International Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences

Background and Aim: Social and psychological problems, such as academic failure and discouragement, can impose significant financial and social costs on families and society if the issues faced by students with head-of-household women are not addressed. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of narrative therapy in improving the resilience and vitality of students with head-of-household women.

Materials and Methods: The study employed a semi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest approach and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all female students with head-of-household women in the second-grade high schools in Isfahan City during the academic year 2022-2023. According to the convenience sampling method, 30 students were selected as the statistical sample, with 15 randomly assigned to the experimental group and 15 to the control group. Data collection was performed using the Academic Vitality Scale and the Resilience Scale. White and Epston's (1990) narrative therapy program consisted of eight one-hour sessions, held twice a week, for the experimental group after the implementation of the questionnaires. Univariate analysis of covariance (ANOVA) was also utilized to test the hypotheses.

Results: Narrative therapy training was effective in increasing the academic vitality and resilience of students, particularly those from households headed by women, and students in the experimental group had significantly higher academic vitality and resilience than those in the control group at the post-test.

Conclusion: Based on the results of the present research, narrative therapy training is efficacious in improving the resilience and happiness of students with head-of-household women, and this training can help address their problems. Furthermore, the counselors' and specialists' knowledge about this therapy can be helpful.

Background and Aim: Numerous studies have shown that children with autism show significant deficits in adaptive and social behavior and lack the necessary abilities to establish effective social communication with others. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the Dohsa psycho-rehabilitation method (Dohsa-hou) on adaptive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Materials and Methods: This study used a pre-test and post-test control group quasi-experimental design. The statistical population of the study consisted of all children with autism in Mashhad. The study sample consisted of 30 children with autism, randomly selected and aged 6 to 11 years. The experimental group received the Dohsa Psycho-Rehabilitation Method (Dohsa-Hou) treatment program. The Adaptive Behavior Scale was used as the research instrument. The treatment consisted of 12 55-minute sessions, held twice a week for each child. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS software, employing both descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (multivariate analysis of covariance) statistics.

Results: The results showed that the Dohsa-hou psycho-rehabilitation method improved adaptive behavior and its components in children with autism (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Therefore, Dohsa Psycho-Rehabilitation Method (Dohsa-Hou) can be suggested as an effective method to improve interpersonal and social relationships in children with autism. Dohsa-hou method is strongly recommended as a complementary intervention for promoting adaptive, communicative, and emotional functioning in children with ASD, particularly when integrated within broader behavioral or educational plans. The intentional focus on bodily self-regulation in Dohsa-hou not only mitigates repetitive and hyperactive behaviors but also lays the groundwork for improved adaptive functioning and social engagement in children with ASD, thereby holding promising implications for both clinical practice and community-based interventions.

Background and Aim: Reflective functioning is an important psychological construct, but its measurement tools lack validation in Persian-speaking populations. This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Reflective Functioning Scale in Persian, as validating this tool is crucial for enabling rigorous research and clinical assessment of mentalizing in Persian-speaking populations.

Materials and Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design. Out of 70 initial participants, 60 met the criteria. After excluding 9 participants for various reasons, the final sample consisted of 51 participants. In this study, three instruments were used for assessments: the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS), the Reflective Function Questionnaire for Adults (RFQA), and the Eye Test - Revised Version. All testing procedures were conducted daily at a hospital in Shiraz.

Results: Reliability analyses showed good internal consistency (α = 0.78), split-half reliability (0.77, adjusted to 0.79), and test-retest stability over three weeks (r = 0.80), while content validity was confirmed by expert review with a high content validity index (CVI = 0.81). Reflective functioning showed strong positive correlation with secure attachment (r = 0.60) and social cognition (r = 0.65), moderate negative correlation with avoidant attachment (r = -0.45), and weak to moderate negative correlation with ambivalent attachment (r = -0.35), supporting the RF tool’s good convergent validity across attachment styles and social cognitive abilities.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the Reflective Functioning Scale has acceptable reliability and validity, making it a suitable tool for assessing mentalizing ability in Persian-speaking populations.

Introduction: The present study aimed to develop and validate a growth mindset educational intervention based on Dweck's theory and investigate its effectiveness on girls' intrinsic, germane, and extraneous cognitive load.

Method: This was an applied, mixed-methods study. The research was conducted in three phases: Phase 1 (qualitative) involved the development of the educational package, while Phases 2 and 3 (quantitative) focused on its validation and effectiveness. The statistical population for the validation phase consisted of 10 purposively selected specialists in the field. For the quantitative part, the population comprised second-grade high school female students in Tehran's Education District 2, studying in the 2024-2025 academic year. The sample included 30 students (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group), who were selected via random sampling. The experimental group received the growth mindset training over 10 sessions, each lasting 70 minutes, while the control group received no training. The Cognitive Load Scale by Klepsch, Schmitz, and Seufert (2017) was used as the research instrument. Data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS 24.

Results: The findings confirmed that the growth mindset educational package possessed appropriate validity. The results of the ANCOVA also indicated that the intervention was effective in improving students' cognitive load.

Conclusion: The growth mindset educational package can serve as a practical tool for enhancing adolescents' cognitive abilities and is effective in reducing their cognitive load.

Background and Objective: Anxiety is one of the common psychological problems among children with cancer. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention and pharmacotherapy in managing anxiety disorders in children with cancer.

Materials and Methods: This semi-experimental study utilized a two-group pretest-posttest design. The study population included all children with cancer (aged 5 to 12 years) admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 2023. A total of 32 children were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to two groups: pharmacotherapy (n=16) and mindfulness-based intervention (n=16). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (1998). The data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).

Results:
The findings indicated that the anxiety scores of participants in both the pharmacotherapy and mindfulness-based intervention groups significantly decreased after receiving the respective interventions (P < 0.001). Furthermore, a comparison of the effectiveness of the two interventions revealed that the mean scores for separation anxiety, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder showed greater reductions in the pharmacotherapy group, while generalized anxiety demonstrated a more pronounced reduction in the mindfulness-based intervention group.

Conclusion:
Both pharmacotherapy and mindfulness-based intervention contribute to the improvement of anxiety disorders in children with cancer. However, pharmacotherapy is more effective in reducing separation anxiety, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, while mindfulness-based intervention is more effective in alleviating generalized anxiety.

Background and Aim: Nowadays, educational systems in every country strive to identify creative, innovative, and efficient students to harness their cognitive and emotional capacities in addressing significant societal challenges. In this context, conducting studies in various educational sciences has become a necessity. The present study aimed to predict creative self-efficacy based on creative thinking, behavioral brain systems, and the mediating roles of cognitive-emotional self-regulation and creative problem-solving among adolescent girls in Tehran.

Materials and Methods: This research was conducted with a fundamental purpose and employed a descriptive-correlational path analysis approach. The statistical population included all female high school students in Tehran during the 2023-2024 academic year. A sample of 221 students was selected using a cluster sampling method. Data collection tools included the Carver and White Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System Questionnaire (1994), the short form of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire by Garnefski and Kraaij (2006), Beghetto's Creative Self-Efficacy Scale (2006), Carter's Creative Thinking Questionnaire (2009), and Basadur's Creative Problem-Solving Scale (1999). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS 24 and SPSS 27 was used to evaluate the proposed model.

Results: Findings indicated a satisfactory fit between the proposed model and the data. Path analysis results showed that behavioral inhibition and activation systems, as well as creative thinking, explained 16% of the variance in maladaptive cognitive-emotional self-regulation strategies, 33% of the variance in adaptive cognitive-emotional self-regulation strategies, and 38% of the variance in creative problem-solving. Furthermore, behavioral brain systems, creative thinking, adaptive and maladaptive self-regulation strategies, and creative problem-solving together explained 39% of the variance in creative self-efficacy.

Conclusion: The results of this study underscore the simultaneous importance of strengthening cognitive-emotional skills and behavioral brain systems in enhancing creative self-efficacy among adolescents, as well as in designing effective educational and developmental interventions to promote creativity within the educational system. These findings may inform policymakers and educational planners in developing innovative skills among adolescents.