The Comparison of Emotional Dysregulation and Experiential Avoidance in Patients with Insomnia and Non-Clinical Population

Introduction: Given the harmful effects of insomnia and the need for a better understanding of the disorder as well as providing proper care, the present study aimed to compare the emotional dysregulation and experiential avoidance in patients with insomnia and non-clinical individuals. Methods: To conduct the present cross-sectional study, two sample groups were selected randomly. The first group consisted of 100 patients with insomnia who visited the Sleep Disorders Research Center at Farabi hospital in Kermanshah, Iran. The second group consisted of 100 administrative staff of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) without sleep problems. For data collection, three questionnaires were used: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (EAQ). The data were analyzed through the analysis of variance, using the SPSS version 13 Results: The total mean score of difficulties in emotion regulation in patients with insomnia and non-clinical people measured 101.18 (45.60) and 86.77 (21.88), respectively, and the mean scores of experiential avoidance measured 37.53 (12.33) and 28.74 (21.88) in patients with insomnia and non-clinical people, respectively. The results of the present study revealed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of emotional dysregulation and experiential avoidance. Conclusion: According to the current results, it is suggested that therapists consider the role of emotional dysregulation and experiential avoidance in the treatment and care of chronic insomnia. To solve these problems, it is recommended third-wave therapies be used, especially acceptance and commitment therapy.

The role of individual and personality factors in controlling risky behaviours related to AIDS: Proposing a causal model

BACKGROUND

Investigating previous studies show that personality traits have an important role in controlling risky behaviours related to AIDS; therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between AIDS health literacy, personality traits and mental health and controlling risky behaviours related to AIDS through self-efficacy.

METHODS

The statistical population includes all the young people in western provinces of Iran, 2015. Data analysis was carried out for a sample of 756 participants (59% female).

RESULTS

The results show that except for the socializing trait, all the other variables are related to controlling risky behaviours. In addition, variables of health literacy related to AIDS, mental health, activity, impulsive sensation seeking and hostility have a direct relation to controlling risky behaviours. Also, the predicting behaviours can predict 62% of the variance in controlling risky behaviours related to AIDS. The analysis results show that health literacy has an indirect impact on controlling risky behaviours through self-efficacy. In other words, health literacy related to AIDS leads to controlling risky behaviours when self-efficacy is high for controlling risky behaviours.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results, it is recommended that the role of self-efficacy in controlling risky behaviours be considered as a strategy for preventing AIDS. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A comparative study of the spatial distribution of HIV prevalence in the metropolis of Kermanshah, Iran, in 1996-2014 using geographical information systems

OBJECTIVES

Geographical information systems (GISs) have made spatiotemporal understanding of geographical patterns possible and have contributed to the identification and analysis of factors relating to health care behaviours and outcomes. The present study is the first to examine the spatial distribution of HIV prevalence in the metropolis of Kermanshah, Iran, using GISs.

METHODS

The research methods were descriptive, analytical and comparative. Additionally, data recorded for HIV-infected patients in 1996-2014 were used and then the loci of HIV infection in the metropolis of Kermanshah were identified and analysed spatially using ArcGIS (Esri, New York, NY, USA).

RESULTS

HIV prevalence in the metropolis of Kermanshah increased from 1996 to 2014. Analysis of the spatial distribution of the prevalence of HIV using ArcGIS indicated the presence of clusters of HIV infection. The findings demonstrate that there were many clusters of high HIV prevalence throughout the city of Kermanshah and that these clusters increased in size during the study period. Furthermore, the statistics are indicative of a growing number of HIV-infected women as well as a significant reduction in the mean age of the HIV-infected female population.

CONCLUSIONS

The spatial differences in HIV prevalence across the city of Kermanshah, as well as the identification of the resulting spatial clusters in different parts of the city, suggest that measures should be put in place to prevent the growth of these clusters and to reduce the number of women being infected with HIV.

Spatial accessibility of the population to urban health centres in Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran: a geographic information systems analysis

Geographic information systems (GIS) analysis has not been widely used in underdeveloped countries to ensure that vulnerable populations have accessibility to primary health-care services. This study applied GIS methods to analyse the spatial accessibility to urban primary-care centres of the population in Kermanshah city, Islamic Republic of Iran, by age and sex groups. In a descriptive-analytical study over 3 time periods, network analysis, mean centre and standard distance methods were applied using ArcGIS 9.3. The analysis was based on a standard radius of 750 m distance from health centres, walking speed of 1 m/s and desired access time to health centres of 12.5 mins. The proportion of the population with inadequate geographical access to health centres rose from 47.3% in 1997 to 58.4% in 2012. The mean centre and standard distance mapping showed that the spatial distribution of health centres in Kermanshah needed to be adjusted to changes in population distribution.

The Intervening Role of Alexithymia in the Relationship between Attachment Styles and Test Anxiety among Gifted High School Students

Background

Given the importance of test anxiety among gifted students, the present study was conducted to assess the intervening role of alexithymia in the relationship between test anxiety and attachment styles.

Methods

By means of simple random sampling, 300 participants were selected out of all the students at two high schools in Khorramabad, which are affiliated with the Iranian National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (SAMPAD). Test anxiety, alexithymia, and attachment style questionnaires were used for data collection. Pearson correlation and path analysis tests were used to analyze the data.

Results

The results showed a positive relationship between test anxiety and avoidant and anxious attachment styles. Alexithymia and test anxiety were also positively related. Moreover, the results indicated that 12% of changes in test anxiety were explained by avoidant and anxious attachment styles as well as alexithymia. The relationship between the avoidant attachment style and test anxiety was 0.06 through alexithymia. However, no significant relationship between anxious attachment and test anxiety through alexithymia was found.

Conclusion

The avoidant attachment style leads to test anxiety when the level of alexithymia increases in an individual.

The relationship between playing computer or video games with mental health and social relationships among students in guidance schools, Kermanshah

Computer or video games are a popular recreational activity and playing them may constitute a large part of leisure time. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the relationship between playing computer or video games with mental health and social relationships among students in guidance schools in Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran, in 2012. Our total sample was 573 students and our tool was the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and social relationships questionnaires. Survey respondents reported spending an average of 71.07 (SD 72.1) min/day on computer or video games. There was a significant relationship between time spent playing games and general mental health (P < 0.04) and depression (P < 0.03). There was also a significant difference between playing and not playing computer or video games with social relationships and their subscales, including trans-local relationships (P < 0.0001) and association relationships (P < 0.01) among all participants. There was also a significant relationship between social relationships and time spent playing games (P < 0.02) and its dimensions, except for family relationships.