Attachment-Based Mentalization Profiles of Iranian Children: A Mixed-Method Approach

Mentalization, operationalized as reflective functioning (RF), is the ability to understand one's own and another's mental world implicitly or explicitly. RF is a newly discovered research field in Iran and is largely under-studied in Eastern cultures in general, underscoring the high need for cross-cultural studies in this field of research. A qualitative method was used to examine the ability to understand, process, and respond to high-arousal attachment situations in typical and clinical populations of Iranian children recruited from a Tehran primary school. A well-known semi-structured interview commonly used to assess RF in children was used to collect data. Required information on internalizing and externalizing symptoms, demographic information, and all formal diagnoses of children were collected by parents. The results indicated the identification of four different profiles of RF in children, one of which was adaptive, while the other three were maladaptive. Also, the results showed that typically developing children and those having a high social and economic status (SES) were characterized as having a more adaptive profile of RF, while children from the clinical population and those with a low SES reported a more maladaptive profile (passive mentalizing, helpless mentalizing, narcissistic mentalizing) of RF. The present study is an important step in increasing our understanding of the development of mentalization in children and has significant educational and clinical implications.

The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy based on Mindfulness of Psychological Distress and Tolerance of Ambiguity on COVID-19 Obsession Disorder

Background: A high incidence of obsessive behaviors has been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: This study was carried out to estimate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy based on mindfulness of psychological distress and tolerance of ambiguity in patients with COVID-19 obsession . Materials and Methods: The present pretest-posttest study with a control group design was conducted on patients with COVID-19 obsession in 2021. The required information was collected using the COVID-19 obsession scale, a short form of psychological distress, and a tolerance of ambiguity questionnaire. The experimental group obtained ten 90-minute classes of cognitive-behavioral therapy based on mindfulness. The adjusted post-test scores were compared using an analysis of covariance. Results: The mean age of participants in the experimental and control group was 31.84 (standard deviation (SD)=4.68) and 34.09 (SD=7.05) years, respectively. Cognitive-behavioral therapy based on mindfulness significantly reduced anxiety (F=41.99, P=0.001, η2=0.63), depression (F=27.19, P=0.001, η2=0.53), stress (F=26.92, P=0.001, η2=0.52), and increases tolerance of ambiguity (F=31.63, P=0.001, η2=0.57), in patients with COVID-19 obsession disorder. Conclusion: The findings indicated that cognitive-behavioral therapy based on mindfulness appreciably improves the mental health of sufferers with COVID-19 obsession. Considering the long-term effects of COVID-19, psychology and counseling facilities should take measures to become aware of and treat vulnerable groups.

Death Anxiety in the Elderly During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic (COVID-19)

The Article Abstract is not available.

Epilepsy and psychological interventions: A systematic review study

Objectives. Epilepsy is a debilitating disease that can have long-term unpleasant psychological consequences. For this purpose, various psychological interventions have been provided to improve the quality of life of these patients. In this review study, the effectiveness of these interventions has been surveyed. Materials and methods. This study was conducted through a systematic review method from January 2010 to April 2021. Keywords such as quality of life, clinical trials and randomized clinical trials, epilepsy, seizure, psychology, intervention, chronic disease, empowerment, psychotherapy and psychological interventions were searched in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar indexing databases. Out of 1866 articles found, 13 articles were selected for review. Results. The surveys showed that psychological therapies increase the quality of life, social functioning, self-care behaviors, memory, self-esteem, job and social adjustment of many epileptic patients. On the other hand, according to the results, with the improvement of mental health of patients with epilepsy, we saw a reduction in stress, anxiety, depression, pain intensity, seizure, suicidal ideation and social stigma of patients with epilepsy. Conclusion. Various psychological interventions lead to a reduction in psychological problems in patients with epilepsy. It causes patients to be in good mental health, accept their pain and show less recurrence of their disease. For this purpose, it is necessary to pay more attention to the psychological health of patients with epilepsy in medical centers to reduce the incidence of mental disorders and improve the health of epileptic patients.

Psychological Distress in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Epilepsy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review Study

Background: COVID-19 as a pandemic can cause a set of feelings of anxiety, fear and tension in society. In fact, the negative impact of pandemic is not limited to physical health problems and can have serious consequences such as anxiety, depression and stress in people, especially those with neurological diseases. Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate depression, anxiety and stress in patients with multiple sclerosis and epilepsy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials & Methods: In this study, the keywords Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy and COVID-19 in the title and abstract of articles published in 2020 (May) and 2021 (July) in reputable international scientific databases Searched for Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE and PsycINFO. The PRISMA checklist was used to review and control the quality of articles. Results: In the search, 394 English articles were retrieved and finally 27 final articles were selected for comprehensive review and data extraction. The results showed that patients with multiple sclerosis and epilepsy experienced depression, anxiety, stress, fear, poor sleep quality, mental fatigue and poor quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarantine has limited patients' access to medication and treatment, resulting in increased seizures and disease severity. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic reduced the mental health of patients with multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Given that the psychological consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19 are possible to be associated with patients with multiple sclerosis and epilepsy for years, it is necessary to adopt psychological interventions to reduce psychological distress in these patients

COVID-19 Anxiety, Academic Burnout and Academic Achievement Among Medical Stagers and Interns at Guilan University of Medical Sciences, in 2020

Background: Medical students, as part of the healthcare team, are directly exposed to challenging conditions during the COVID-19 epidemic. This study investigated COVID-19 anxiety, burnout, and academic achievement in stagers and interns of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. Materials & Methods: The present analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students and interns studying at Guilan University of Medical Sciences in the 2020-2021 academic year. Of whom, 150 students participated in this study. Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) were used to measure anxiety and academic burnout of the students, respectively. Measuring students’ academic achievement was based on Grade Point Average (GPA). Data analysis was performed using chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test, and partial Spearman correlation Coefficient. Results: The participation rate in this study was 92%. The results showed that 6.5% of students had high anxiety, 18.8% reported high academic burnout, and 79% reported the average level of burnout score. Also, the participants’ GPA was 16.76±1.30. The academic burnout score was significantly higher in male students than female ones (t=-2.01; P=0.04). The GPA was significantly higher in students under 24 years old than in older students (t=4.71; P=0.01). The partial correlation coefficient adjusted for sex showed a positive and significant correlation between CDAS and MBI-SS (r=0.346; P<0.001). Conclusion: The present study results showed that medical stagers and intern students had high academic burnout during the COVID-19 epidemic, and there was a weak and direct correlation between academic burnout and COVID-19 anxiety. Accordingly, to reduce the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic, appropriate therapeutic and educational interventions should be provided to empower stagers and intern students.

The Effectiveness of CBTAC Protocol on Burdens of Alzheimer’s Disease on Caregivers and their Sense of Coherence

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is predicted to increase dramatically in the near future. Alzheimer’s caregiving brings about severe problems for caregivers. Considering the corrosive consequences of Alzheimer’s disease on Alzheimer’s caregivers, finding an effective intervention is necessary. Thus, the present research conducted by the aim of investigating the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patients and their caregiver’s protocol on burdens of Alzheimer’s disease on caregivers and their sense of coherence (SOC). Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest control group design. The target population included all mild Alzheimer’s disease patients and their caregivers referred to the neurology ward of the hospitals in Rasht during summer 2018. According to the medical records and results of screening, 40 mild Alzheimer’s disease, patients and their caregivers recruited by convenience sampling method. After sampling, research participants randomly assigned into two experimental (n= 20) and waitlist control (n=20) groups. The Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease on Caregiver Questionnaire and SOC scale were used to measure the burdens of Alzheimer’s disease on caregivers and caregivers’ SOC. The CBTAC provided for the experimental group participants in 25 sessions of 90-minutes. In the end, the data analyze has done by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and using SPSS24 software. Results: The findings indicated that the CBTAC had a significant effect on the burdens and SOC of Alzheimer’s caregivers in the experimental group (P<0.01). In other words, the CBTAC decreases burdens and increase the SOC of Alzheimer’s caregivers significantly (P<0.01). Conclusion: Based on the research results, the CBTAC is an effective intervention in decreasing caregiving burden and the increasing SOC of Alzheimer’s caregivers. Therefore, CBTAC is a multicomponent intervention that can be used to improve the competency and mental health of Alzheimer’s caregivers.