Psychometric properties of the Persian version of co-rumination questionnaire

Background: Although growing studies support features of co-rumination as a vulnerability factor in internalizing symptoms and positive factor in friendship, little attention has been paid to the psychometric properties of the Co-Rumination Questionnaire (CRQ). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of this questionnaire. Methods: This research is a descriptive-exploratory study and 550 high school students who were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. They completed CRQ, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and ruminative response scale (RRS) from winter 2014 to summer 2015. Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and factor structure were investigated. Results: The factor analysis identified two interpretable factors with the eigenvalue higher than 2. The results from concurrent validity measurement in the current study showed that co-rumination has a positive correlation with depression signs (P < 0.01) and rumination response style (P < 0.01). The CRQ validity was determined using the half-split method employing Spearman-Brown (0.82) and Guttman correlation test (0.81) and internal consistency (0.90). According to these values, this questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: The Persian version of CRQ has reliability and validity for assessing co-rumination among adolescent participants. This study provides primary evidence on the applicability of the Persian version of the CRQ in the Iranian population. Copyright © 2020, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of co-rumination questionnaire

Background: Although growing studies support features of co-rumination as a vulnerability factor in internalizing symptoms and positive factor in friendship, little attention has been paid to the psychometric properties of the Co-Rumination Questionnaire (CRQ). Objectives: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Persian version of this questionnaire. Methods: This research is a descriptive-exploratory study and 550 high school students who were selected by random cluster sampling from schools in Tehran. They completed CRQ, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and ruminative response scale (RRS) from winter 2014 to summer 2015. Construct validity, internal consistency reliability, and factor structure were investigated. Results: The factor analysis identified two interpretable factors with the eigenvalue higher than 2. The results from concurrent validity measurement in the current study showed that co-rumination has a positive correlation with depression signs (P < 0.01) and rumination response style (P < 0.01). The CRQ validity was determined using the half-split method employing Spearman-Brown (0.82) and Guttman correlation test (0.81) and internal consistency (0.90). According to these values, this questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency reliability. Conclusions: The Persian version of CRQ has reliability and validity for assessing co-rumination among adolescent participants. This study provides primary evidence on the applicability of the Persian version of the CRQ in the Iranian population. Copyright © 2020, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

Estimation of sleep problems among pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To estimate the sleep problems among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility criteria English, peer-reviewed, observational studies published between December 2019 and July 2021 which assessed and reported sleep problem prevalence using a valid and reliable measure were included. Information sources Scopus, Medline/PubMed Central, ProQuest, ISI Web of Knowledge and Embase. Risk of bias assessment tool The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale checklist. Synthesis of results Prevalence of sleep problems was synthesised using STATA software V.14 using a random effects model. To assess moderator analysis, meta-regression was carried out. Funnel plot and Egger’s test were used to assess publication bias. Meta-trim was used to correct probable publication bias. The jackknife method was used for sensitivity analysis. Included studies A total of seven cross-sectional studies with 2808 participants from four countries were included. Synthesis of results The pooled estimated prevalence of sleep problems was 56% (95% CI 23% to 88%, I2=99.81%, Tau2=0.19). Due to the probability of publication bias, the fill-and- trim method was used to correct the estimated pooled measure, which imputed four studies. The corrected results based on this method showed that pooled prevalence of sleep problems was 13% (95% CI 0% to 45%; p<0.001). Based on meta-regression, age was the only significant predictor of prevalence of sleep problems among pregnant women. Limitations of evidence All studies were cross-sectional absence of assessment of sleep problems prior to COVID-19, and the outcomes of the pregnancies among those with and without sleep problems in a consistent manner are among the limitation of the current review. Interpretation Pregnant women have experienced significant declines in sleep quality when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. The short-term and long-term implications of such alterations in sleep on gestational and offspring outcomes are unclear and warrant further studies. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020181644

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: A meta-Analytic structural equation modeling approach

The widespread administration and multiple validations of the Fear of Covid-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in different languages have highlighted the controversy over its underlying structure and the resulting reliability index. In the present study, a meta-analysis based on structural equation modeling (MASEM) was conducted to assess the internal structure of the 7-item, 5-point Likert-type FCV-19S version, estimate an overall reliability index from the underlying model that best reflected the internal structure (one τ-equivalent factor, one congeneric factor, or two-factor models), and perform moderator analyses for the model-implied inter item correlations and estimated factor loadings. A Pearson inter-item correlation matrix was obtained for 48 independent studies, from which a pooled matrix was calculated following a random-effects multivariate meta-analysis. The results from the one-stage MASEM analysis showed that the two-factor model properly fitted the pooled matrix, while the τ-equivalent and congeneric one-factor models did not. Even though, the use of a bifactor model exhibited the predominance of the general factor over the domain-specific ones. High omega coefficients were obtained for the entire scale (.91) and the psychological (.83) and physiological (.83) symptoms subscales. Moderator analyses evidenced an increase in the estimated factor loadings, as well as in the reliability of the FCV-19S, when the standard deviation of the total scores increased and when the FCV-19S was administered to specific (vs. general) populations. The FCV-19S can be therefore considered as a highly related two-factor scale whose reliability makes it suitable for applied and research purposes.2022-2

Effect of vitamin D vaginal suppository on sexual functioning among postmenopausal women: a three-arm randomized controlled clinical trial

Objective: Vaginal atrophy, the second most common complication of menopause, can lead to sexual dysfunction. This study evaluated the effect of a vitamin D vaginal suppository on sexual functioning in postmenopausal women. Methods:This three-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted between August 2019 and August 2020. The sample comprised 105 postmenopausal women who were referred to comprehensive health service centers to receive postmenopausal care. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) being menopausal for at least 1 year, (ii) being married, (iii) being sexually active, and (iv) having sexual desire. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups for 8 weeks of treatment: intervention (vaginal suppository containing 1,000 units of vitamin D3), placebo (vaginal suppository placebo), or control (no treatment). The main outcome measure was sexual functioning, which was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Scale (FSFI) 4 times during the study (i.e., 1 month before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, 1 month after the intervention, and 2 months after the intervention). Results: Immediately and 1 month after the trial, the intervention group had the highest FSFI score, followed by the placebo group, both of which were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). At the 2-month follow-up, the intervention and placebo groups had similar FSFI scores (P=0.08), both of which were significantly higher than those in the control group (P=0.001 and P=0.03, respectively). Conclusion: Vitamin D vaginal suppositories were more effective at improving sexual functioning among postmenopausal women in the short-term and appeared to prevent aging-related sexual functioning decline in the long term

Suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic among a large-scale Iranian sample: the roles of generalized trust, insomnia, and fear of COVID-19

The novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still not under control globally. The pandemic has caused mental health issues among many different cohorts and suicidal ideation in relation to COVID-19 has been reported in a number of recent studies. Therefore, the present study proposed a model to explain the associations between generalized trust, fear of COVID-19, insomnia , and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic among a large-scale Iranian sample. Utilizing cluster sampling with multistage stratification, residents from Qazvin province in Iran were invited to participate in the present study. Adults aged over 18 years (n = 10,843; 6751 [62.3%] females) completed 'paper-and-pencil' questionnaires with the assistance of a trained research assistant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to understand the associations between generalized trust, fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. Slightly over one-fifth of the participants (n = 2252; 20.8%) reported suicidal ideation. Moreover, the SEM results indicated that generalized trust was indirectly associated with suicidal ideation via fear of COVID-19 and insomnia. Furthermore, generalized trust was not directly associated with suicidal ideation. The proposed model was invariant across gender groups, age groups, and participants residing in different areas (i.e., urban vs. rural). Generalized trust might reduce individuals' suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic period via reduced levels of fear of COVID-19 and insomnia. Healthcare providers and policymakers may want to assist individuals in developing their generalized trust, reducing fear of COVID-19, and improving insomnia problems to avoid possible suicidal behaviors

Fear of COVID-19 and trust in the healthcare system mediates the association between individual's risk perception and preventive COVID-19 behaviours among Iranians

Problems caused by the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and its mutations have brought challenges in pandemic control for all countries worldwide. The present study examines the mediating roles of fear of COVID-19 and trust in the healthcare system in the association between individual's risk perception and performing preventive COVID-19 behaviours among Iranians. A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from 3652 residents of Qazvin province in Iran from 3 February to 15 April 2021 using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method. Participants responded to an online questionnaire concerning their fear of COVID-19, risk perception, trust in the healthcare system, and preventive COVID-19 behaviours. Small to medium positive interrelationships were observed between the variables of the study. Fear of COVID-19, trust in the healthcare system or both (fear of COVID-19 and trust in the healthcare system) mediated the association between an individual's risk perception and performing preventive COVID-19 behaviours. The study demonstrated there are at least four ways through which an individual's risk perception can influence preventive COVID-19 behaviours. Therefore, clinicians, health communicators, and researchers may capitalize on these findings to enhance preventive COVID-19 behaviours to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 infection

Bayesian inversion of synthetic AVO data to assess fluid and shale content in sand-shale media

Reservoir characterization of sand-shale sequences has always challenged geoscientists due to the presence of anisotropy in the form of shale lenses or shale layers. Water saturation and volume of shale are among the fundamental reservoir properties of interest for sand-shale intervals, and relate to the amount of fluid content and accumulating potentials of such media. This paper suggests an integrated workflow using synthetic data for the characterization of shaley-sand media based on anisotropic rock physics (T-matrix approximation) and seismic reflectivity modelling. A Bayesian inversion scheme for estimating reservoir parameters from amplitude vs. offset (AVO) data was used to obtain the information about uncertainties as well as their most likely values. The results from our workflow give reliable estimates of water saturation from AVO data at small uncertainties, provided background sand porosity values and isotropic overburden properties are known. For volume of shale, the proposed workflow provides reasonable estimates even when larger uncertainties are present in AVO data

Evaluation of the selfitis behavior scale across two Persian-speaking countries, Iran and Afghanistan: advanced psychometric testing in a large-scale sample

Selfitis—which started off as a hoax but has now been investigated empirically—has been defined as the obsessive–compulsive desire to take photos of oneself and post them on social media. Furthermore, a scale to assess selfitis, the Selfitis Behavior Scale (SBS), has been developed. This study applied advanced psychometric testing methods, including confirmatory factor analysis (utilizing classical test theory) and the Rasch model (utilizing modern test theory), to examine the psychometric properties among Persian speakers (in Iran and Afghanistan). The participants (3163 Iranians and 1100 Afghanistani) completed an online survey posted on Instagram pages. The SBS showed promising properties, including satisfactory reliability (e.g., internal consistency and test–retest reliability), excellent construct validity (e.g., good fit in the CFA and Rasch models), and acceptable measurement invariance across Iranian and Afghan samples. Consequently, the SBS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing selfitis among Persian-speaking samples

Sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic and its’ association to psychological distress: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The emerging novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become one of the leading cause of deaths worldwide in 2020. The present systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the magnitude of sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with psychological distress. Methods: Five academic databases (Scopus, PubMed Central, ProQuest, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Embase) were searched. Observational studies including case-control studies and cross-sectional studies were included if relevant data relationships were reported (i.e., sleep assessed utilizing the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index or Insomnia Severity Index). All the studies were English, peer-reviewed papers published between December 2019 and February 2021. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020181644. Findings: 168 cross-sectional, four case-control, and five longitudinal design papers comprising 345,270 participants from 39 countries were identified. The corrected pooled estimated prevalence of sleep problems were 31% among healthcare professionals, 18% among the general population, and 57% among COVID-19 patients (all p-values < 0.05). Sleep problems were associated with depression among healthcare professionals, the general population, and COVID-19 patients, with Fisher's Z scores of -0.28, -0.30, and -0.36, respectively. Sleep problems were positively (and moderately) associated with anxiety among healthcare professionals, the general population, and COVID-19 patients, with Fisher's z scores of 0.55, 0.48, and 0.49, respectively. Interpretation: Sleep problems appear to have been common during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, sleep problems were found to be associated with higher levels of psychological distress. With the use of effective programs treating sleep problems, psychological distress may be reduced. Vice versa, the use of effective programs treating psychological distress, sleep problems may be reduced