cancer Patients with an Emphasis on Their Concerns and Needs: A Phenomenological Study

Faezeh Bakhshalizadeh Irani

Terminal patients with advanced cancer have important and undeniable concerns as well as worries which may provide valuable information to care providers so that they can act for planning and care improvement based on their needs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychological experiences, especially concerns, needs and worries of these patients throughout the disease. In this research, a qualitative method with a descriptive phenomenological approach was employed. From amongst all cancer patients receiving palliative care for advanced cancer in Firoozgar hospital and Ala cancer control and prevention centre, eleven patients were chosen according to the targeted sampling method. Data collection was used with a semi-structured interview and data interpretation was done in Collizi method. The results of this study were categorised in five main clusters: “concerns about family and friends”, “socio-economic concerns”, “concerns about oneself”, “concerns regarding hospital staff, environment and medical treatment” and “spiritual and religious concerns” in addition to 34 sub-clusters. Being on the verge of death and diagnosed with cancer causes concerns, worries and needs in different dimensions of a person and their family’s life. If such aspects are neglected, a person’s well-being and quality of life will be disrupted. Recognition and emphasis on patients’ feelings, anxieties and concerns along with taking care of their needs may help them feel at peace and more confident in accepting this difficult situation.

The Study of Causes for Child Abuse by Blogger Mothers and Their Psychological Health on Cyberspace

sara ghasemzade barki

New forms of communication technologies have brought about opportunities and threats, but regarding cultural studies, the former can be increased and the latter can be decreased. In Iran due to lack of information, there are no proper policies in the case of using cyberspace. This leads to unnoticed damage to those who utilise it. Child abuse on cyberspace is an example of not surfing the internet correctly. The main object of conducting this research is a survey on Iranian entrepreneur mothers’ reasons for abusing their children on selected cyberspace platforms such as “Telegram” and “Instagram”. The research method in this qualitative inquiry had a data-based theory. The sample comprised 10 blogger mothers with two to seven-year-old children in different provinces of Iran, who were recuruited voluntarily and were willing to participate in the research. The findings indicated that eight factors affecting child abuse on cyberspace, included an individual’s: 1. mental health, 2. family problems, 3. economic problems, 4. socio-cultural problems, 5. attempts to gain social reputation, 6. attempts to gain economic success, 7. aim to entertain children with social media, and their 8. Aim to make children famous on social media.

Psychometric properties of the Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire among students

Farideh Ameri

Psychological flexibility is a multidimensional trait that plays an important role in many areas of life, including mental health. Given the role of psychological flexibility, researchers have been interested in examining this feature, but do not have the tools to specifically measure psychological flexibility. The purpose of this research is to analyse the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire so that in the absence of a short and specific scale for measuring psychological flexibility, it can help measure this feature in psychological research. For this purpose, 400 male and female students at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad participated in this study in the academic year of 2019-2020 using the multi-stage cluster random sampling method. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the construct’s validity and calculate the reliability of Cronbach's alpha. Factor analysis showed that this questionnaire has 5 factors, which are: positive interpretation of change, defining oneself as a flexible person, identifying oneself as an open and creative person, interpreting reality as dynamic and changeable, and interpreting reality as multidimensional. Agents together accounted for 59.83% of the variance of the entire questionnaire. The internal consistency of the items of the Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire was 0.89, which indicates the desired reliability of this questionnaire. Based on the results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in this study, the Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire has acceptable validity and reliability regarding students.

Presenting an Exploratory Model to Express the Relationships among Personality Factors, Attachment Styles, Source of Control, Coping Strategies, Perceived Stress and Disease Perception in Patients with Hemophilia: with an Emphasis on the Mediating Role of Social Exchange Styles

Soheila Dehkhodaei

The aim of this study was to present an exploratory model to express the relationships between a set of factors including personality factors, attachment styles, control source, coping strategies and perceived stress and disease perception in patients with hemophilia, emphasizing the mediating role of social exchange styles. The present study is a correlational study based on path analysis. In order to conduct the study, 450 patients from the Hemophilia Support Centre in Isfahan were randomly selected. The instruments used in this study included the Neo Five Personality Factor Questionnaire, the Hazen and Shaver Attachment Styles Scale, the Rutter Control Scale, the Andler and Parker Stress Coping Questionnaire, the Cohen Perceived Stress Questionnaire, the Disease Perception Questionnaire and the Libman Social Learning Exchange Questionnaire. The results indicated a linear relationship between a group of factors such as neurotic personality traits, responsibility, extraversion and flexibility, two coping styles (emotion-oriented, problem-oriented and avoidance) and a secure attachment style and disease perception. The results also showed personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, pleasantness, flexibility and responsibility), coping styles (avoidance and emotion-oriented), attachment style (safe and unsafe ambivalent) and source of control are related to the perception of disease through the mediating role of social exchange style fairness. Therefore, in order to provide measures to improve the perception of patients with hemophilia, it is necessary to pay special attention to personality traits, coping styles, attachment style, source of control and perceived stress in addition to fair social exchange styles.

Develop a Therapy Protocol Based on the Paradoxical Timetabling Model and Its Effectiveness on Binge Eating Disorder among Women

Abdollah Shafiabady

Binge eating disorder is one of the psychological disorders that has recently become more and more common among women. The aim of this study was to develop the therapy protocol based on paradoxical timetabling model and its effectiveness on binge eating disorder women. The research method was mixed anova in the unbalanced control group. The statistical population was women who volunteered to the clinic of Shahid Beheshti University of Nutrition in 1398 and after the interview, had binge eating disorder and inclusion criteria. The sample size was 24 people who were divided into experimental and control groups of 12 people. The instruments used in this study were Gormaly binge eating Questionnaire (BES) and researcher-made protocol. The therapy protocol was designed according to the paradoxical schedule model and its theoretical foundations in two individual and interpersonal domains. The treatment protocol was performed on the experimental group in ten sessions of two hours and one session per week. The results showed that the treatment protocol was effective on binge eating disorder with 99% confidence and its effects were stable until the follow-up stage. The effectiveness of this treatment model confirmed its rapid, profound and lasting effect as a short-term treatment.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Weight Loss Motivation Questionnaire (WLM-Q) among Overweight and Obese Individuals

Shahram Mohammadkhani

Over the years, weight loss motivation has been introduced as an important factor in weight loss and its stability. The purpose of the present study was to investigate psychometric properties of the Motivation for Weight Loss Questionnaire (WLM-Q) among overweight and obese Individuals. In this study, the Persian version of the WLM-Q prepared using back-translation was administrated to 453 individuals referring to diet therapy centres in Tehran. The internal consistency of the Persian version of the WLM-Q was assessed via Cronbach’s alpha. Moreover, the factor structure of the scale was assessed using confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. The results of Cronbach's alpha for the whole scale was 0.82 and for the three extracted factors of health, appearance in relation to others, and appearance in relation to oneself, were 0.86, 0.85 and 0.74 respectively. The results indicated the desirable internal consistency of the scale and its components. The outcome of confirmatory factor analysis supported the factor structure obtained from exploratory factor analysis and the fit indices demonstrated a good model fit. In general, it can be concluded that the Persian version of the WLM-Q has desirable psychometric properties and is a reliable instrument for research and clinical settings.