Short research paper : academic optimism and organizational citizenship behaviour amongst secondary school teachers

Academic optimism and organizational citizenship behaviour amongst secondary school teacherspeer-reviewe

Relationship between Sports Aggression and Sports Mindfulness with Sports Self-efficacy in Male Athletes; the Mediating Role of Family Cohesion

Introduction: Self-efficacy is a construct that can greatly influence sports development. Individuals with a high self-efficacy level are more likely to set tougher goals and work harder to achieve them. We aimed to investigate the relationship between sports aggression and sports mindfulness with sports self-efficacy in male athletes through the mediating role of family cohesion. Material and Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study covered all male athletes who are members of the youth and adult male football teams in Masjed Soleyman (Iran) in 2021. The 258 athletes were selected using convenience sampling. The research tools included the Sports Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport, and the Family Cohesion Questionnaire. The proposed model was evaluated using path analysis and indirect correlations were tested with bootstrapping. Results: The results suggested that all direct paths to sport self-efficacy were significant except sports mindfulness (P<0.01), and indirect paths to sports self-efficacy became significant through family cohesion (P<0.01). Conclusion: The proposed model had a good fit, and was a major step toward recognizing the factors affecting sports self-efficacy in male athletes, and can help in designing programs to reduce their experienced tension and improve their sports self-efficacy

The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Patients with Chronic Pain in Ahvaz

Background: Chronic pain causes various problems and agonies including emotional disorders as well as limited personal, social, and occupational functioning. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with chronic pain. Methods: The research method was experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design and a control group. The study population comprised all patients with chronic pain who were referred to the medical centers of Ahvaz in 2018. Using convenience sampling, we selected 30 patients willing to participate in the study and randomly divided them into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. Both were groups tested at the beginning and end of the intervention program with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The experimental group underwent nine sessions (90-minute sessions per week) of acceptance and commitment therapy. The follow-up was performed after 60 days. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23. Results: The mean ± SD of the post-test scores of depression, anxiety, and stress was (12.03±2.82), (10.50±2.34), and (12.50±1.72) in the experimental group and (21.33±1.84), (19.20±4.12), and (26.71±1.18) in the control group, which had significant differences with each other. The results showed that acceptance and commitment therapy effectively decreased depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with chronic pain in the experimental group (Pvalue<0.05). Conclusions: Acceptance and commitment therapy can be used as an effective intervention program to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with chronic pain. Keywords: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Chronic pain

The Effectiveness of Empathy and Problem-Solving Skills Training on Social Self-efficacy and Mental Security of High School Boys

   Background: Teaching empathy and problem-solving skills is effective in improving students’ self-efficacy and quality of social life. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of empathy and problem-solving skills training on social self-efficacy and psychological security of Assaluyeh second high school boys. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study on all male high school students in Assaluyeh in the academic year of 2019-2020, of whom 45 were purposefully selected and assigned to two experimental groups and controls group. One experimental group received empathy training and the other group received problem-solving training in eight 90-minute sessions. To collect data, the social self-efficacy and Maslow’s psychological security questionnaires were used. Analysis of covariance was done using SPSS-24 software. Results: Empathy and problem-solving training were effective on social self-efficacy and psychological security of high school boys (P < 0.001). Also, no significant difference was found between the effectiveness of empathy skills training and problem-solving training on social self-efficacy and psychological security (P < 0.746). Conclusion: Empathy and problem-solving training increased social self-efficacy as well as psychological security in high school boys

The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Patients with Chronic Pain in Ahvaz

Background: Chronic pain causes various problems and agonies including emotional disorders as well as limited personal, social, and occupational functioning. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with chronic pain. Methods: The research method was experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design and a control group. The study population comprised all patients with chronic pain who were referred to the medical centers of Ahvaz in 2018. Using convenience sampling, we selected 30 patients willing to participate in the study and randomly divided them into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. Both were groups tested at the beginning and end of the intervention program with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The experimental group underwent nine sessions (90-minute sessions per week) of acceptance and commitment therapy. The follow-up was performed after 60 days. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23. Results: The mean ± SD of the post-test scores of depression, anxiety, and stress was (12.03±2.82), (10.50±2.34), and (12.50±1.72) in the experimental group and (21.33±1.84), (19.20±4.12), and (26.71±1.18) in the control group, which had significant differences with each other. The results showed that acceptance and commitment therapy effectively decreased depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with chronic pain in the experimental group (Pvalue<0.05). Conclusions: Acceptance and commitment therapy can be used as an effective intervention program to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress in patients with chronic pain. Keywords: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Chronic pain

Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Mental Imagery on Hope and Self-Efficacy of Patients with Leukemia and Lymphoma

Background: Cancer treatment accompanies several psychological pressures some of which reduce the quality of life and cause anxiety and depression. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy and mental imagery on the hope and self-efficacy of patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of all male and female patients with leukemia and lymphoma visiting the hematology department of Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital of Babol in 2019. Of them, 45 patients (15 per group) were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. The first experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of individual cognitive behavioral therapy and the second experimental group received ten 90-minute sessions of mental imagery. The control group received no intervention. The research instruments included the Miller Hope Scale (MHS) and Cancer Behavior Inventory (CBI). Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance. Results: Findings suggested that cognitive-behavioral therapy and mental imagery have a significant effect on patients’ self-efficacy and hope (Pvalue<0.001). There was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two therapies. Conclusions: Considering the effectiveness of the therapies, they are suggested to be utilized extensively along with medical and clinical interventions to improve the psychological well-being of cancer patients. Keywords: Cognitive behavioral therapy, Imagery, Hope, Self-efficacy, Cance

Factors Associated with the Research Anxiety among Faculties of Knowledge and Information Science Departments of Iranian Universities

Background and aim: The present study was conducted to determine the factors associated with the research anxiety among the faculties of knowledge and information science departments of Iranian universities. Material and methods: The study sample consisted of all full-time faculties working in the knowledge and information science departments of Iranian universities (181 individuals) in the academic year of 2013-2014. Among them, 139 participants had good cooperation in filling out the questionnaire. In this survey-analytical study, data were collected using Higgins-Kotrlik research anxiety inventory. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20. Findings: The results showed that about 63% of the respondents had high anxiety level and the remaining (37%) had the moderate level of anxiety. The results of the correlation tests revealed that two predictor variables of teaching skills and environmental factors had a negative significant relationship with the research anxiety. The results of the regression analysis indicated that the components of these two variables could explain 38% of the variance of anxiety research. Conclusion: The findings illustrated that an anxiety can negatively affect the productivity of faculty members, leading to their slow improvement. It is clear that continuing such a situation may result in scientific recession in high education system; therefore, this system cannot continue to serve effectively its performance, namely, education and research in society

The Effectiveness of Play Therapy in Improving Attention and Working Memory in Students with Specific Learning Disorders

Background: One of the most prominent challenges faced by students with learning disorders is attention and working memory deficits. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of play therapy in improving attention and working memory in students with specific learning disorders.Methods: The study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measurements, including a control group. The statistical population consisted of all fourth-grade students with specific learning disorders in Dezful, Iran, in 2022. Thirty students were purposively selected and allocated to either an experimental or control group, with 15 participants in each group. The experimental group received play therapy sessions (ten 90-minute sessions and one session per week), while the control group received no intervention. The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) and the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C) were used for data collection. The analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data via SPSS version 26.Results: The study included 30 students with specific learning disorders, aged 10.24±2.26 years. In the pre-test stage, the experimental group’s mean scores for central executive, visual-spatial sketchpad, and phonological loop were 59.47±2.03, 44.80±3.21, and 64.27±1.62, respectively. In the post-test stage, these means increased to 71.87±3.24, 59.87±2.97, and 78.73±2.93, respectively. Furthermore, the experimental group’s mean attention scores increased from 69.53±16.81 in the pretest stage to 84.93±14.35 in the post-test stage. The findings indicated that play therapy was effective in improving the attention and working memory of students with specific learning disorders (P<0.001).Conclusion: The results suggested that play therapy can be an effective intervention for improving academic achievement by enhancing attention and working memory in students with specific learning disorders

Relationships of Students’ Mental Well-being with Mothers’ Emotional Breakdown and Marital Justice Mediated by Mothers’ Marital Intimacy

Background: Students’ mental well-being can be influenced by various maternal characteristics due to their close relationships with their mothers. These factors have an impact on their overall mental health. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between students’ mental well-being, mothers’ emotional breakdown, and marital justice, with the mediating role of mothers’ marital intimacy in Ahvaz, Iran.Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study included all female and male senior high school students in Ahvaz, Iran, and their mothers during the 2022–23 academic year. A stratified cluster sampling method was employed, and 300 students and their mothers were selected as the research sample. The research utilized several tools, including the Psychological Well-being Scale, the Love Trauma Inventory, the Marital Justice Scale, and the Marital Intimacy Questionnaire. Path analysis was conducted using SPSS version 27 and AMOS version 25 to evaluate the proposed model.Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of students’ mental well-being, mothers’ emotional breakdown, mothers’ marital justice, and mothers’ marital intimacy were as follows: 59.69 (12.94), 19.29 (5.11), 59.36 (8.87), and 67.99 (12.34), respectively. The findings indicated that all direct paths to students’ mental well-being were significant (P<0.001), except for the marital justice of mothers. Furthermore, mothers’ marital intimacy significantly mediated the indirect path between mothers’ emotional breakdown and students’ mental well-being (P<0.001). Similarly, the relationship between mothers’ marital justice and students’ mental well-being was significantly mediated by mothers’ marital intimacy (P<0.001).Conclusion: The study revealed a direct positive relationship between mothers’ marital intimacy and students’ mental well-being. Therefore, it is expected that enhancing mothers’ marital intimacy will have a positive impact on students’ mental well-being. To achieve this, training workshops should be conducted to improve marital justice between spouses, thereby enhancing mothers’ marital intimacy and boosting students’ mental well-being

The Effectiveness of Matrix Interventions in Reducing the Difficulty in Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Craving in Methamphetamine-Dependent Patients

Background:&nbsp; Craving is a persistent factor in addictive behaviors. The aim of study was to investigate the effectiveness of matrix interventions in reducing the difficulty in cognitive emotion regulation and craving in methamphetamine-dependent patients.Methods: &nbsp;The research method was experimental and the research design was pre and posttest with the control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all methamphetamine-dependent patients who visited the Golestan hospital of Ahvaz in 2019. Among them, 40 ones were selected by a purposive sampling method and were randomly classified into experimental and control groups (n = 20 per group). The Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Craving Questionnaires were used for data collection. The experimental group received the matrix program (24 fifty-minute sessions), but the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed by the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Significant level was set at 0.05.Results:&nbsp;The results indicated that the matrix program was effective in reducing the difficulty in cognitive emotion regulation (F = 13.483, Pvalue &lt; 0.001). The research results also indicated that the matrix program was effective in reducing craving in methamphetaminedependent patients (F = 60.716, Pvalue &lt; 0.001).Conclusions:&nbsp;According to results, the therapy could be used to reduce the difficulty in cognitive emotion regulation and craving in methamphetamine-dependent patients. Keywords:&nbsp;Matrix model, Cognitive emotion regulation, Craving, Methamphetamine