Spirituality and Health Care in Iran: Time to Reconsider

Spirituality is increasingly recognized as an essential element of care. This article investigates the role of spirituality in Iranian health care system and provides some guidelines to integrate spirituality in routine health care practice in Iran.     

The Structure of Emotion Dialogues: Maternal Reminiscing Factors Differentially Relate to Child Language and Socio-Emotional Outcomes

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Mother–child reminiscing about past emotional experiences is one aspect of emotion socialization that facilitates child socio-emotional and...     

The utility of the Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K6) in two American Indian communities

The Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K6; Kessler et al., 2002) has been used widely as a screener for mental health problems and as a measure of severity of impact of mental health problems. However, the applicability and utility of this measure for assessments within American Indian communities has not been explored. Data were drawn from a large-scale epidemiological study conducted in cooperation with 2 American Indian populations. Participants (N = 3,084) were 15-54 years of age and living on or near their home reservations; each completed an interview that included a version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (Robins, Wing, Wittchen, & Helzer, 1988) and the K6. A measure of both physical- and mental-health-related quality of life-the Medical Outcome Study's Short Form-36 (Ware & Sherbourne, 1992)-was used to examine the importance of the K6 over and above psychiatric diagnoses. The K6 was shown to be an appropriate screening and severity measure for mood disorders in these 2 samples. It also predicted health-related quality of life over and above that predicted by diagnoses alone. Inclusion of a measure such as the K6 as a complement to more traditional dichotomous diagnoses in both research and clinical practice is recommended.     

A Comparison of Two Flashcard Drill Methods Targeting Word Recognition

Traditional drill and practice (TD) and incremental rehearsal (IR) are two flashcard drill instructional methods previously noted to improve word recognition. The current study sought to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of these two methods, as assessed by next day retention assessments, under 2 conditions (i.e., opportunities to respond held constant across methods, length of instructional session held constant across methods) with 4 first-grade students identified by their teachers as struggling readers. Social validity of the two intervention methods also was evaluated. Results suggested important differences in response to instruction across students. Differences in effectiveness between TD and IR were minimal both when holding opportunities to respond and length of instructional session constant across methods. Minimal differences in efficiency were noted between TD and IR when holding instructional time constant across conditions. However, TD was clearly more efficient than IR for all students when holding opportunities to respond constant across conditions. Social validity data indicated that half of the students preferred the TD method and half preferred the IR method. Limitations and implications of the current study for school-based professionals are discussed.     

Friends with benefits: on the positive consequences of pet ownership

Social support is critical for psychological and physical well-being, reflecting the centrality of belongingness in our lives. Human interactions often provide people with considerable social support, but can pets also fulfill one's social needs? Although there is correlational evidence that pets may help individuals facing significant life stressors, little is known about the well-being benefits of pets for everyday people. Study 1 found in a community sample that pet owners fared better on several well-being (e.g., greater self-esteem, more exercise) and individual-difference (e.g., greater conscientiousness, less fearful attachment) measures. Study 2 assessed a different community sample and found that owners enjoyed better well-being when their pets fulfilled social needs better, and the support that pets provided complemented rather than competed with human sources. Finally, Study 3 brought pet owners into the laboratory and experimentally demonstrated the ability of pets to stave off negativity caused by social rejection. In summary, pets can serve as important sources of social support, providing many positive psychological and physical benefits for their owners.     

When does goal discrepancy induce compensatory effort? An application of self‐completion theory to social issues

The authors review research that applies self‐completion theory to goals targeting other people (as in the case of stereotyping and prejudice), goals that aim at the achievement of a certain social identity and goals based on the social identity. It is demonstrated that goal discrepancies lead to compensation for social as well as for non‐social goals. Based on self‐completion theory it is proposed that the identity‐relevance of the respective goal as well as the goal relevance of the subsequent task are of major importance considering the individuals’ compensation. The authors argue that the consideration of these factors advance our understanding of social phenomena.     

Demand and withdraw behaviors in couples with a history of infidelity

Although relationship distress and dissolution are common consequences of sexual involvement outside a committed relationship, there is little empirical information regarding communication behaviors of couples who have experienced extradyadic involvement (EDI). This study examined male and female demand and withdraw behaviors in videotaped conflict discussions among 170 married or seriously dating couples categorized into 3 groups: those without a history of sexual EDI, those with a history of sexual EDI that was known to the other partner, and those with a history of "unknown" (undisclosed or undiscovered) sexual EDI. Both men and women in a relationship where there was at least one unknown EDI demonstrated the highest levels of demand behaviors. Furthermore, demand behaviors were higher for participating partners (those engaging in an outside sexual relationship) in relationships with an unknown EDI compared with participating partners in relationships with a known EDI. Conversely, demand behaviors were higher among nonparticipating partners in relationships with known EDI, compared to with nonparticipating partners in relationships with unknown EDI. Withdraw behaviors demonstrated a less pronounced and less consistent pattern of elevation by EDI group, and role within EDI, compared with demand behaviors. Clinical and relational implications for these findings are discussed.     

Effect of Pre-test Genetic Counseling for Deaf Adults on Knowledge of Genetic Testing

Empirical data on genetic counseling outcomes in the deaf population are needed to better serve this population. This study was an examination of genetics knowledge before and after culturally and linguistically appropriate pre-test genetic counseling in a diverse deaf adult sample. Individuals ≥18?years old with early-onset sensorineural deafness were offered connexin-26/30 testing and genetic counseling. Participants completed questionnaires containing 10 genetics knowledge items at baseline and following pre-test genetic counseling. The effects of genetic counseling, prior beliefs about etiology, and participant's preferred language on genetics knowledge scores were assessed (n?=?244). Pre-test genetic counseling (p?=?.0007), language (p?相似文献   

D-Cycloserine for Treatment Nonresponders With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Case Report

Despite being the most effective treatment available, as many as one third of patients who receive exposure and response prevention (ERP) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not initially respond to treatment. Recent research suggests that the n-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor partial agonist D-Cycloserine (DCS) may speed up the course of ERP for OCD rather than enhance it. Thus, it is unclear whether DCS would benefit patients who have proven nonresponsive to ERP and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The present study evaluated the ability of DCS to enhance ERP for 2 patients with OCD who previously had failed to show adequate response to treatment using time-series analysis. Both patients experienced greater reductions with DCS augmented ERP than they did with prior treatment; however, 1 patient relapsed by the 1-month follow-up. DCS augmented ERP might be an effective method for boosting outcomes in individuals who do not readily respond to ERP.     

Fatigue Impact Scale: Its validation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and shorten the questionnaire. The empirically developed FIS, which comprised three subscales (cognitive, physical and psychosocial), was tested originally on Pipers' theoretical framework of subjective manifestations of fatigue, including behavioural, physical, emotional and cognitive expressions. The data analysed here consisted of responses from 296 patients with COPD who reported fatigue. The dimensionality of the FIS was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. A reduction of 15 items from the original FIS was made based on theory, modification indices and factor loadings. The results indicate that a nested-factor model with one general behavioural factor and three specific factors, physical, emotional and cognitive, shows acceptable fit. A modified version of 25 items, FIS-25 was developed. The original FIS and the FIS-25 were able to discriminate between patients with differing duration of fatigue. Test - retest correlations ranged from .70 to .85 for items and .94 for the total scale. Due to modification, the FIS-25 needs to be validated on a new group of patients with COPD.