International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences

Background and Aim: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent childhood disorders with significant consequences. This study examined the effectiveness of attachment-based play therapy on emotional self-regulation in female students with ADHD (combined type) and their mothers' parental self-efficacy.

Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental, single-subject study employed an A-B baseline approach. Four female students (ages 7–9) with combined-type ADHD symptoms in Isfahan City (2023–2024) participated in this study. Initially, they were given the necessary informed consent, and ethical approval was acquired. The DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria, the Revised Conners Scale for Parents, and a diagnostic interview were applied to select samples. Data collection was conducted using the Emotional Regulation Checklist and Domka’s Parental Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Students and their mothers completed eight therapy sessions (45 minutes each). Data analysis used percentage improvement and Cohen’s d effect size. The study ran from January 2023 to May 2024 without financial support.

Results: Emotional self-regulation improved significantly (effect size: post-test = 1.30; follow-up = 1.51), as did parental self-efficacy (post-test = 1.24; follow-up = 0.95). Given that: - Effect size < 0.2 = minimal impact, - 0.5 = moderate effect, - ≥0.8 = strong effect, results confirm Theraplay’s effectiveness.

Conclusion: Theraplay strengthens mother-child bonds, fostering secure attachment. It enhances children’s emotional regulation, social skills, and overall development, alleviating maternal stress and improving parental self-efficacy. The findings confirm Theraplay’s potential as a powerful intervention for female students with ADHD and their mothers.

Background and Aim: Generalized anxiety disorder is a disorder with comparable functional impairment to major depression and a poorer quality of life than major depression. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of an emotion regulation-based treatment on emotion regulation, psychological flexibility, and the experiences of patients with generalized anxiety disorder.

Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in the form of a case study with 5 patients with generalized anxiety disorder. The treatment consisted of 12 90-minute sessions and was carried out individually. Questionnaires on Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Acceptance and Commitment Questionnaire (AAQ) and Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) were used to measure outcome variables.

Results: The results showed that according to visual analysis of data graphs and descriptive statistics index, the intervention was effective for each of the five subjects.

Conclusion: Based on these findings, it can be concluded that emotion regulation-based treatment is a useful strategy for enhancing psychological flexibility, anxiety, and emotion regulation in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. It can also be concluded that deficiencies in these areas are a significant contributing factor to the development of generalized anxiety disorder.

Background and Objectives: Continuation of oral habits in children can bring about adverse oral and dental health consequences. Considering the significance of psychological and emotional factors in this regard, this study aimed to assess the effect of mother-child emotional interactions on continuation of oral habits in 3-6-year-old children.

Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted between Jun 2023- May 2024 on 196 eligible children between 3-6 years. The first questionnaire included questions regarding family demographics, infancy period, and oral habits of the child and family members (thumb sucking, pacifier use, bruxism, nail biting). The second questionnaire had 26 questions regarding mother-child emotional interactions, which were filled out by the parents. The collected data were compared between the two groups with and without oral habits.

Results: Bruxism and nail biting had a higher prevalence than other habits. The two groups had a significant difference in the mean score of mother-child emotional interactions, and children with poorer mother-child interactions had a significantly higher frequency of oral habits (P=0.037). Boys had a significantly higher frequency of oral habits than girls (P=0.022). Also, oral habits had a significantly higher frequency in children with a positive family history for oral habits (P=0.000). However, other demographic factors had no significant association with oral habits (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Considering the increased prevalence of oral habits such as bruxism and nail biting, and the significant effect of mother-child emotional interactions on continuation of such habits in children, mother-child interactions should be investigated and improved in children over 3 years with oral habits.

Background and Aim: Students often struggle with multiple mental health issues, and there is a need for effective, short-term treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective and well-known treatment approaches. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on depression, anxiety, negative autonomic thoughts, and coping strategies in students of Payam Noor University of Ilam.

Materials and Methods: The research approach utilized was a quasi-experimental study characterized by a pre-test-post-test design alongside a control group. The statistical population for this study comprised all students enrolled at Payam Noor University of Ilam during the academic year 2023-2024. Among them, 30 people were selected purposefully and randomly assigned to two experimental (15 people) and control (15 people) groups. The research tools included the Beck Depression Inventory (second edition), Spielberg Anxiety Inventory, Negative Autonomic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), and Endler and Parker Coping Strategies Questionnaire (1990). Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was used as an intervention method.

Results: The findings of the analysis of variance with control of pre-test scores showed that the difference between symptoms of depression, anxiety, negative automatic thoughts, and coping strategies of the experimental and control groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, and negative automatic thoughts, and increased the number of coping strategies in students of Payame Noor University of Ilam in the experimental group compared to the control group in the post-test phase. The results showed that the eta square or the effect coefficient indicated that cognitive behavioral therapy caused (63% reduction in symptoms of depression, 32% reduction in anxiety, 21% reduction in negative automatic thoughts, and 24% increase in coping strategies) in students of Payame Noor University of Ilam.

Conclusion: Therefore, it can be said that cognitive behavioral therapy can reduce problems related to students' mental health, including depression, anxiety, negative automatic thoughts, and coping strategies. It is recommended that university counselors use this approach to educate, prevent, and treat students.

Background and Aim: The present study aims to investigate the role of basic needs and family emotional climate in predicting addiction tendency, with the mediating role of sensation seeking in adolescents.

Materials and Methods: This study was descriptive research of correlational type. The statistical population included all first-year high school students in Khoy County during the 2024–2025 academic year. After selecting the sample, the following questionnaires were administered: Substance Use Tendency Questionnaire, Family Emotional Climate Scale, Basic Needs Questionnaire, and Sensation Seeking Questionnaire. Pearson correlation tests, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted using SPSS-28 and LISREL software for data analysis.

Results: Findings showed that out of 225 participants, 35% were female and 65% were male, with the 15-year-old age group having the highest number of participants. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that all direct and indirect paths in the research model were significant (p < 0.001). Path coefficients revealed that identity crisis had a positive and significant effect on suicidal thoughts (β = 0.42, t = 6.21), avoidant attachment style had a positive and significant relationship with suicidal thoughts (β = 0.39, t = 5.88), and self-concealment played a mediating role in this relationship (β = 0.28, t = 4.97).

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that sensation seeking mediates the relationship between family emotional atmosphere, the fulfillment of basic needs, and the tendency toward addiction. Accordingly, strengthening the family’s emotional environment and providing sensation-seeking management training can be effective in preventing addiction tendencies.

Background and Aim: Among the physical problems, irritable bowel syndrome can affect the patient's psychological behavior, which makes it necessary to reduce this problem by using appropriate psychological treatments. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of brief cognitive-behavioral therapy on rumination and experiential avoidance in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Method and Material: The research method is quasi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and control group with a two-month follow-up. The statistical population was all men with irritable bowel syndrome referred to Moheb Hospital in Tehran in 2024. The participants were 40 patients selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (20 people in each group). Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy was applied to the experimental group for 10 sessions (one 1-hour per week). The control group did not receive any intervention. In addition to the researcher-made demographic information checklist, the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991) and the Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (Gamez et al., 2011) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results: The mean rumination score and its dimensions in the experimental group improved significantly after the intervention compared to the control group (P<0.05). Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy was beneficial in reducing experiential avoidance and its dimensions in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.05), and the effects of this program on dependent variables sustained during the two-month follow-up period (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The results showed that brief cognitive-behavioral therapy can improve rumination and experiential avoidance in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. We can conclude that by enhancing the techniques of this treatment, we can hope for further improvement in these patients' psychological and behavioral functions.

Background and Aim: The present study investigated the role of hardiness and moral intelligence in Corona disease anxiety in middle school male students of Khalkhal City.

Materials and Methods: This research was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population was all male secondary school students of Khalkhal City in the academic year 2019-2020, and a sample of 265 students was selected using the cluster random sampling method. Alipour et al.'s Corona Disease Anxiety Scale, Lennick and Keil's Moral Intelligence Questionnaire, and Kobasa's Hardiness Scale were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and Multiple regression analysis in SPSS software version 26.

Results: The findings showed that there is an inverse and significant relationship between predictors of hardiness (r=-321) and moral intelligence (r=-668) with the criterion variable of Corona disease anxiety (P<0.001). Also, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that the predictor variables of hardiness and moral intelligence explained a total of 0.56 of the changes in the anxiety variable of Corona disease.

Conclusion: In conclusion, increasing students' resilience and moral intelligence could reduce their anxiety about coronary disease. According to the results of the research, we can state that teachers and managers of educational centers can hold workshops focusing on teaching hardiness and moral intelligence in order to reduce anxiety in these people and improve their level of mental health.