Development Towards Wisdom and Maturity: Sufi Conception of Self

By applying results from in-depth interviews with older Iranian Sufis residing in Sweden, this article describes the benefits of the value system of Sufism prizing mystical union above self-realization. As persons conceive of themselves as all forming parts of other-than-self rather than as separate selves, the result is tolerance towards other people's opinions and the vanishing of hostile feelings and competition. Compassion and identification with the whole of creation allows Sufis to avoid the sense of loneliness and exclusion felt by so many immigrants.     

Life satisfaction among Iranian and American graduate students

This study aimed to find out if there were differences in the life satisfaction of Iranian students (who came to the United States after the Iranian revolution in 1979) as compared with American students. It also aimed at identifying students' perceptions of some of the variables, like social network, competence and stress, that affect the quality of their lives. Ninety-four Iranian students who were attending the University of California Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and California State University, Long Beach, during the academic year of 1986-87 participated in this study. Multivariate analysis of variance was employed to compare the scores of the two groups, Iranians and Americans, on fifteen life satisfaction subscale scores. The results indicated that for both Iranians and Americans, perceptions of life satisfaction correlated significantly with perception of competence, social network, and hopes for the future. American subjects showed more satisfaction with their competence than Iranians. The Iranians, however, reported greater availability of social network resources than Americans. The results also indicated that both groups are tolerating the stress in their lives relatively well and that both are optimistic about their futures with regard to most aspects of their lives. Implications of these findings for cross-cultural counselling and the usefulness of a multivariate concept of life satisfaction are discussed.     

Sufism and Gerotranscendence: The Impact of Way of Thinking, Culture, and Aging on Spiritual Maturity

This essay examines the similarities and dissimilarities between a gerotranscendental person's and a Sufi's view of ontological questions, of self and of social and individual relationships. Using the Life History Approach followed up by thematic semi-structured interviews, I studied thirteen Iranian Sufis residing in Sweden, dividing the interviewees into two groups according to the stage of their life in which they became familiar with the Sufi ideas: those who became familiar with Sufi ideas early in their life (30 years) are called early Sufis, and those whose familiarity with Sufi ideas came about in their later life (>30) are called later Sufis. The study posits that the existence of a cosmic view of self and the surrounding world can be observed among early Sufis due to their intemalization of the Sufi ideas in early life. Regarding later Sufis, we can hypothesize that the existence of such a cosmic view is not only due to the intemalization of Sufi ideas, but also to aging.     

Effects of reversible inactivation of locus coeruleus on long-term potentiation in perforant path-DG synapses in rats

The locus coeruleus (LC) is the main source of noradrenergic innervations to the forebrain and the hippocampal formation but does not receive noradrenergic projections itself. Previous studies have suggested that hippocampal neural response is modulated by the noradrenergic pathway and that the experimental activation of the LC can potentiate hippocampal responses. Most studies have suggested that the noradrenergic system has controversial effects on long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal neurons, because its influence on synaptic plasticity in perforant path-DG synapses is ambiguous. The aim of this article was to study the LC's role in baseline activity and LTP in perforant path-DG cells of hippocampus by in vivo LC inactivation. Rats were anesthetized with urethane, and LC was temporarily suppressed by intra-LC injection of lidocaine. Population spike (PS) amplitude and excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) slope in DG were recorded 10 min before and 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, and 120 min after tetanization (400 Hz). Saline or lidocaine was injected during the baseline recording (experiment 1), 5 min before tetanus (experiment 2), and 5 min after tetanus (experiment 3). The results from this study indicated that the LC inactivation has no effect on baseline activity of granular cells or maintenance of LTP after tetanization. Moreover, LC inactivation before tetanus had no effect on LTP induction but decreased PS-LTP amplitude 60 and 120 min after tetanization. Taken together, the LC noradrenergic system likely influences LTP induction in later time periods while it has no effect on LTP in earlier time periods.     

Meaning-Making Coping Among Cancer Patients in Sweden and South Korea: A Comparative Perspective

Journal of Religion and Health - The present study compared meaning-making coping among cancer patients in Sweden and South Korea, with a focus on the sociocultural context. Semi-structured...     

Beyond the Couple: A Qualitative Analysis of Successful In‐law Relationships in Iran

In‐laws can play a significant role in the success or failure of marriages around the world. In the Middle East, recent quantitative research indicates that having trouble with in‐laws is a major predictor of divorce in Iran. To explore this further, we undertook a qualitative (grounded theory) analysis of in‐depth interviews with 17 Iranian daughters‐in‐law, five sons‐in‐law, three mothers‐in‐law, three fathers‐in‐law, and three expert family clinicians. Emergent concepts, themes, and coding categories were consistent with a Family Triad Model (FTM) of successful marital and in‐law relationships, wherein each spouse must (a) form we‐ness with their partner, (b) establish flexible boundaries between themselves and their families of origin, and (c) join their in‐laws. A higher‐order core category suggested that optimal couple and family functioning depends on the coherence or balance of these functions across the triadic role components of spouse, child‐in‐law, and family‐in‐law (or family‐of‐origin). In the changing cultural context of Iran, where blood relations have traditionally held primacy over marital relations, such triadic coherence appears crucial to marital success, at least from the perspective of many women. Our FTM results also highlight the importance of taking in‐laws into account when planning educational, preventative, or clinical interventions.