Developing the Educational and Rehabilitation Needs Scale for Children With Down Syndrome (Parent Form) in Iran: A Mixed Method Study

Background and Aims Despite the existence of various tools to assess such children’s educational and rehabilitation needs, there is no instrument in Persian for this purpose. The present study aims to develop a questionnaire to measure the educational and rehabilitation needs of children with Down syndrome in Iran from the perspective of their mothers.Methods This is a mixed method study with exploratory design-instrument development model. The phenomenological method was used in the qualitative stage, where the participants were 17 mothers of children with Down syndrome in Iran who were selected purposefully based on theoretical saturation. In this phase, semi-structured interviews were used. Hsieh and Shannon’s content analysis method was used to analyze the data. In the quantitative phase, participants were 100 mothers of children with Down syndrome who were selected using a random sampling method. In this phase, a researcher-made questionnaire of educational and rehabilitation needs of children with Down syndrome was used. Then, its validity and reliability were determined.Results According to mothers, children with Down syndrome have four main needs: Communication skills, adaptive behaviors, language skills, and educational problems. These were considered as the subscales of the questionnaire. The content validity ratio (CVR) was in the range of 0.8-1, and the content validity index (CVI) value was 0.98. The Cronbach’s alpha for the overall scale was 0.93. The test-retest coefficient for the overall scale was 0.84.Conclusion The educational and rehabilitation needs scale for children with Down syndrome (parent form) in Persian has acceptable validity and reliability

Designing and Comparative Analysis of Personality Traits profile of Smoking and Non-Smoking Students of Tehran Universities

The present study aimed to investigate the personality traits of student cigarette smoking Attending Universities in Tehran and compare it with the personality traits of the non - smoking group. This study was conducted on the one hand, a descriptive survey type to describe the profile of personality traits of boy student’s smokers(32 Person) and on the other hand, with the aim of comparing it with the profile of normal students in the country, except for post- event research. To measure personality traits, the 16- factor (16PF) Cattell test and for analyzing and comparing features. Was used with descriptive statistics and t- test, is used. The findings of this study showed that there are significant differences between 16 factors and personality traits in 12 factors among smokers and non- smoking students. These findings can indicate the role of personality traits in the tendency and prediction of these individuals for smoking. They can also be used for devising comprehensive prevention plans in addition to reducing damage and moving towards better living and increased empowerment

Analysis of Factors Influencing Women's Perception of Fertility during COVID-19 Pandemic

The present study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting women's perception of fertility during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research method is qualitative and has a descriptive phenomenological approach. The statistical population of the study is 30-year-old mothers with one child and at least a bachelor's degree during the period from June 21, 2020 to November 5, 2020 in Tehran. 20 mothers were selected by purposive sampling according to the criterion type. The data of this study were analyzed based on the mothers' lived experiences and by conducting a semi-structured interview about the women's perceptions of fertility during the Covid-19 period. For the validity and formality of the interview questions, the professors of the Department of Psychology and experts in the field of qualitative research were consulted. Then all data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method and MAXODA version 12 software. The results of the present study are provided in 8 main themes, disease risks with 3 subthemes, stress with 6 subthemes, desire for pregnancy with 3 subthemes, economic conditions with 3 subthemes, psychological security with 4 subthemes, improvement of family relations with 8 subthemes, research and study with 2 subthemes, and foresight is obtained with 5 subthemes. As a result, due to the increasing public awareness of the importance of pregnancy, most women prefer to plan their pregnancy. Therefore, addressing the factors related to women's perception of fertility in the high-risk period of Covid-19 may lead to comprehensive maternal awareness and safe pregnancy

Developing an Educational-Motor Intervention and Evaluating its Effectiveness on the Achievement Motivation in Adolescents Football Players

Introduction: In recent decades, adolescents and young people in the country have turned to soccer and the need to pay attention to their basic training seems essential. Therefore, this study aimed to design and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational-motor intervention on the achievement motivation of adolescent soccer players.Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, the research method was a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all 12 to 16 years old adolescents attending the soccer school of Saipa Cultural and Athletic Corporation in Tehran in 2022. Among them, 60 people were selected based on the inclusion criteria and then assigned to experimental and control groups (30 people in the experimental group and 30 people in the control group). The research instrument was the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (Hermans, 1970). The experimental group received the educational-motor intervention training in sixteen 60-minute sessions, and the control group was on the waiting list. Data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of covariance via SPSS Statistics 23 software.Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in the post-test and follow-up phases (P<0.05), and the educational-motor intervention improved the achievement motivation of adolescents attending soccer school  (P<0.05).    Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, the educational-motor intervention can be effective in improving the achievement motivation of the adolescents attending the soccer school of Saipa Cultural and Athletic Corporation. It is recommended that curriculum designers in the Ministry of Sports and Youth use this method to improve the achievement motivation of adolescents in soccer schools

Designing, assessing, and effectiveness a psychological interventions program with a robot for children sexual care

Abstract Background Child sexual abuse has deep and profound effects on personality and growth of children so that it is recognized as one of the major health issues in different countries. A psychological interventions program with a robot was designed and its effects on children sexual care was examined. Results The results showed that experts confirmed and supported 85% of the total content of the program and the sessions, and the program was effective in improving sexual cares in the subjects (p < 0.01). Conclusion The program to protect children against sexual abuse through empowering them by the skills to protect themselves, recognize good and bad physical touches, and find a trustable adult can be considered as a therapeutic method by consultants, psychologists, and authorities

The comparative study of reading comprehension in normal-hearing and hearing-loss student

Background and Aim: In different language approaches, reading is considered as a major skill. Language skills comprising listening, speaking, reading and writing are completely interlinked with each other. Thus, providing active application of listening and speaking skills, children will learn reading and writing skills easily. The aim of this research was to compare reading skills of hearing-loss students studying at exceptional schools with normal students of different degrees.Methods: The research was conducted post-traumatically using standardized 2006 PIRLS test. 80 students in fifth grade of exceptional primary schools, and first and fourth grade of exceptional high schools in Tehran City who had severe and or profound hearing loss were randomly selected along with 80 normal students in ordinary schools who were selected using available sampling method.Results: There were significant differences between reading comprehension of hearing-loss and normal students of all three grades (p<0.001). Reading comprehension in female students was significantly higher than the male ones (p<0.001). There were not any significant differences in mean reading comprehension scores of hearing-loss students in different grades which demonstrate that their reading skills had not developed in tandem with their age and school educations.Conclusion: This study shows that one of the significant concerns regarding hearing-loss students is their reading comprehension ability. Considering reading ability as one of the most important acquisitive abilities which students learn at school, evaluation of reading skills of hearing loss students as well as recognition of their strengths and weaknesses in this field is indispensable

The effectiveness of family-centered sensory motor empowerment program on intellectual capacity of students with Down syndrome

Introduction: The limitations and challenges faced by children with Down syndrome are primarily attributed to their cognitive abilities. A comprehensive review of the available evidence indicates that timely family-centered interventions are the most effective approach to addressing these issues. Aim: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of a family-centered sensory motor empowerment program on the intellectual capacity of students diagnosed with Down syndrome. Method: The research method employed in this study was semi-experimental, utilizing a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The population of interest was all students diagnosed with Down syndrome in Kashan city during the 2021-2022 academic year. A convenience sampling method was used to select 30 participants, aged between 8 and 12 years, who were assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group underwent an intervention consisting of 11 weekly sessions, with each session lasting for 2 hours. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (2003) was used as the primary assessment tool. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 and MANCOVA was employed as the statistical analysis technique. Results: Based on the results, the family-centered sensory motor empowerment program demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the total intellectual capacity score (P0.30). Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings suggest that the family-centered sensory motor empowerment program can enhance the intellectual capacity of children with Down syndrome by strengthening their sensory and motor abilities, as well as improving their relationships with family members. Therefore, this intervention can be recommended as a viable approach to increasing the intellectual capacity in this population

Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences The Relationship between Marital Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Children

ABSTRAC

A comparative on marital satisfaction and mental health in relative and non-relative parents of mental disability children.

The present research was conducted with the purpose of comparison of marital satisfaction and mental health in relative and non-relative parents of children with mental disabilities. This research is a causal – comparative study. The statistical population of this research consisted of all relative and non-relative parents of children with mental disabilities in Shiraz, Marvdasht and Fasa in Fars state. Of the population, 50 relative parents and 100 non- relative parents of children with mental disabilities were selected based on convenience sampling.To collect the data, General Health Questionnaire-28 questions and Afrooz Marital Satisfaction Scale Revised (AMSS-R) were used. The results of analysis of t -test for independed sampels group, multivariate variance and test of pearson corelation showed that there is not a significant difference between the two groups of relative and non-relative parents of children with mental disabilities in marital satisfaction and mental health.Therfor relative and non-relative not effect on marital satisfaction and mental health in parents