Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Spiritual Well-Being Scale in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction. A multisite, cross-sectional survey was employed to determine the instrument’s reliability (Cronbach’s α and construct reliability) and validity (face, content, and construct). Using systematic sampling of adult outpatients at primary care clinic sites in the Qazvin City, Iran (N = 300), it was found that the Cronbach’s alpha and construct reliability of both factors associated with the SWBS were above 0.7. The construct validity of the scale was determined using exploratory factor analysis. The findings supported two factors: relation with God and relation with life. Further investigation through confirmatory factor analysis (eigenvalues of greater than one) confirmed a third factor construct associated with the SWBS. A total of 50.65 % of the variance were explained by these three factors. The overall findings of the study demonstrated that the SWBS is a valid and reliable instrument that has potential utility in future research and clinical practice settings.     

The Concept of Death: A Religio-philosophical Analysis

In an age in which vast progress has been made in organ transplant technology, it is imperative to determine the point at which a human being is considered dead, for transplantation cannot occur until after death. Traditional religious views imply that a human being is dead upon the departure of the soul from the body. Taking the biological death of the body as a conclusive sign of the soul's departure is not an option. Biological death refers to decomposition, and this cannot equate to the death of the person as such, for this would make the concept and practice of transplantation absurd, for transplantable parts of a biologically dead—i.e. decomposing—body could not be used. On the other hand, if parts of the human body are themselves still biologically alive, could it not be said that taking such parts would amount to murder?

Two conclusions follow from this predicament. First, death as a ‘normative’ concept stands in sharp distinction from a purely biological concept. Second, a normative concept of death is entangled with a normative concept of personhood. That is to say, from the moment that a human being is not considered a person as such, parts of the body could be removed for transplantation or, indeed, for any other justified medical purpose. In this regard, various theories of the person are put forward. Which of these theories is compatible with a workable concept of death? In this paper two principal theories of the person will be discussed and it will be argued that a brain-based theory of death is conducive to a normative concept of death, thus allowing for organ transplantation.     

Acute exposure to a 50 Hz magnetic field impairs consolidation of spatial memory in rats

This study was planned to evaluate the effect of an exposure to magnetic fields on consolidation and retrieval of hippocampus dependent spatial memory using a water maze. In Experiments 1 and 2, rats were trained in a hidden version (spatial) of water maze task with two blocks of four trials. The retention of spatial memory was evaluated 48 h later. Exposure to a 50 Hz 8 mT, but not 2 mT magnetic fields for 20 min immediately after training impaired retention performance. The same time exposure shortly before retention testing had no effect. In Experiment 3, rats were trained in a cued version of water maze with two blocks of four trials. Exposure to magnetic field at 8 mT for 20 min immediately after training did not impair retention performance. These findings indicate that acute exposure to a 50 Hz magnetic field at 8 mT for short time can impair consolidation of spatial memory.     

Psychopathy in Iran: a cross-cultural study

Few cross-cultural studies have assessed psychopathy and none have included a sample from non-western countries. This study investigated the factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in an Iranian sample, and compared the results with a western sample. Three hundred fifty-one Iranian prisoners were compared with 405 participants of the standardization sample of the PCL:SV. Confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory method were used for data analysis. The Iranian data fitted well with the hierarchical three-factor model of psychopathy and neither two- nor four-factor models showed an adequate fit. Differential item functioning existed across samples, with discriminatory power of factor 1 (arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style) being lower in the Iranian sample that for factor 2 (deficient emotional experience) being greater in the Iranian sample than the standardization sample. Deficient emotional experience might be the most significant factor in diagnosing psychopathy, regardless of the studied culture. Other factors appear to be relatively culture-specific.     

Perfectionism, anger, and anger rumination

Anger and anger rumination are considered to be detrimental to both physical and psychological well being. Furthermore, perfectionism, as a personality construct, seems to be related to various types of maladjustment. Whereas perfectionism has been characterized as being positive when an individual derives pleasure from striving for excellence yet recognizes and accepts individual limitations, it is deemed negative when the individual has unrealistic expectations and is never satisfied with his or her performance. The present study examined whether positive and negative perfectionism was associated with anger and anger rumination. The Farsi version of the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale and the Farsi version of the Anger Rumination Scale, as well as Spielberger's State-Trait Anger Scale were completed by 384 Iranian students. Results showed that anger and anger rumination were, as expected, associated negatively with positive perfectionism and associated positively with negative perfectionism. Positive perfectionism enables individuals to strive for success in a flexible manner and, thus, to experience satisfaction and pleasure rather than dissatisfaction, frustration, and anger. Conversely, negative perfectionism makes individuals vulnerable to emotional distress such as predisposition to experience anger and anger rumination through setting high standards for performance, overgeneralization of perceived failures, negative self-evaluation, self-blame, and measuring self-worth in terms of unachievable goals of accomplishment and productivity. Hence, perfectionism may be regarded as having both adaptive and maladaptive aspects with regard to health.     

Review of Ordering Don’t Resuscitate in Iranian Dying Patients

Making decision on not to resuscitate is a confusing, conflicting and complex issue and depends on each country’s culture and customs. Therefore, each country needs to take action in accordance with its cultural, ethical, religious and legal contexts to develop guidelines in this regard. Since the majority of Iran’s people are Muslims, and in Islam, the human life is considered sacred, based on the values of the community, an Iranian Islamic agenda needs to be developed not taking measures about resuscitation of dying patients. It is necessary to develop an Iranian Islamic guidelines package in order to don’t resuscitate in dying patients.     

Treatment Adherence Among War Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Concept Analysis

Aim: This study was made to analyze the concept of treatment adherence among war veterans who suffer posttraumatic stress disorder.

Methods: This concept analysis was done using Walker and Avant’s concept analysis model. Online English and Persian databases were searched using keywords such as “posttraumatic stress disorder,” “mental disorder,” “compliance,” and “adherence.” Finally, 11 eligible documents were included in the analysis. The retrieved articles were perused word-by-word, line-by-line, and paragraph-by-paragraph in order to arrive at an in-depth understanding about their contents. Then, the obtained excerpts from the articles, which were relevant to the study subject matter, were coded. The codes were then grouped into the antecedents, consequences, and attributes of the concept.

Findings: In total, 122 primary codes, 19 subcategories, 8 main categories, and 4 main themes were extracted. The main antecedents of the treatment adherence concept are patients’ personal health background and the attributes of posttraumatic stress disorder and its treatments while its main outcome is the changes in the quality of life. Moreover, the main attribute of adherent veterans is that they take responsibility for their own health and subsequently attempt to plan for health promotion.

Conclusion: The concept of treatment adherence among war veterans who suffer from PTSD is a complex and relative concept which depends on patients’ personal health background as well as the attributes of the afflicting disorder and its treatments. The concept is manifested by patient’s attempts to plan for receiving or parting with treatments and can result in changes in health-related quality of life.     

Divorce Ambivalence and Reasons for Divorce in Iran

This study examined divorce attitudes and reasons for divorce in Iran, a nation experiencing a rapid increase in divorce. Using instruments translated into Farsi with a sample of 230 Iranian spouses filing for divorce, we found a preponderance of common relational reasons for divorce (such as growing apart and not getting enough attention), along with high rates of interpersonal violence reported by wives. Study participants showed considerable rates of divorce ambivalence, along with openness to reconciliation services. The findings were compared with similar studies of the United States spouses in the divorce process. Clinical implications include a careful approach to considering how discernment counseling might be adapted to the cultural situation of Iran, and particularly the special concerns of Iranian women.     

Perceiving gaze from head and eye rotations: An integrative challenge for children and adults

Gaze is an emergent visual feature. A person's gaze direction is perceived not just based on the rotation of their eyes, but also their head. At least among adults, this integrative process appears to be flexible such that one feature can be weighted more heavily than the other depending on the circumstances. Yet it is unclear how this weighting might vary across individuals or across development. When children engage emergent gaze, do they prioritize cues from the head and eyes similarly to adults? Is the perception of gaze among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) emergent, or is it reliant on a single feature? Sixty adults (M = 29.86 years‐of‐age), thirty‐seven typically developing children and adolescents (M = 9.3 years‐of‐age; range = 7–15), and eighteen children with ASD (M = 9.72 years‐of‐age; range = 7–15) viewed faces with leftward, rightward, or direct head rotations in conjunction with leftward or rightward pupil rotations, and then indicated whether the face was looking leftward or rightward. All individuals, across development and ASD status, used head rotation to infer gaze direction, albeit with some individual differences. However, the use of pupil rotation was heavily dependent on age. Finally, children with ASD used pupil rotation significantly less than typically developing (TD) children when inferring gaze direction, even after accounting for age. Our approach provides a novel framework for understanding individual and group differences in gaze as it is actually perceived—as an emergent feature. Furthermore, this study begins to address an important gap in ASD literature, taking the first look at emergent gaze perception in this population.