International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences

Background and Aim: Aggression is a common behavioral problem during adolescence associated with difficulties in emotional processing. Alexithymia is linked to higher levels of aggression, while positive parenting practices may influence this relationship. This cross-sectional correlational study examined the moderating role of positive parenting practices in the association between alexithymia and aggression among adolescents.

Materials and Methods: Participants were 151 middle school students (aged 12–15 years) from Khorramabad, Iran, selected through multistage cluster sampling during the 2023–2024 academic year. Data were collected using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Anger and Aggression Scale, and the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire. Pearson correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted using SPSS-26.

Results: Alexithymia was positively correlated with aggression (r = 0.603, p < .01), whereas positive parenting practices were negatively correlated with both alexithymia and aggression. Moderation analysis indicated that positive parenting practices significantly moderated the association between alexithymia and aggression (ΔR²=0.039, β=−0.205, p=.002). Higher levels of positive parenting were associated with a weaker relationship between alexithymia and aggression.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that positive parenting practices may buffer the association between alexithymia and aggression in adolescents. These results highlight the potential importance of supportive parenting environments in adolescent emotional and behavioral adjustment. Findings should be interpreted in light of the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report measures.

Background and Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of emotion-focused group therapy on emotional reactivity and interpersonal problems in male adolescent students.

Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study using a pre-test/post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all male second-grade high school students in Harsin city during the 2024–2025 academic year. A random sample of 30 students was selected and assigned to the experimental and control groups (15 students per group). The experimental group received emotion-focused group therapy over eight 90-minute sessions. The instruments used in this study were the Nock and Matthew Emotional Reactivity Scale (2008) and the Barkham et al. Interpersonal Problems Scale (1996). The data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA) with SPSS-26 software.

Results: The results showed that emotion-focused group therapy had a significant effect on the emotional reactivity and interpersonal problems of male high school students (P<0.001), and 36% of changes in emotional reactivity and 20% of changes in interpersonal problems were influenced by the emotion-focused intervention.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be suggested that emotion-focused group therapy appears to be associated with improvements in emotional reactivity and interpersonal problems among male high school students. These observed changes may contribute to better mental health, which could, in turn, support individual and social well-being. However, due to the quasi-experimental design of this study, causal inferences should be made with caution, and further research with randomized controlled trials is needed to establish causality.

Background and Aim: Women inclined toward cosmetic surgery often exhibit elevated physical appearance perfectionism and self-objectification, driven by societal pressures and media influences, which can lead to body dissatisfaction and psychological distress. This study investigated the effectiveness of integrated mindfulness and schema therapy in reducing these variables.

Materials and Methods: In a semi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control and follow-up group, 30 women from Tehran (2024–2025) were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (15 participants) and a control group (15 participants). The experimental group received eight weekly 90-minute group sessions of combined mindfulness and schema therapy based on the protocol. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS 26.

Results: Descriptive statistics showed more pronounced reductions in physical appearance perfectionism and self-objectification scores in the experimental group compared to controls from pretest to posttest and follow-up. Inferential analyses revealed significant between-group differences (p< 0.05), time effects (p< 0.001), and time-group interactions (p< 0.001). The effect sizes were medium to large (Ƞ² = 0.151–0.509), confirming the practical significance of the intervention.

Conclusion: This trial demonstrated that an integrative mindfulness–schema therapy protocol produced medium to large, sustained reductions in physical appearance perfectionism and self-objectification among women seeking cosmetic surgery. These effects underscore the clinical value of targeting appearance-related perfectionistic beliefs and objectifying self-schemas in pre- and post-surgical care. The pattern of findings aligns with improvements in transdiagnostic mechanisms such as emotion regulation and cognitive flexibility in body image concerns. Future research should test this brief, group-based protocol in broader cosmetic surgery and non-clinical populations to assess scalability and external validity.

Background and Aim: Marital conflicts significantly impact relationship satisfaction, family stability, and psychological well-being. However, the interplay of individual and cultural factors, such as differentiation of self and familism, particularly with the mediating role of intimacy, has been underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the indirect associations between differentiation of self, familism, and marital conflicts among married individuals, with intimacy as a mediating factor.

Materials and Methods: This study employed a correlational and path analysis design. The population consisted of all married individuals residing in Isfahan, Iran, in 2025. A sample of 258 participants was selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Differentiation of Self Inventory by Skowron and Dendy (2004), the Familism Scale by Steidel and Contreras (2003), and the Intimacy Scale by Walker and Thompson (1983), and the Marital Conflicts Questionnaire by Sanaei, Barati, and Bostanipour (2008). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with SPSS-22 and AMOS-24 software.

Results: The results indicated that differentiation of self and familism were not directly associated with marital conflicts but showed significant indirect associations through intimacy, with intimacy acting as a partial mediator (VAF values of 0.74 and 0.71, respectively). The model explained 68% of the variance in marital conflicts.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the central role of intimacy in mediating the associations between self-differentiation and familism, on the one hand, and marital conflicts, on the other. However, given the cross-sectional nature of the study, causal inferences cannot be established. Accordingly, future longitudinal research is needed to clarify and confirm these indirect associations.

Background and Aim: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy and reality therapy in improving metacognitive beliefs and self-efficacy among anxious adolescents aged 14-18 years in Isfahan Province.

Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest-posttest design with three groups, including two experimental groups and one control group. The statistical population comprised all students in Isfahan Province during the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of 45 participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (n=15 each) and one control group (n=15). The emotion-focused therapy group and the reality therapy group each received ten 90-minute intervention sessions. Data were collected using the Wells Metacognitive Questionnaire (2004) and the Morris Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (2001). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 through descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

Results: Both interventions led to significant improvements in metacognitive beliefs and self-efficacy (p<=0.01). Emotion-focused therapy was significantly more effective than reality therapy in improving self-efficacy (p<0.05). However, no significant difference was found between the two interventions in terms of improvement in metacognitive beliefs (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that both emotion-focused therapy and reality therapy were effective in improving metacognitive beliefs and self-efficacy among anxious students. However, emotion-focused therapy demonstrated greater effectiveness in enhancing self-efficacy. These interventions may be considered for inclusion in school counseling programs.

Background and Aim: Childhood behavior problems represent a significant public health concern and are closely associated with impairments in executive functioning, particularly cognitive flexibility. The present study investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness training in reducing behavior problems and improving cognitive flexibility among elementary school boys.

Materials and Methods: This applied study employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and one-month follow-up assessments, including a control group. The study population comprised boys aged 7–12 years enrolled in elementary schools in Tehran during the 2025–2026 academic year. Thirty students exhibiting symptoms of behavior problems were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15). The experimental group participated in an eight-session mindfulness training program, whereas the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and multiple regression analysis in IBM SPSS Statistics.

Results: Mindfulness training significantly reduced all dimensions of behavior problems and significantly improved cognitive flexibility, as evidenced by fewer perseverative errors and a higher number of correct responses in the experimental group compared with the control group (p < .001). These improvements were maintained at the one-month follow-up assessment. Furthermore, cognitive inflexibility accounted for 72% of the variance in behavioral problems (R² = .72).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that mindfulness training is an effective intervention for reducing behavior problems and enhancing executive functioning in children. By promoting cognitive flexibility and adaptive self-regulation, mindfulness may facilitate improvements in both behavioral functioning and underlying cognitive processes. Incorporating mindfulness-based programs into school settings may therefore represent a promising strategy for supporting children's psychological and cognitive development