Introduction: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders that has significant adverse effects on social functioning, occupational/academic performance, and daily living. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG)-based Neurofeedback (NFB) therapy on anxiety, depression, and emotion regulation of people with GAD. Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test/post-test/follow-up design and a control group. The study participants were 29 college students with GAD living in Zanjan City, Iran, who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (n=15) and control (n=14). The protocol of NFB therapy was designed based on the QEEG method. The intervention group received QEEG-based NFB therapy for 8 weeks (20 sessions, 2 sessions per week, each session for 45 min), while the control group received no intervention. The samples were surveyed and measured by using a 7-item GAD scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) before and after the intervention and then at a 3-month follow-up. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software V. 22 using univariate ANCOVA and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The within-subjects effect of time (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) was statistically significant (P=0.031). The intervention group showed significant changes in the post-test and follow-up phases in comparison with the control group. The anxiety and depression levels of patients reduced significantly (P=0.001), and their emotion regulation improved (P=0.001) after the intervention, and they remained unchanged in the follow-up period. Conclusion: QEEG-based NFB therapy can reduce anxiety and depression and improve emotion regulation in patients with GAD.
This research aimed to predict suicidality and addiction (substance, alcohol, cigarette, psychoactive drugs) among university students based on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and exposure to the suicide of family members and or friends. Methods: The research method was cross-sectional. The statistical community included all students of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil City, Iran, in 2018. A sample of 500 people was selected through convenience sampling method. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive statistics indices, the Pearson correlation, and regression analysis in SPSS V. 23. The study measures included depressive symptom-suicidality subscale, adverse childhood experiences, substance, alcohol, cigarette, psychoactive drugs abuse, and exposure to suicidal behavior. Results: The findings show a significant correlation between ACEs and suicide, substance, alcohol, cigarette, psychoactive drugs abuse. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the person's suicide and exposure to the suicide of a friend and or a family member. Exposure to friends' suicide had a significant correlation with substance, alcohol, cigarette, and psychoactive drugs abuses, but there was no significant correlation between exposure to family members' suicide and addictions. Moreover, in the predicting variables, findings showed that ACEs can predict both suicide (r=0.322) and addictions; cigarette smoking (r=0.244), alcohol consumption (r=0.216), substance abuse (r=0.180) and street drugs (r=0.172). However, exposure to friends' and family members' suicide did not have this predicting power. Conclusion: Adverse childhood experiences play an important part in suicidality and addiction, and we should prevent these experiences by working on the family.
Substance dependence is the most critical biopsychosocial and legal problem. It has various harmful effects at the individual, familial, and society levels. The current study aimed to determine the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on reducing the intensity of substance dependence and improving cognitive emotion regulation in substance-dependent patients under methadone maintenance treatment. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a Pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The samples consisted of 29 subjects (16 in the experimental group and 13 in the control group) undergoing methadone maintenance treatment in a methadone maintenance treatment clinic in Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, Iran. They were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Dependence Severity Index and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were used for data collection. Results: The obtained results suggested that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduced the severity of substance dependence (F=2.34, P<0.05), influenced Negative cognitive emotion regulation (F=15.28, P<0.05) and Positive cognitive emotion regulation (F=16.24, P<0.05) Conclusion: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy affects the intensity of substance dependence and improves cognitive emotion regulation.
Background: Suicide is an important concern with regard to mental health and needs more attention in Iran. Objectives: This study aimed to compare depression, exposure to suicide, self-injury, defeat, and entrapment, and adverse childhood experiences in suicide attempters and normal people. Methods: The current research method was descriptive in the form of ex post facto research. The research community included two groups of (1) suicide attempters, and (2) normal students. Research measures included the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, exposure to suicidal behavior, non-suicidal self-injury, short defeat and entrapment scale, adverse childhood experiences questionnaire, and future self-injury. Results: The results showed a significant difference between groups on the mean values of depression (2.27 for the non-suicidal group vs. 3.87 for the suicidal group), adverse childhood experiences (5.82 vs. 0.95), exposure to the attempted suicide (0.28 vs. 0.50), self-injury behavior (0.36 vs. 2.13), and future self-injury likelihood (0.56 vs. 2.13). The most significant differences belonged to the defeat and entrapment variable and adverse childhood experiences (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Thus, defeat and depression play an important role in predicting suicide, so we should intervene in these two states of mind.
Background: First degree murder as a dangerous social phenomenon can threat the safety of society and families. Examining its origins and effective factors can be helpful to prevent the broad prevalence of this destructive phenomenon. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the emotion control and executive functions between criminals and none-criminals. Materials and Methods: This was a casual-comparative study. The statistical population consists of all criminals charged with first degree murder habituating in Yasouj prison in 2015-2016. 40 persons among the prisoners, were selected by using available sampling method and 40 persons of normal people participated in the study based on normal matching method. In order to collect data, emotional inhibition and executive functions questionnaire were used. The collected data were analyzed by using multivariable variance analysis test. Findings: The results of multivariable variance analysis showed that there is a significant difference between the mean score of emotional inhibition and executive functions in people who committed first degree murder and none-criminals. Conclusion: The present research showed that the criminals who committed first-degree murder acquired higher scores than control group in emotional inhibition and executive functions scales, therefore, it's necessary to investigate these factors. Through knowing aforesaid factors, criminals' families and all of related organizations which involved in maintenance and rehabilitation of criminals gain more knowledge and thereby can help criminals in restoring inhibitory ability, cognitive flexibility, self-sustaining, emotional inhibition and accommodative strategies by using educational programs and related mental treatments (individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy and social counseling). Also, in order to prevent committing crimes in society, it seems necessary to begin the related educations to control crime in early ages in schools and educational centers.
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