Examination of the bidirectional influences of leisure activity and memory in old people: A dissociative effect on episodic memory

The present study examined the relationships between different types of social and cognitive activities and different types of episodic and semantic memory. A total of 794 adult men and women from five age cohorts (aged 65–85 at baseline), participating in the longitudinal Betula project on ageing, memory, and health, were included in the study. The participants were studied over 10 years (1995–2005) in three waves. Recognition and recall were used as episodic memory tasks, and knowledge and verbal fluency as semantic memory tasks. The results, after controlling for age, gender, education, and some diseases, including heart disease and hypertension, as covariates, showed unidirectional effects of social activity on episodic memory on all test occasions (β = .10). Also, episodic memory predicted change in cognitive activity for all test waves (β = .21–.22). Findings suggest that social activity can be seen as protective factor against memory decline. It also seems that episodic memory performance is a predictor of cognitive activity in old people. However, the opposite direction does not hold true.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Career Decision Scale With Iranian Undergraduate Students

The authors examined the reliability and construct validity of the Career Decision Scale (Osipow, Carney, & Barak, 1976 ) with 1,610 freshman and sophomore students from public universities from a southwestern state in Iran. A Cronbach's alpha of .80 provided strong support for the scale's reliability. Exploratory factor analysis results indicated a 2‐factor model (Diffusion and Internal/External Barriers) of the scale with Iranian students, which was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.     

Psychometric Properties of Maternal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire in a Population of Iranian Mothers

Self-efficacy is an important indicator of a woman’s successful transition to her maternal role and an important predictor of a mother’s infant care behavior. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the maternal self-efficacy scale in Iranian mothers. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 437 newly delivered mothers who were referred to health care centers in Bonab, Iran. A simple random sampling was performed. The research instrument included maternal self-efficacy. Translation validity was performed using the forward and backward translation method. Content validity was determined in qualitative (assessment of experts’ opinions) and quantitative areas using the content validity ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI). Face validity was determined on 30 newly delivered mothers. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was used. The reliability was determined in terms of reproducibility via Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) by test–retest and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha). CVI and CVR were 0.91 and 0.94 respectively. Further, the reliability was approved both in terms of reproducibility (ICC = 0.98) and internal consistency (α = 0.89). Construct validity was confirmed using exploratory factor analysis (KMO = 0.90, Bartlett’s test p < 0.001) for the scale. The findings supported the validity and reliability of the research instrument. Therefore, it is recommended that the instrument can be used in both clinical practice and research.     

Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life in Iranian Women of Reproductive Age

Introduction

Quality of life, one of the major concerns of health professionals, is the main indicator for measuring health status. The present study aimed to assess the quality of life and its predictors in women of reproductive age in Tabriz (Iran).

Methods & Materials

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 532 married women of reproductive age using a two-stage cluster random sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. It included questions on demographic characteristics, quality of life (SF-36), female sexual function index (FSFI), and ENRICH marital satisfaction. The general linear model in SPSS-13 was used to determine the predictors of quality of life.

Results

The mean (standard deviation, SD) score of physical and mental health was 62.2 (17.1) and 60.3 (18.5), respectively (from an attainable score range of 0–100). The highest mean (SD) score [69.5 (25.7)] was obtained for “physical functioning,” while the lowest [52.9 (24.4)] was for “role limitations due to emotional problems.” There was a significant positive correlation between the quality of life and its sub-domains with sexual function (r?=?0.15–0.33) and marital satisfaction (r?=?0.15 to 0.49). Higher sexual function and marital satisfaction, higher educational level, and no prior history of depression were predictors of physical and mental components of health-related quality of life.

Conclusion

Physical and mental components of quality of life among women were moderate. Relieving sexual problems and dysfunction and improving marital satisfaction may improve women's quality of life and help to achieve a strong family life.

     

University Student Depression Inventory: Measurement model and psychometric properties

University Student Depression Inventory (USDI) was developed to assess the symptoms of depression among the university students. Considering the debilitating nature of depression among university students globally, USDI was translated in Persian and validated using university students from Iran. A battery including the Persian version of USDI and scales measuring suicide, depression, and stress was administered to a normative sample of 359 undergraduate students, and an additional clinical sample of 150 students referred to the university's mental health centre. The results supported the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the translated version. Confirmatory factor analysis upheld the previously reported three‐factor first‐order and one‐factor second‐order structure. The internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity of the Persian version were supported. Cut‐off points using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were established to identify students at risk. Gender differences on the symptoms of depression were evident only in the normative sample, where male participants, compared with female students, had higher mean scores in lethargy, cognitive/emotion, and academic motivation subscales. The translated scale can be used with Persian‐speaking students in Iran and the neighbouring countries as well as those settled in the West to identify symptoms of depression for further evaluation and management.     

Spiritual well-being and its predictors among Iranian adolescent girls, 2014–2015

Today, numerous studies are focused on spiritual well-being. This study aimed to determine the status of spiritual well-being and its predictors among adolescent girls. The participants in this cross-sectional study were 520 adolescents living in Tabriz, Iran. Samples were selected through cluster sampling method. The ‘spiritual well-being’ and ‘socio-demographic characteristics’ questionnaires were used. Multivariate linear regression was used to determine the predictors of spiritual well-being. The mean score of spiritual well-being was 90.22 (SD: 16.25), ranging from 20 to 120. Multivariate linear regression showed a significant relationship between spiritual well-being and the factors including parents’ belief for their children’s participation in religious ceremonies, sufficiency of family income for expenses and type of residence. The results show that the level of spiritual well-being in the girls is average to high, and considering the critical impact of spiritual well-being on the health, strategies are required to improve the adolescents’ spiritual well-being.     

Religious Practice and Health-Related Quality of Life in Iranian Adolescent Girls

This study aimed to determine the relationship between religious practice and health-related quality of life in adolescent girls in Tabriz, Iran, 2014–2015. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 520 female students who were selected using the random sampling method. Religious practice and health-related quality of life questionnaires were used for data collection. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed a significant relationship between health-related quality of life and received religious support, religiosity, father’s and mother’s education, father’s occupation, family economic status, and the number of children. It is necessary to find ways to further promote religious practices in adolescents and ultimately their quality of life.     

The Effect of Holly Quran Voice With and Without Translation on Stress,Anxiety and Depression During Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Religion and Health - This study aimed to investigate the effect of Holy Quran on stress, anxiety and depression in Iranian pregnant women. A total of 168 participants were allocated...     

Developmental differences in episodic memory across school ages: evidence from enacted events performed by self and others

The aim of this study was to examine action memory as a form of episodic memory among school-aged subjects. Most research on action memory has focused on memory changes in adult populations. This study explored the action memory of children over time. A total of 410 school-aged child participants, comprising 201 girls and 208 boys in four age groups (8, 10, 12, and 14), were included in this study. We studied two forms of action encoding, subject-performed tasks (SPTs) and experimenter-performed tasks (EPTs), which were compared with one verbal encoding task as a control condition. At retrieval, we used three memory tests (free recall, cued recall, and recognition). We observed significant differences in memory performance in children aged 8–14 years with respect to free recall and cued recall but not recognition. The largest memory enhancement was observed for the SPTs in the 8–14-year-old participants under all test conditions. Participants performed equally well on the free recall of SPTs and EPTs, whereas they displayed better performances on the cued recall and recognition of SPTs compared to EPTs. The strategic nature of SPTs and the distinction between item-specific information and relational information are discussed.