International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences

Background and Aim:Suicide among adolescents, as one of the serious mental health challenges, has increased significantly in recent years. This phenomenon not only threatens the individual health of adolescents but also has profound negative effects on families and society. The present study aimed to compile and validate the training package of dialectical behavior therapy based on interpersonal needs to prevent adolescent suicidal ideation. Materials and Methods:The statistical population of the study in the qualitative part consisted of all adolescents aged 15-19 in Sahne, Kermanshah province, from April 2013 to June 2014, and the experts whose opinions were consulted to complete the qualitative and content validity of the research. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for the qualitative section. A total of 30 individuals were chosen for the experimental and control groups. In the quantitative part, the statistical population consisted of adolescents identified after completing the suicidal ideation and interpersonal needs scale. Results:The results of the assumption of equality of variances (Mbox test) indicated that this assumption was met (F = 1.330, P = 0.193). The intergroup analysis showed a significant difference in suicidal ideation scores between the intervention and control groups (P < 0.01). Additionally, the within-group analysis revealed a significant difference in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up scores (P < 0.001), and the interaction effect of group and time was significant also (P < 0.001). The intervention group demonstrated a significant reduction in suicidal ideation in the post-test phase, while the control group did not show significant changes. These findings suggest that the DBT training package based on interpersonal needs effectively reduces suicidal ideation in adolescents and can serve as an effective strategy for suicide prevention. Conclusion:In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that interpersonal needs based Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) training can serve as an effective intervention to reduce suicidal ideation in adolescents. This educational package enhances interpersonal skills and emotional regulation, helping adolescents build greater resilience to life's challenges and prevent risky behaviors.

Background and Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of reality therapy on anger rumination, depression, and quality of life among individuals bereaved due to COVID-19. Materials and Methods: The research method was a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up phases, including a control group. The statistical population comprised all first-degree survivors of COVID-19 victims in Nishapur city. A total of 30 participants were selected through purposive sampling and were then randomly assigned to two groups of 15: experimental and control. The experimental group underwent an intervention of reality therapy over 8 sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Anger Rumination Scale (ARS), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). The data were analyzed using multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA) via SPSS24 software. Results: The results of Bonferroni post-hoc tests comparing time effects indicated that the differences in the mean scores of qualities of life, anger rumination, and depression between the pre-test and post-test phases, as well as between the pre-test and follow-up phases, were statistically significant. However, the differences in mean scores between the post-test and follow-up phases were not significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Accordingly, reality therapy was effective in improving anger rumination, depression, and quality of life among survivors of COVID-19 victims, and this effectiveness persisted during the follow-up period. Psychologists and counselors can use reality therapy to enhance anger rumination, depression, and quality of life among individuals bereaved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background and Aim:Depression is a common disorder among adolescents with far-reaching consequences. The issues and problems that teenagers face during adolescence make them prone to depression, and having components such as emotional failure, cognitive regulation of emotion, and cognitive avoidance increases their vulnerability. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of schema therapy on cognitive emotion regulation and cognitive avoidance in subclinical depressed adolescent girls in Tonekabon City. Materials and Methods:It is an experimental study with a pre-test-post-test and a control group design. The population consisted of all female adolescent students in the eleventh and twelfth grades of high school with subclinical depression in the academic year 2023-2024. The sampling method was random. Then, 30 individuals were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. For eight weeks, the experimental group received one 90-minute schema therapy session per week, while the control group received no treatment. Both groups were subsequently given a post-test. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and univariate ANCOVA using SPSS version 25. Results:The findings indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of the average variables of cognitive regulation of emotion and cognitive avoidance (η² = 0.735, p< 0.01, F (2, 21) = 64.75). This difference was in favor of the treatment groups based on the adjusted means.  Conclusion:According to the results of this study, this treatment can increase cognitive regulation of positive emotion and decrease negative cognitive regulation and cognitive avoidance of adolescent girls. In explaining the research findings, we can say that the schema is the highest generalized level of cognition, which is resistant to change and has a profound and powerful effect on a person's cognitions and emotions. Negative spontaneous thoughts and their underlying intersubjective assumptions are influenced by schemas and this influence is particularly powerful when schemas are activated

Background and Aim:This study was designed to compare self-control and early maladaptive schemas in athletes based on sports and demographic characteristics. Materials and Methods:This study's statistical population included all male and female swimming athletes in the country. Of them, 256 swimming athletes from clubs in various cities of Iran were selected using an available sampling method. The research utilized Yang's schema questionnaire (2005) and a self-control questionnaire. Results:The analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between women and men in the schemas of entitlement/secretary and emotional inhibition (p < 0.05). However, significant differences were found in the overall schema and the following schemas: abandonment/instability, distrust/misbehavior, emotional deprivation, deficiency/shame, social isolation/alienation, autonomy, impaired performance (dependency/incompetence, vulnerability to harm/disease, untransformed self, failure), impaired limitations (insufficient self-restraint and self-discipline), other orientation (obedience, sacrifice), and stubborn standards/extreme fault-finding (p < 0.05). Furthermore, substantial differences were observed in types of early maladaptive schemas, except for autonomy and failure, among swimmers at different levels of sports performance. There were also significant differences in schemas and self-control based on sports levels, employment, level of medals won, position, gender, education, and marital status (p < 0.01). Conclusion:Self-control and early maladaptive schemas in swimming athletes can be differentiated by gender, sports performance levels, level of medals won, position, employment, education, and marital status.

Background and Aim: Attachment styles directly and through other psychological factors play an important role in physical health and illness. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of fitting the model of attachment styles on physical health with the mediating of psychological well-being.Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive study, among all medical students in Gilan and Qazvin provinces during May 2022 to February 2023 who completed their internship during the Corona epidemic and subsequent strains, 550 students were selected by convenience sampling. The participants completed the Adult Attachment Questionnaire, Psychological Well-Being Scale and Physical Health Scale. In the descriptive data analysis, mean, standard deviation and correlation and statistical assumptions of the tests were used with SPSS software, and for hypothesis testing with structural equation modeling, Liesrel software was used with a significance level of P<0.05.Results: The findings showed that attachment styles have a direct and significant relationship with physical health, and psychological well-being mediates the relationship between attachment styles and physical health (P<0.001). The model has a good fit (P<0.05).Conclusion: Attachment styles predict physical health and psychological well-being acts as a mediator in the relationship between attachment styles and physical health. These results contain practical themes in formulating appropriate interventions to promote physical health and prevent diseases based on attachment styles and psychological well-being.

Background and Aim:This meta-analysis examines the relationship between school climate and academic self-efficacy as two important constructs in educational psychology. Materials and Methods:Drawing on 11 empirical studies published between 2011 and 2024, this study aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the research on how the school environment influences student beliefs in their academic abilities. The analysis used correlation-based metrics, including Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation and funnel plots, to assess publication bias, with results confirming the absence of bias. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran’s Q-test, which indicated significant variability among studies (Q = 150. 967, p< .001), supporting a random-effects model. Results:The findings revealed a moderate to strong positive effect size (r = 0.54), suggesting that a supportive school climate is significantly associated with higher academic self-efficacy. Effect sizes varied by student demographic, with the strongest effects observed for male students (r = 0.58), followed by mixed-sex students (r = 0.53) and female students (r = 0.36). Additionally, student age accounted for 22% of the variability in the relationship between school climate and self-efficacy, as indicated by regression analyses. Conclusion:These results highlight the importance of fostering a collaborative and empathetic school environment to enhance students' confidence in their academic capabilities, ultimately contributing to better educational outcomes