Social Capital and its Relationship with Drug Use among Southeast Iranian Adolescents

Background: Social capital (SC) is one of the most important assets and a vital determinant of sustainabledevelopment of any country. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the relationshipbetween SC and substance use (SU) in Southeast Iranian adolescents.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among high school students in three cities located in southeast of Iran. We recruited 600 adolescents (329 girls and 271 boys) through multistage sampling duringSeptember to November 2018. The data collection instrument was a self-administered standardizedquestionnaire that included basic demographic characteristics, SC constructs items, and questions about SUbehavior in the participants.Findings: The mean SC score among boys and girls studied was 3.46 and 3.33, respectively (from 5 score).Among the SC constructs, respectively, the lowest and highest score belonged to social trust and [2.84 in girlsand 2.98 in boys with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.06-0.21, P < 0.001] and bonding to family (3.92 ingirls and 4.25 in boys with 95% CI of 0.22-0.44, P < 0.001). The ever use prevalence of at least one substanceabuse was 55.9% (n = 181) for boys and 36.6% (n = 68) for girls. Hookah (41.8%) and alcohol (16.9%) were themost substances abused by participants. One-point increase in score of the constructs of social participation,social cohesion, bonding with family, and bonding with schools was associated with a reduce of 17%, 22%, 26%,and 46% in the probability of ever SU, respectively.Conclusion: There was a strong relationship between SU and SC. Thus, rising SC as an effective communitybased and indirect approach can help policy makers and professionals in preventing SU in Iran. However, priorto any intervention, identification of more causality may be require

The Application of Social Cognitive Theory on Mothers’ Feeding Practices for Children Aged 6 to 24 Months old in Iran

Background Complementary Feeding between 6 and 24 months of age underlies nutritional habits in adulthood which can be formed by mothers through these habits. This study was conducted in Kerman aiming to apply the social cognitive theory (SCT) in feeding practices of mothers for their children aged 6 to 24 months. Materials and Methods This quasi-experimental study, controlled before and after, was conducted in Kerman health centers on 170 mothers with children aged 6 to 24 months, who were selected by multistage random sampling. The data collection tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire which was completed by mothers before and one month after the intervention. Interventions were implemented for 45 days through four sessions. In the intervention program; presentations, booklets, pamphlets, focus group discussions, role playing, demonstrations, and self-control cards were used. Also, bean sprouts were given to mothers and individual counseling was provided. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0. Results: Social cognitive theory constructs including knowledge, outcome expectations, outcome expectancies, situational perception, the environment, self-efficacy and self-control could have significant effect on feeding practices of mothers for children (

Development of Risk-Taking Tendency Tool for High School Students

Background: Adolescence is the age of increased sensation-seeking and risk-taking. To prevent such behaviors, the adolescent tendency to engage in high-risk behaviors must be measureable. This study aimed to develop a questionnaire about risk-taking tendencies among Iranian students.Methods: This study was conducted using cluster sampling of the tenth-grade students in three cities in Kerman province, Iran. The students were assured that the questionnaires would remain anonymous and unlinked. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and comparison of known groups. Corrected item-scale correlation and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to evaluate reliability.Findings: A total of 551 high school students participated in this study. Of these, 57 were excluded after checking the “non-existent drug” item (10.3%). Girls accounted for 49.2% of the sample. Of the 33 initial questions, 13 were removed due to factor loading of less than 0.5. Two factors were extracted using the scree plot (“drug abuse tendency" and "other risky behavior tendency"). The tendency toward high-risk behavior was significantly higher in male students than in female ones (P < 0.001). This indicates the known group validity of the questionnaire. The Cronbach's alpha of the above-mentioned factors were 0.93 and 0.83, respectively.Conclusion: The questionnaire measuring the tendency toward high-risk behavior among students showed acceptable validity and reliability

Educational Needs of Couples Attending in Pre-marriage Counseling classes in Health Center of Kerman

Introduction:The first step in any educational programs is determining the educational needs of the target group. Providing adequate information to couples helps them to start their marital life based on a correct basis. The aim of this study was to determine the pre-marriage educational needs of couples who are about to get marry. Methods:This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was performed on 250 couples attending in Pre-marriage counseling classes. Available sampling was used in this study. Data were collected by a questionnaire including demographic variables and 47 questions in 7 areas including family planning, congenital diseases, common cancers in men and women, sexual relationships, relationship with spouse and family, and Islamic and legal issues. Data were analyzed using analytical statistics Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA, and correlation coefficientthrough SPSS 21. Results:The results show a significant relationshipbetween the need for training and education in women and men (P<0.0001). There was a significant relationship between age and educational needin the field of congenital diseases, in females (P=0.002) and males (P=0.01). The most important educational needs were sexual relationship and relationship with spouse and family. Conclusion:It seems thatcomprehensive information on sexual issues and relationship with spouse and family should be also added to educational content in order to help young couples to have healthier marital life. Key¬words:Educational Need, Pre-marriage Counseling, Couples, Health Center Citation:RezabeigiDavarani E, Khanjani N, Iranpour A, Mohseni M, NajarMansoori S.Educational Needs of Couples Attending in Pre-marriage Counseling classes in Health Center of Kerman. Journal of Health Based Research 2016; 2(1): 79-80

Pattern of Substance Use and Related Factors in Male Prisoners

Background: Prisoner’s addiction is one of the major problems in many countries which imposes very high medical costs and social harm to communities. This study investigated the pattern of substance use and related factors in male prisoners in one of the prisons in southeastern Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016. The study population was inmates of a prison in southeast Iran. Sampling was carried out randomly according to the list of prisoners. Data were collected using a form and were analyzed with statistics software SPSS.Findings: More than four-fifths (75.3%) of the subjects consumed at least one substance (alcohol, tobacco and other drugs), 74.4% were smoking, 73.2% used a narcotic substance, and about one-fifth (19.3%) reported drinking alcohol. With a frequency of 62.0%, opium was the most frequently utilized narcotic substance. Poppy juice (31.6%), cannabis (29.8%), crystal (16.9%) and tramadol (16.9%) were the next frequent substances used. A percentage of 41.5% subjects reported using two or more drugs. A percentage of 80.7% subjects reported substance use among their friends, 39.2% by siblings and 37.2% by father. Regression analysis showed predictor variables of substance use were education, substance use by prisoner before being imprisoned, substance use by father, friends and siblings.Conclusion: This study showed a remarkable prevalence of substance use in prisons, which was more than general population. Therefore, it is necessary to consider alternative penalties of imprisonment due to the factors associated with substance use. Screening of people at high risk for substance use should be considered on admission to prison, and primary prevention measures should be focused on them

Twelve-hour before Driving Prevalence of Alcohol and Drug Use among Heavy Vehicle Drivers in South East of Iran Using Network Scale Up

Background: Heavy vehicle drivers spend a great deal of time away from their families. This issue and other difficulties around their job may increase risky behaviors among them. The current study aims to investigate the prevalence of opium drugs, stimulants, cannabis, and alcohol use 12 hours before driving among heavy vehicle drivers. Methods: We selected two sites that were in charge of medical examination of drivers and recruited 363 drivers of heavy vehicles (trucks, trailers, and buses). We asked drivers about total number of drivers they knew and number of drivers who experienced use of different types of drugs. The data were analyzed using Network Scale Up Method (NSUM). Findings: Mean of age and job experience was 43.28 ± 10.04 years and 16.07 ± 9.67 years, respectively. The highest and lowest prevalence of drug use related to opium-based drugs at 12.8% to 14.0% and simulants at 1.97% to 2.84%, respectively. The prevalence of alcohol use 12 hours before driving was 4%. Conclusion: 12-hour before driving prevalence of opium-based drugs among drivers was high. This might put them in higher risk of road accidents. There is a need to design appropriate educational programs for them