Social Phobia and its Association with Academic Performance among Student of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background & Objective: Public speaking is a common academic activity. Social phobia is associated with fear of public speaking which affects educational achievement. However, few researches have examined the prevalence of social phobia among university students in Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of social phobia among students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and its impact on their academic performance. Methods: Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Brief Version of Negative Evaluation Scale, and a questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics and academic performance were applied to 700 randomly selected students from Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Results: The prevalence of social phobia among the university students was 40.6%. Grade Point Average (GPA) was not significantly different between the students with social phobia comparing to students without social phobia. Yet, students with social phobia believed that fear of speaking in public had negative effects on their academic performance. In this study, only 4.1% of students with social phobia have been visited by psychiatrists. Conclusion: Preventive strategies are recommended to reduce the under-recognition and the adverse impact of social phobia on academic performance of university students. Keywords Social phobia Academic performance Medical university students Kerman (Iran

Opiate Dependents’ Experiences of the Therapeutic Relationship in Methadone Centers; A Qualitative Study

Abstract Background: Methadone maintenance therapy is a treatment of choice for opiate addiction. Understanding opiate dependents’ experiences of patients' treatment is a key to continue the treatment and can provide help to revise the standards of methadone centers and improve the quality of treatment. This study aimed to describe the essence and structure of opiate dependents’ experiences with methadone maintenance therapy. Methods: It was a qualitative phenomenological study, in which participants were selected from opiate dependents referred to methadone centers in Kerman city in 2007. Sampling was purposive and continued until data saturation, which was achieved at 32 participants. Data were collected by in-depth interviews. Colaizzi's method was applied for data analysis. The rigor of the present study was assessed based on the criteria of confirmability and credibility. Findings: A total of 26 themes were extracted and categorized into three main themes including positive therapeutic alliance, negative therapeutic alliance and therapeutic alliance requests. Conclusion: Client–centered therapy in methadone clinics creates a positive therapeutic alliance, and persuades patients to continue their treatment. Establishing a good relationship with patients during their treatment procedure is an effective way to meet the goals. Individual and group counseling sessions and advices on family and career related issues during the treatment should be considered as well. Keywords: Methadone, Experiences, Professional Patient Relationships, Qualitative research, Opiate dependenc

Rare Variant of Lycanthropy and Ecstasy

Abstract Background: Lycanthropy is an unusual belief or delusion in which the patient thinks that he/she has been transformed into an animal. In rare cases, the patient believes that another person has been transformed into an animal. Case Report: We report a patient with an uncommon variant of lycanthropy is introduced. The symptoms appeared after consumption of ecstasy. This shows the occurrences of uncommon and rare psychosis after ecstasy drug use especially in patients susceptible to schizophrenia. Ecstasy drug can induce paranoid psychosis similar to schizophrenia. In the presented case, ecstasy seemed to have a role in patient's underlying susceptibility to schizophrenia. Keywords: Lycanthropy, Ecstas

Physical Effects of Methadone Maintenance Treatment from the Standpoint of Clients

Background: Studies have shown that methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is effective in improving the client’s quality of life and physical health. This study aimed to describe the nature and structure of drug dependents' experiences and the physical effects of MMT Methods: The present study is a qualitative and a phenomenology study on 32 clients referred to methadone clinics in the city of Kerman in 2008. Colaizzi’s method was used for data analysis and to evaluate the data, validity and reliability criteria were used. Findings: Encoded concepts were categorized in general groups of effectiveness on general health, sleep, appetite and weight, sexual desire, appearance and other effects. These six categories showed the main structure of experience and physical effects of MMT. Conclusion: The clients' viewpoints towards this treatment had a role in their experience expression and feelings, but MMT had an overall positive physical effect on the clients Keywords: Methadone maintenance treatment, Physical effects

The Relationship between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Religious Orientation with Perceived Stress and Cigarette Addiction among University Students

Background: Psychological stress is associated with unhealthy lifestyles, including smoking. Moreover, religiousbeliefs can play a significant role in relieving mental disorders such as anxiety and stress. Due to the frequentexposure of medical students to stressful situations, this study was conducted with the aim to investigate therelationship of internal and external religious orientation with perceived stress and nicotine dependence.Methods: This correlational study was carried out on medical students of Kerman University of MedicalSciences, Kerman, Iran, in 2015. The sample size was determined to be 224 individuals using the Morgantable. The participants were selected using stratified random sampling. The data collection tools consisted ofa demographic information form, the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) (Allport and Ross), the PerceivedStress Scale (PSS-14), and the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Data were analyzed usingmultiple regression analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation coefficient, and t-test inSPSS software.Findings: The findings of the study showed that internal religious orientation had a significant negativerelationship with perceived stress and nicotine dependence; however, no significant relationship wasobserved between external religious orientation and these variables.Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the religious beliefs of individuals havea preventive role in perceived stress and nicotine dependence

Comparative Evaluation of Psychiatric Disorders in Opium and Heroin Dependent Patients

Abstract Background: Opium dependency is an important health problem in Iran. Several studies show that most opium dependent patients have concomitant psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was evaluation of psychiatric disorders in opium dependency in comparison with heroin dependency. Methods: This is a descriptive study on 192 male opium dependent patients who were admitted in dual- diagnosis ward of Beheshti Hospital in Kerman for detoxification. After evaluation of their demographic data, they were assessed by means of SCL-90-R test. Findings: The mean age of subjects was 33.92 ± 7.67 years. All scales of SCL-90-R were evaluated as borderline or sick. The scores of obsession-compulsion, anxiety, phobia, psychosis, PST, and GSI were significantly higher in heroin dependents compared to opium dependent patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion: It is recommended that all patients with opium dependency should be evaluated for co-morbid psychiatric disorders. This may improve the outcome and management of their dependency. Keywords: Opium, Heroin, Psychopathology, SCL-90-

Experiences of Opium Dependents from Performance of Methadone Centers of Kerman, Iran

Abstract Backgrounds: To assess patients' satisfaction and to evaluate methadone therapy program, it is important to understand the experiences of opium dependents during the treatment period in methadone centers and determine the quality of this program and revise standards based on that. This study aimed to describe the nature and structure of patients' experiences during treatment in methadone centers. Methods: This was a qualitative method using phenomenology. Sampling was purposive and the participants were selected from opium dependents referred to Kerman methadone centers during 2007. Sampling continued until data saturation and the sample size was 32. Colaizzi's method was applied for data analysis. Findings: The findings of this study included 27 codes categorized in four main groups: experiences of structure, personnel, patients, and regulations. These four categories showed the main structure of experiences in methadone centers. Conclusion: Lack of treatment centers in near-by cities or the problems of those centers suggest that it is necessary to establish new centers or solve the problems of centers in near-by cities. The type of patients referring to the centers plays a role in treatment process. The regular presence of physicians and other personnel and their concerns and care for patients as well as longer working hours of the centers have roles in patients' satisfaction and increase of consistency with treatment. Discussing the rules and regulations of the center with patients including the obligatory of daily reference to the center to obtain medicine and injections sound necessary. Also, it is necessary to find ways for solving problems of urine tests. Keywords:Experiences, Methadone, Performance, Qualitative study

Validity and Reliability of a Persian Version of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry Scale in Patients with Bipolar Type One Disorder

Background: The screen for cognitive impairment in psychiatry scale (SCIP) is designed for assessment of cognitive function in patients with psychiatry disorders. English and Spanish versions of SCIP have been shown to be sensitive enough to cognitive dysfunction as a standard test. The SCIP is a scale intended to quickly and easily assess the cognitive impairment in patient with sever psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of Persian version of SCIP when applied to patients diagnosed with bipolar type one disorder. Methods: Psychometric properties were evaluated in a group of 30 patients aged between 18 and 55 years who were in stable phase of bipolar type one disorder and a control group of 30 healthy people using Persian version of SCIP, controlled oral word association test (COWAT), Rey auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT), digit symbol coding (Wechsler adult intelligence III) test, and Trail Making Test (TMT) part A and B. Results: The subscales of Persian version of SCIP were significantly correlated with the corresponding standard neurocognitive tests with an adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.85). Test-retest reliability showed intraclass correlation coefficient as 0.94. Conclusion: Generally, Persian version of SCIP showed reasonable validity and reliability in order to assess cognitive impairments in patients with bipolar type one disorder and differentiate these patients from healthy control group in this term. Keywords Bipolar Disorder; Cognitive Impairment; Screening; Psychiatr

Physical Effects of Methadone Maintenance Treatment from the Standpoint of Clients

Abstract Studies have shown that methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is effective in improving the client’s quality of life and physical health. This study aimed to describe the nature and structure of drug dependents' experiences and the physical effects of MMT. The present study is a qualitative and a phenomenology study on 32 clients referred to methadone clinics in the city of Kerman in 2008. Colaizzi’s method was used for data analysis and to evaluate the data, validity and reliability criteria were used. Encoded concepts were categorized in general groups of effectiveness on general health, sleep, appetite and weight, sexual desire, appearance and other effects. These six categories showed the main structure of experience and physical effects of MMT. The clients' viewpoints towards this treatment had a role in their experience expression and feelings, but MMT had an overall positive physical effect on the clients

Opiate Dependents’ Experiences of the Therapeutic Relationship in Methadone Centers; A Qualitative Study

Abstract Methadone maintenance therapy is a treatment of choice for opiate addiction. Understanding opiate dependents’ experiences of patients' treatment is a key to continue the treatment and can provide help to revise the standards of methadone centers and improve the quality of treatment. This study aimed to describe the essence and structure of opiate dependents’ experiences with methadone maintenance therapy. It was a qualitative phenomenological study, in which participants were selected from opiate dependents referred to methadone centers in Kerman city in 2007. Sampling was purposive and continued until data saturation, which was achieved at 32 participants. Data were collected by in-depth interviews. Colaizzi's method was applied for data analysis. The rigor of the present study was assessed based on the criteria of confirmability and credibility. A total of 26 themes were extracted and categorized into three main themes including positive therapeutic alliance, negative therapeutic alliance and therapeutic alliance requests. Client–centered therapy in methadone clinics creates a positive therapeutic alliance, and persuades patients to continue their treatment. Establishing a good relationship with patients during their treatment procedure is an effective way to meet the goals. Individual and group counseling sessions and advices on family and career related issues during the treatment should be considered as well