The relationship between attachment style and perception of parental affection with test anxiety in gifted students

Background and Aim: Given the importance of test anxiety among gifted students, the present research was conducted to study the relationship between perception of parent’s affection and attachment styles with test anxiety. Materials and Methods: By means of simple random sampling, 300 subjects were selected out of all the gifted students in Khorramabad. Test Anxiety, perception of parents affection, and attachment styles questionnaires were used for collection data. Results: To analyze the data, Pearson correlation and regression were applied. The results showed that anxiety and avoidant attachment style and perception of father love predict test anxiety among both boys and girls in gifted student's school. However, there was not a meaningful relationship between attachment style and perception of mother love with test anxiety. Moreover, totally the results indicated that 9 percent of changes in test anxiety were predicted by attachment styles and perception of parent’s affection. And anxiety attachment style and perception of father love predict test anxiety. ‍Conclusion: According to the results if an individual has an avoidant attachment style he will experience the higher level of test anxiety

When Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Predicts Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and Poor Sleep—Results from a Larger Cross-Sectional and Quasi-Longitudinal Study

Poor sleep is associated with a higher risk of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a proxy of unfavorable emotion regulation. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that past non-suicidal self-injury was associated with current non-suicidal self-injury and with current subjective sleep patterns. To this end, a larger sample of young adults were assessed. A total of 2374 adults (mean age: 27.58 years; 39.6% females) completed a series of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, past and current NSSIs, suicide attempts, and current sleep patterns, including experiencing nightmares. Past NSSIs predicted current NSSIs. Current sleep patterns had a modest impact on the association between past and current NSSIs. Compared to male participants, female participants did not report more sleep complaints or more current NSSIs, but more past NSSIs. Past NSSIs predicted the occurrences of nightmares and suicide attempts. The best predictor of current NSSI was the remembered past NSSI, while current poor sleep was only modestly associated with current NSSI. Further indicators of current NSSI and poor sleep were suicide attempts and nightmares within the last six months. Overall, it appears that poor emotion regulation should be considered as underlying factor to trigger and maintain non-suicidal self-injury-related behavior and poor sleep. Further, unlike previous studies, which focused on the possible influence of sleep patterns on NSSIs, the aim of the present study paradigm was to investigate NSSIs on sleep patterns

Prediction of sleep quality and insomnia severity by psychological disorders and acute stress among earthquake survivors in Sarpol-e Zahab, Iran, 2017

Background: Psychological and health outcomes of natural disasters such as earthquakes affect survivors and health services for a long time. In the present study, posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD), symptoms of psychopathology, sleep quality, and insomnia disorder were investigated among survivors of earthquake occurred at the Western Iran on November 12, 2017. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 1031 adult participants from rural and urban areas of Sarpol-e Zahab, a city in Kermanshah Province (Western Iran), who suffered from mental health problems due to the earthquake, a magnitude-7.3 quake, occurred in the Western Iran in 2017. Participants completed the Symptom Checklist 90, Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Self-Rating Scale for PTSD. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analysis by Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (Version 21). Results: A positive correlation was observed between insomnia severity and all psychopathological symptoms. There was a positive correlation between sleep quality and somatization, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and psychoticism. In addition, acute stress was positively correlated with insomnia severity and sleep quality. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it is recommended that psychological disorders in earthquake victims be considered to enhance their sleep quality

Sleep Problems, Social Anxiety and Stuttering Severity in Adults Who Do and Adults Who Do Not Stutter

Background: While there is sufficient evidence that children and adolescents who stutter reported more impaired sleep compared to children and adolescents who did not stutter, findings among adults who stutter (AWS) were scarce. Furthermore, stuttering is associated with issues related to verbal communication in a social context. As such, it was conceivable that AWS reported higher scores for social anxiety, compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS). In the present study, we tested whether AWS reported higher sleep complaints compared to AWNS. We further tested whether scores for social anxiety and stuttering independently predicted sleep disturbances. Methods: A total of 110 AWS (mean age; 28.25 years, 27.30% females) and 162 AWNS (mean age; 29.40 years, 51.20% females) completed a series of self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, sleep disturbances and social anxiety. Adults with stuttering further completed a questionnaire on stuttering. Results: Compared to AWNS, AWS reported a shorter sleep duration, a lower sleep efficiency, higher scores for drug use in terms of sleep-promoting medications (significant p-values and medium effect sizes), and an overall higher PSQI score (significant p-values and large effect size), when controlling for age and social anxiety. Next, while p-values were always significant for subjective sleep quality, sleep disturbances, and daytime functioning, when controlling for age and social anxiety, their effect sizes were trivial or small. For sleep latency, the p-value was not significant and the effect size was trivial. Among AWS, higher scores for stuttering and older age, but not social anxiety, predicted higher sleep disturbances. The association between higher sleep disturbances and higher stuttering severity was greatest among those AWS with highest scores for social anxiety. Conclusions: When compared to AWNS, AWS self-reported higher sleep disturbances, which were associated with older age, and higher scores for stuttering severity, but not with social anxiety. Adults who stutter might be routinely asked for their sleep quality

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Improves Sleep Quality, Experiential Avoidance, and Emotion Regulation in Individuals with Insomnia—Results from a Randomized Interventional Study

Insomnia is a common problem in the general population. To treat insomnia, medication therapies and insomnia-related cognitive-behavioral interventions are often applied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on sleep quality, dysfunctional sleep beliefs and attitudes, experiential avoidance, and acceptance of sleep problems in individuals with insomnia, compared to a control condition. A total of 35 participants with diagnosed insomnia (mean age: 41.46 years old; 62.9% females) were randomly assigned to the ACT intervention (weekly group therapy for 60–70 min) or to the active control condition (weekly group meetings for 60–70 min without interventional and psychotherapeutic character). At baseline and after eight weeks (end of the study), and again 12 weeks later at follow-up, participants completed self-rating questionnaires on sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, emotion regulation, and experiential avoidance. Furthermore, participants in the intervention condition kept a weekly sleep log for eight consecutive weeks (micro-analysis). Every morning, participants completed the daily sleep log, which consisted of items regarding subjective sleep duration, sleep quality, and the feeling of being restored. Sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes towards sleep, emotion regulation, and experiential avoidance improved over time, but only in the ACT condition compared to the control condition. Improvements remained stable until follow-up. Improvements in experiential avoidance were related to a favorable change in sleep and cognitive-emotional processing. Micro-analyses showed that improvements occurred within the first three weeks of treatment. The pattern of results suggests that ACT appeared to have improved experiential avoidance, which in turn improved both sleep quality and sleep-related cognitive-emotional processes at longer-term in adults with insomnia

The relationship between brain behavioral systems and the characteristics of the five factor model of personality with aggression among Iranian students

Abstract: Background: Aggression is one of the negative components of emotion and it is usually considered to be the outcome of the activity of the Behavioral Inhibition and the Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS): components which can be considered as predisposing factors for personality differences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between brain behavioral systems and the characteristics of the five factor model of personality with aggression among students. Methods: The present study has a correlation descriptive design. The research population included all of the Razi University students in the academic year of 2012 -2013. The sampling was carried out with a random stratified method and 360 people (308 female and 52 male) were studied according to a table of Morgan. The study instruments were Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire, NEO Personality Inventory (Short Form), and Carver and White scale for BAS/BIS. Finally, SPSS20 was utilized to analyze the data using Pearson correlation,regression analysis, and canonical correlation. Results: The data showed a significant positive relationship between the neurosis and agreeableness personality factors with aggression; but there is a significant negative relationship between the extrov ersion, openness, and conscientiousness personality factors with aggression. Furthermore, there is a significant positive relationship between all the components of brain behavioral systems (impulsivity, novelty seeking, sensitivity, tender) and aggressio n. The results of regression analysis indicated the personality characteristics and the brain behavioral systems which can predict 29 percent of the changes to aggression, simultaneously. Conclusions: According to a predictable level of aggressiveness by the personality characteristics and brain behavioral systems, it is possible to identify the personality characteristics and template patterns of brain behavioral systems for the students which be presented to them as a necessary training in order to control and manage of anger and aggression

Gender Differences in Patients' Beliefs About Biological, Environmental, Behavioral, and Psychological Risk Factors in a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Introduction: There are significant gender differences in the epidemiology and presentation of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), physiological aspects of CVDs, response to diagnostic tests or interventions, and prevalence or incidence of the associated risk factors. Considering the independent influence of gender on early dire consequences of such diseases, this study was conducted to investigate gender differences in patients' beliefs about biological, environmental, behavioral, and psychological risk factors in a cardiac rehabilitation program. Materials and Methods: This study has cross sectional design. The sample was composed of 775 patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation unit in Imam Ali Hospital in Kermanshah, Iran. The data were collected using clinical interview and patients’ medical records. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and chi-square test​​. To do the statistical analysis, SPSS version 20 was utilized. Results: As the results indicated, there was a significant difference between the beliefs of men and women about risk factors of heart disease (X2= 48.36;

Dreams content and emotional load in cardiac rehabilitation patients and their relation to anxiety and depression

Background: The assessment of a dream and its mechanisms and functions may help us to percept cognitions, emotions, and complex behaviors of patients. Hence, the present study aimed to assess (i) the rate of perceived dream and its emotional load and content and (ii) the relationship between functions of dream with anxiety and depression. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 167 cardiac patients who had undergone rehabilitation in the western part of Iran were assessed during May–October 2016. Research instrument included Beck depression inventory, Beck anxiety inventory, Schredl's dream emotions manual, and content analysis of dreams manual. The findings were analyzed through Pearson's correlative coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean age of participants (66.5% men) was 59.1 ± 9 years. The results indicated that the emotional content of patients' dreams included happiness (49.1%), distress (43.1%), sad (13.8%), fear (13.2%), and anger (3%). Although women report more sad dreams than men (P = 0.026), there was no difference between them in terms of other components of dreams, anxiety, and depression. Regression models showed that anxiety and depression were significantly able to predict perceived dream rates (P = 0.030) and emotionally negative dreams (P = 0.019). Conclusion: The increased rates of depression, especially anxiety, are related to increasing perceived dreams with negative and harmful emotional load. Regarding severity and negative content of dreams are reflexes of stressful emotional daily experiences, the management of experienced psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety is concerned as an undeniable necessity

Enneagram Personality System as an Effective Model in Prediction of Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Case-Control Study

Introduction: Studies on behavioral patterns and personality traits play a critical role in the prediction of healthy or unhealthy behaviors and identification of high-risk individuals for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in order to implement preventive strategies. This study aimed to compare personality types in individuals with and without CVD based on the enneagram of personality. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 96 gender-matched participants (48 CVD patients and 48 healthy subjects).Data were collected using the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI). Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.20 using MANOVA, Chi-square, and T-test. Results: After adjustment for age and gender there is a significant difference between two groups (and male) in term of personality types one and five. In CVD patients, score of personality type one (F(1,94)=9.476) (P=0.003) was significantly higher, while score of personality type five was significantly lower (F(1,94)=6.231) (P=0.014), compared to healthy subjects. However, this significant difference was only observed in the score of personality type one in female patients (F(1,66)=4.382) (P=0.04). Conclusion: Identifying healthy personality type one individuals before CVD development, providing necessary training on the potential risk factors of CVDs, and implementation of preventive strategies (e.g., anger management skills) could lead to positive outcomes for the society and healthcare system. It is recommended that further investigation be conducted in this regard

Community Participation in Health among the General Population in Kermanshah city: The Predictive Role of Personality Factors and Self-Effiacy

Background: Given that social psychologists focus on the interaction between social and psychological factors in the community participation process, particularly in health, the study was conducted to evaluate the community participation in health and determine the contribution of personality factors and individual on its. Materials and methods: In this descriptive study by using voluntary sampling method, 710 people from the general population of Kermanshah in 2015 were selected to participate in the study. The study instruments were included questionnaires of Community Participation in Health, General Self-Effiacy Beliefs (GSE-10), and NEO Five-Factor Personality Traits. The collected data was analyzed using analysis of variance, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis by software SPSS-21. Results: 482 (67.9%) people who returned questionnaires were male. The participants were aged between 30-75 years with mean (SD) of age 43.5 (8.2) years. In general, the results showed that the overall mean for community participation in health is 65.3% and 62.5% of the people are with poor participation, 34.1% of those are with moderate participation, and 3.4% of those are with high participation. Furthermore, the results showed that there is a signifiant relationship between all components of personality and self-effiacy with community participation in health (P<0.01). Conclusion: Given that community participation in health is poor in Kermanshah and government organizations programs in healthcare and the health of individuals and society also will not reach the desired goal in absence of public participation, it seems that planning is essential to improve the current situation with regard to the people’s personality traits and self-effiacy