Effectiveness of Self-Help Mindfulness on Depression, Anxiety and Stress

Introduction: Growing evidence shows that mindfulness based on self-help interventions have advantages for physical and psychological health in different populations. The mindfulness based emotional balance is a new program and efficacy of which has not been investigated in self-help format.  Methods: This study was a randomized control trial (RCT) with wait-list control. After screening and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria eighty students of Kermanshah University of medical sciences were assigned randomly to the mindfulness-based emotional balance self-help or the wait list control group. Anxiety, depression, stress, and mindfulness were measured prior to the intervention after the intervention, and two-month after end of intervention as follow-up. DASS-21 and MAAS were used.  Results: Significant decrease in anxiety, depression, and stress in addition to a significant increase in mindfulness in the experimental group in the posttest. However, there were no significant changes in any of the aforesaid measures in the wait list control group. The resultant benefits were persistent in the two-month follow-up. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, this type of treatment can be used as an efficient and cost-effective method to improve psychological problems such as stress, depression and anxiety.  Declaration of Interest: Non

The Impact of Educational Intervention on Aggression Level among High School Students in Ilam-Iran

BackgroundManagement and control of adolescence aggression improves constructive relationships, quality of life, and academic achievement. This research aimed to study the impact of educational intervention on reduction of aggression among male high school students in Ilam city, Iran.Materials and MethodsThis quasi-experimental intervention study using the pretest-posttest method was conducted on 70 aggressive male high school students in Ilam who were selected using the convenience sampling method. First, students were asked to fill out the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ)and 70 of them with the highest score of aggression were selected as the sample. They received educational intervention for eight 90-minute sessions  during one month. Then post-test data were collected and follow-up at three months after the intervention and statistically analyzed using SPSS-20.ResultsThe mean age of subjects was 15.81±1.24 years old. 83% belonged to the urban community and 12.5% belonged to the rural community. The results showed that the educational intervention was effective in reduction of aggression levels and its four subscales (

Compliance with Covid -19 health measures in adolescents: The role of personal fable, sensation seeking and social alienation

Background and Objective: The COVID-19 emergence obliged many governments to exert public health measures. However, it seems a vast difference in levels of respect towards health-related guidelines. Among all age groups, adolescents are known to have low conformity to such rules and display a crucial role in spreading the virus. In efforts trying to find the key contributing factors of such extensive non-compliance, much pandemic research attention has been focused on the adult population and adolescents have not been widely addressed. This paper examined the role of personal fable, sensation seeking and social alienation in the adoption of Covid-19 recommended practices in adolescents. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study collected data from 355 adolescents during strict restrictions imposed on the country. The survey was administered online over three weeks. Participants were asked to complete self-report measures. Data were analyzed by correlation and regression analysis. Results: Data shows an inverse correlation between the variables and compliance, among which disinhibition and invulnerability had the strongest association. These subscales were predictors of non-conformity with official pandemic guidelines. Likewise, social alienation was predictive of rule disrespect. Furthermore, females and those lacking history of Corona disease exhibited more active pandemic-related behaviors. Conclusions: It seems that some peculiar characteristics of this developmental stage have an outstanding role in explaining adherence to pandemic-related preventative behaviors. &nbsp