Organizational Climate of the COVID-19 Intensive Care Units: A Qualitative Content Analysis Study.

Introduction: To manage the psychological consequences of providing services in the COVID-19 intensive care units (ICUs), it is necessary to identify the experience of nurses from the organizational climate. The current study was conducted to explain the nurses' experience of the organizational climate of the COVID-19 ICUs. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in three teaching hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. 17 individual and semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses working in three selected COVID-19 centers were included in the data analysis. The participants were selected by purposive sampling and interviewed in one or more sessions at a suitable time and place. Interviews lasted for 45 to 90 minutes and continued with conventional content analysis until data saturation. Data analysis was done using conventional content analysis of Graham and Leideman model. Guba and Lincoln criteria (including validity, transferability, consistency, and reliability) were used to ensure reliability and accuracy. Results: The results of data analysis were classified into 82 primary concept codes and 10 sub-categories in the form of 3 categories: "positive climate of attachment and professional commitment", "emotional resonance in the work environment" and "supportive environment of the organization". Conclusion: This study led to the identification of nurses' experiences of the organizational climate during the COVID-19 which provides appropriate information to nursing managers to create a favorable organizational climate and increase the quality of work-life of nurses.

Psychometric properties of Persian version of irritable bowel syndrome- behavioral responses questionnaire (IBS-BRQ).

Aim: This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of Persian version of Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Behavioral Responses Questionnaire (IBS-BRQ). Background: In addition to somatic symptoms and complaints, patients with irritable bowel syndrome have specific dysfunctional behaviors that lead to disease persistence and functional disturbance. Methods: Participants included 170 patients with irritable bowel syndrome, who were diagnosed based on ROM-IV criteria and selected from patients referring to the Gastrointestinal Disorders Clinic, as well as 100 persons from the general population in Isfahan in 2020. Both groups completed the 26-item Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Behavioral Responses Questionnaire (IBS-BRQ). Also, questionnaires including the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS), Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Quality of Life IBS-QOL, Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Patient Satisfaction (IBS-SAT), Hope Scale, Interpersonal Forgiveness Inventory (IFI), and Dysfunctional Attitude Scale- 26-item (DAS-26) were completed to determine the validity of IBS-BRQ. Tests of internal consistency, principal components analyses (PCAs), differentiation analysis, and correlation were used to determine its reliability, along with criterion and construct validity. Results: IBS-BRQ was valid and reliable in both groups with a high degree of internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha was obtained in the sample of patients with IBS and the total sample of participants 0.87 and 0.95 respectively. This scale differentiated significantly between IBS patients and non-patients (p<.001). The criterion validity was high as evidenced by a high correlation with DAS-26 (r=0.53, p<0.001), IBS-QOL (r=0.76, p<0.001), IBS-SSS (r=0.44, p<0.001), IPQ-R (r=0.56, p<0.001), and reverse correlation with IFI (r=-0.031, p<0.001), IBS-SAT (r=-0.23, p<0.001), and HOPE (r=-0.49, p<0.001). Conclusion: The Persian version of the IBS-BRQ proved to be a well-defined behavioral response measure in IBS patients with high validity and reliability, making it a suitable measure to be used in future IBS clinical research in Iran.

CircRNAs as a novel class of potential diagnostic biomarkers in bipolar disorders.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mood disorder with uncertain causes and debilitating signs and symptoms. Gene expression is crucial to the pathophysiology of BD and could be influenced by genetic or epigenetic factors, by either direct modification of mRNA templates or by regulation of post-transcriptional translation. Recent evidence has shown that several critical processes in psychiatric diseases, such as neuronal activity or plasticity, synaptic transmission, and neuronal depolarization, have all been linked to circular RNAs (circRNAs). The circRNA profile of neuronal cells, which may be easily ascertained by a liquid biopsy, may shed light on the molecular pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, including BD. This approach could aid in future development in diagnosis and treatment. In this review, we provide an in-depth understanding of the roles of circRNAs in the pathophysiology of BD and offer new insight into their potential as emerging diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets.

The Safe Coping Strategy of Nurses Working in the Care Units of Patients with COVID-19: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Nurses are in direct contact with patients with COVID-19 and have faced much tension with the rapid spread of coronavirus. This study aimed to explore the safe coping strategies of nurses when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, data were collected from September 20 to December 20, 2020, in Isfahan (Iran) through individual semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses working in the five referral centers for patients with COVID-19. Informants were selected via purposeful sampling and interviewed in one or several sessions at the appropriate time and place. The interviews continued until data saturation. All interviews continued until no new data were added to the continuous content analysis. Data analysis was performed using conventional content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman's approach. We used Guba and Lincoln's criteria (including credibility, transferability, conformability, and dependability) to guarantee trustworthiness and rigor. Results: Safe coping strategies for nurses were discovered in two categories of "wise liberation" and "care," and six subcategories. "Wise liberation" consisted of four subcategories: "living in the moment," "accepting the inner and outer world," "life enrichment," and "building opportunities." "Care" contained two subcategories: "caring for others" and "caring for oneself." Conclusions: Discovering safe coping strategies for nurses could set the stage for special educational-therapeutic interventions so they can better understand their experiences and take advantage of the best coping strategies.

A randomized clinical trial: Comparison of group acceptance and commitment therapy with drug on quality of life and depression in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is one of the newest treatment strategies that has been developed rapidly to improve the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of ACT and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) drugs on the severity of depression symptoms and quality of life (QOL) in obsessive-compulsive patients. Materials and Methods: A randomized clinical trial with a control group was conducted including 27 patients with OCD. Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 criteria for OCD diagnosis, participants were recruited from Tamasha Counseling Center and obsessive-compulsive clinic in the Psychosomatic Research Center in Isfahan, Iran. Selected patients were allocated to two groups (14 in ACT the group and 13 in the drug group with SSRI with a simple random sampling method. ACT group was treated by an ACT therapist in eight 1-h sessions. Data were collected by the World Health Organization QOL Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and Depression subscale of DASS-42 at admission, after the intervention, and 3 months thereafter. Therapists and evaluators were blind to each other's work. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance with repeated measures method using IBM SPSS Statistics software (V 23, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: Results revealed that both treatments (ACT and SSRIs drug therapy) had significant impacts on reducing depression subscales scores and increasing WHOQOL-BREF scores at posttreatment (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in QOL scores between the two groups after the intervention and follow-up (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, drug therapy presented a significantly greater improvement in depression scores of patients than those resulting from ACT (P = 0.005). The persistence of treatment effects continued after 3 months (follow-up) in both groups. Conclusion: ACT is equal to SSRIs drug therapy in terms of improving QOL in patients with OCD. However, SSRIs are more effective in treating depression in obsessive-compulsive patients. It may be presumed that ACT without any chemical side effect is equal to drug and is preferred for patients who either cannot use drugs or prefer not to have a drug treatment.

Translation and psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Elderly People (HoNOS65+).

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Elderly People (HoNOS65+) in Iran's elderly population. METHODS: The scale English version translated to Persian using a forward and backward translation method. The scale was filled for two elderly population groups (inpatient and outpatients) (N = 300). Simultaneously with HoNOS+65, the Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI) was completed. Two separate therapists were filled HoNOS+65 for thirty-one patients (inter-rater reliability test). In general, content validity, consistency, confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), convergent validity, and criterion validity were examined. RESULTS: Using exploratory factor analysis, three factors were extracted. Inter-rater reliability in some items has a slight agreement. Content validity ratio (0.75) and index (0.90) were calculated for each item. Cronbach's alpha total score was 0.82. According to the largest modification indices, CFA showed satisfactory fit indices. The convergent validity between HoNOS +65 and CGI was (r = 0/71, sig = 0.000). Finally, the optimal cut-off point was achieved 13. Sensitivity and specificity for the HoNOS +65 were 88.89% and 81.16%, respectively, with the Youden index of 0.7005. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of HoNOS65+ has high reliability, validity, specificity, and sensitivity in multidimensional assessment of Iranian geriatric mental health.

Comparison of Design Fluency Test Results among Patients with Parkinson's Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and the Control Group.

BACKGROUND: Design Fluency Test (DFT) is a nonverbal frame-free, nonstructured assessment of executive function (EF). Since previous studies evaluating EF in Parkinson's disease (PD) have mainly used verbal assessments for EF, this study aims to evaluate the pattern of executive domains in PD using DFT and to compare it with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (FTD) as a prototype for executive dysfunction and also with normal controls (NCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with PD, 27 with FTD, and 27 NCs were included in the study in Ayatollah Kashani Neuropsychiatry Clinic affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences from September 2019 to February 2020. All participants were assessed via semi-structured neuropsychiatric interview, questionnaire for demographic profile (age, handedness, gender, education, and marital status), duration of illness, comorbid medical condition, comorbid psychiatric illnesses and medications, DFT, Short Parkinson's Evaluation Scale, Frontal Assessment Battery, Judgment of Line Orientation, and Neuropsychiatry Unit Cognitive Assessment Tool. RESULTS: Fixed condition novelty score was significantly different between FTD and PD (P < 0.001), FTD and control (P < 0.001), and also between PD and control (P = 0.001). When free and fixed condition novelty scores were considered to predict diagnostic attribution, multinomial logistic regression revealed that odds ratio for free condition novelty score was 0.705 (P = 0.005, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.553-0.899) and 0.494 (P = 0.001, 95% CI = 0.328-0.744) in PD and FTD, respectively. The odds ratio for fixed condition novelty score was 0.772 (P = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.632-0.942) and 0.449 (P = 0.00, 95% CI = 0.292-0.691). CONCLUSION: DFT subscores can be helpful in diagnosis and differentiation between FTD and PD.

Psychometric properties of psychosocial dimensions associated with postpartum depression.

AIM: The aim of the study was psychometric properties of a questionnaire for assessing psychosocial dimensions associated with postpartum depression (PAPP). METHODS: Initial form of the questionnaire for assessing PAPP was developed based on the results of a qualitative study. Principal component analysis was used to determine the construct validity, as well as Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Construct validity, predictability of the questionnaire, and confirmatory factor analysis were evaluated in a longitudinal study on 303 pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Also, using Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, the level of depression was evaluated 6 weeks after childbirth. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis led to a 47-item questionnaire with five dimensions and confirmed that five factors determined 42.31% variance. Cronbach's alpha was 0.851 for the total score of questionnaire and for the factors, ranged from 0.84 to 0.92. ICC of total was 0.92 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.93). Analyzing the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 47 items questionnaire had a good construct validity (CMIN/DF = 2.01, p = 0.122). The level of the PAPP in women suffered from postpartum depression was higher than women without postpartum depression (odds ratio = 1.01, 95% CI: 1.01-1.02, p = 0.001). A cut-off score of 42 provided the best sensitivity (0.75) and specificity (0.50) for PAPP. CONCLUSION: The psychometric properties of the PAPP showed an appropriate validity and reliability, and it may applicable to predict of at risk pregnant women for postpartum depression who seeking antenatal care services.

Correlation of Treatment of Peptic Ulcer Bleeding by Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC) via Contact Heat Probe Method (heater probe) with Epinephrine Injection.

BACKGROUND This clinical investigation aimed to compare the efficacy of treatment of peptic ulcer hemorrhage by argon plasma coagulation (APC) via contact heat probe method (heater probe) along with epinephrine injection. METHODS 100 patients who underwent endoscopic treatment, were randomly divided into two groups consisting of 50 patients each. In the first group, an intervention was performed using foot pedal and 2.3 mm and 3.2 mm argon probes placed in a 2 to 8 mm distance of delivery place leading to plasma coagulation, sufficient necrosis and hemostasis. In the second group, wound press contact probe was used for wound healing with 15 watts of heat for about 25 degrees, causing coagulation and hemostasis. To evaluate and compare the ulcer treatment in both groups, the patient progress results were monitored for a period of one month from the day of discharge. Statistical analyses of data were performed using SPSS software version 22 along with Chi-square test and T-test. RESULTS No significant difference observed in two groups in term of age, sex and clinical symptoms, but patients treated with APC method had higher hemoglobin levels (p < 0.001). The duration of intervention and abdominal bloating in APC group was significantly higher with two cases of re-admission. In HP group, 3 cases (6.3%) had treatment failure and an average transfused blood was significantly higher in the HP group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Endoscopy treatment duration was significantly lower in patients treated with the HP method due to separate washing route. HP method seems to be more appropriate for treatment of cases with abdominal bloating, distal gastric lesion and HP bulbs.

Why is this happening to me? - a comparison of illness representations between Iranian and German people with mental illness.

BACKGROUND: Due to an increase in migration and globalization, cross-cultural encounters in health care are also becoming more frequent. As psychotherapy is grounded in a cultural context and must be congruent with the patient's cultural beliefs of his or her illness in order to be effective, the consideration of cross-cultural differences in illness representations becomes increasingly important. Especially research on illness representations concerning mental disorders is scarce. METHODS: The aim of the current study was to compare illness representations between Iranian (N = 87) and German (N = 90) patient samples as well as subclinical samples (Iranian N = 264, German N = 102) using a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Illness representations were measured using the Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised (IPQ-R). Initially, a factor analysis was conducted in order to ensure comparability of the IPQ-R between the Iranian and the German sample. RESULTS: The factor analysis already revealed differences in item compositions of the IPQ-R subscales indicating differences of the conception of illness representations between the samples. Further, the Iranian samples showed a significantly higher amount of supernatural causal beliefs and emotional representation of the illness than the German samples. Surprisingly, the Iranian patient sample showed the highest amount of illness coherence. CONCLUSION: The current paper contributes to a deeper understanding of cross-cultural differences in illness representations regarding mental disorders. Nevertheless, further research is needed to confirm current findings and to further elaborate on the relationships found.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Screening for Somatic Symptom Disorders-7(SOMS-7).

Objective: Somatic symptoms are one of the most prevalent complaints in both psychiatric and general population, and validated scales are required to assess these problems. The present study was conducted to determine psychometric properties of the Persian version of Screening for Somatic Symptom Disorders-7(SOMS-7) in an Iranian population. Method : This was a multi centric comprehensive study conducted in Psychosomatic Research Center of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in collaboration with Department of Clinical Psychology of Philipp University of Marburg, Germany. This part of the study includes 100 patients with anxiety/mood disorders and 291 healthy individuals. All participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) and Screening for Somatic symptom disorders 7(SOMS-7). Data were analyzed by Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient, factor analysis, independent t test, and discriminant analysis using SPSS-20 software. Results: Reliability coefficient based on Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 and 0.94 (clinical vs. healthy sample). Validity index of the SOMS according to correlation between factor 1 and 2 with PHQ somatic subscale was. 51 and. 59, respectively. Score of 15.5 as cut-off point was accompanied with sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 66%. Factor analysis extracted 2 factors in patients and 4 factors in healthy population. Conclusion: Findings of this study indicated that the Persian version of SOMS-7 has appropriate reliability and validity for the assessment of somatic symptoms disorder and evaluation of treatment effects in these patients.

Examining the relationship between mothers' prenatal mental health and demographic factors with postpartum depression.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Prenatal mental health has been shown to be related with postpartum depression. However, the role of mental and psychological factors in postpartum depression requires especial attention. Furthermore, the relationship between demographic factors and postpartum depression is contradictory. The study was aimed to identify role of prenatal anxiety and depression and demographic factors with postpartum depression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted with 303 pregnant women who have gestational age from 28 to 36 weeks and referred to health-care centers in Isfahan city and follow-up for 6-12 weeks after postpartum. Data were collected using the demographic form, Edinburgh depression, and anxiety Spielberger questionnaire during pregnancy and Edinburgh depression inventory in the 6th and 12th weeks after childbirth. Descriptive statistics and linear logistic regression were used to analyze the data. In demographic factors, data were analyzed using the Student's t-test, Chi-square, Pearson and Spearman test and after the meaningfulness of regression was used. RESULTS: Results showed that the 6 and 12 weeks after childbirth, 61 patients (20/1%) and 33 patients (10/9%) had postpartum depression. The most important risk factors for depression in the first 6 weeks were history of infertility (confidence interval [CI]: 0.56-0.767) (P = 0.018) and history of depression (CI: 1.155-1.369) (P = 0.000) and in 12 weeks, postpartum were history of depression (CI: 0.072-1.305) (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Infertility and history of depression during pregnancy were two risk factors of postpartum depression which should be taken into consideration during prenatal care.

Postpartum depression risk factors: A narrative review.

Postpartum depression is a debilitating mental disorder with a high prevalence. The aim of this study was review of the related studies. In this narrative review, we report studies that investigated risk factors of postpartum depression by searching the database, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Uptodate, Proquest in the period 2000-2015 published articles about the factors associated with postpartum depression were assessed in Farsi and English. The search strategy included a combination of keywords include postpartum depression and risk factors or obstetrical history, social factors, or biological factors. Literature review showed that risk factors for postpartum depression in the area of economic and social factors, obstetrical history, and biological factors, lifestyle and history of mental illness detected. Data from this study can use for designing a screening tools for high-risk pregnant women and for designing a prevention programs.

Comparison of N-acetylcysteine, ascorbic acid, and normal saline effect in prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Considering the crucial role of appropriate preventative strategies in reducing the rate of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) occurrence and its related morbidity and mortality, the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), ascorbic acid (AA), and normal saline (NS) was investigated in the patient's undergone coronary angiography. METHODS: In this clinical trial, 120 patients scheduled for elective coronary angiography with serum creatinine (Cr) level > 1.5 mg/dl or glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥ 60 selected by convenience method. Selected patients were allocated in three treatment groups randomly to receive oral NAC (600 mg/twice daily) plus NS (100 ml/hour) (Group A), oral AA (250 mg/twice daily) plus NS (100 ml/hour) (Group B) and NS (100 ml/hour) (Group C), respectively. The occurrence of CIN was evaluated based on serum Cr and GFR in three studied groups, before and after angiography procedure. The analysis of variance and paired t-test were used for data analysis by SPSS. RESULTS: The serum Cr increased and GFR decreased significantly during the intervention in three groups (P < 0.010). However, the amounts of these changes were equal between groups (P > 0.050). CONCLUSION: The study showed that nor the addition of NAC neither the addition of AA to sodium chloride infusion has more beneficial effect than hydration with sodium chloride, in the prevention of CIN.

Cognitive-analytical therapy for a patient with functional neurological symptom disorder-conversion disorder (psychogenic myopia): A case study.

Functional neurological symptom disorder commonly presents with symptoms and defects of sensory and motor functions. Therefore, it is often mistaken for a medical condition. It is well known that functional neurological symptom disorder more often caused by psychological factors. There are three main approaches namely analytical, cognitive and biological to manage conversion disorder. Any of such approaches can be applied through short-term treatment programs. In this case, study a 12-year-old boy with the diagnosed functional neurological symptom disorder (psychogenic myopia) was put under a cognitive-analytical treatment. The outcome of this treatment modality was proved successful.

Preparing a persian version of kimberley indigenous cognitive assessment for assessing the cognitive problems of illiterate geriatric patients.

BACKGROUND: The rate of dementia is increasing rapidly. With the recognized high rate of illiteracy among geriatric patients, preparing an appropriate device for special screening among the low-educated elderly seems to be necessary. The aim of this study is to prepare and assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) in Iranian adults, in 2012. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and eighty elders participated in this psychometric study. Ninety patients with dementia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria, who had been admitted to Geriatrics and Neurology in some of the private clinics in Esfahan, Iran, in 2012, were selected. The rest of the participants were normal persons with the same demographic characteristics as the dementia group, who were selected from the patients' acquaintances and from the Retired Personnel Organization. The statistical tools were the KICA scale, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE). RESULTS: The best clinical cutoff point of the test was 31, with a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 88%. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of KICA was 0.93. Among the KICA's subscales, the maximum Cronbach's alpha coefficient belonged to Praxis (α = 0.933) and the minimum one belonged to Delayed Recall (α = 0.927). The correlation coefficients of the KICA score with MMSE and 3MSE were 0.58 and 0.57, respectively. CONCLUSION: The KICA test has been seen to be a reliable and valid tool to assess cognitive impairment in the aged people of Iran. The KICA test can be used as a cognitive assessment test for distinguishing patients with dementia, especially illiterate ones from other healthy people in Iran.

The efficacy of telephonic follow up in prevention of suicidal reattempt in patients with suicide attempt history.

BACKGROUND: prevention of suicide is one of priority world health. Suicide is one of the preventable causes of death. The aim of this study is evaluation of telephone follow up on suicide reattempt. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial is a prospective study which has been done in Noor Hospital of Isfahan-Iran, at 2010. 139 patients who have suicide attempt history divided in one of two groups, randomly, 70 patients in" treatment as usual (TAU)" and 69 patients in "brief interventional control (BIC). Seven telephone contact with BIC group patients have been done "during six months" and two questionnaires have been filled in each session. The data has been analyzed by descriptive and Chi-square test, under SPSS. RESULTS: No significant differences of suicide reattempt has been found between two groups (P = 0.18), but significant reduction in frequency of suicidal thoughts (P = 0.007) and increase in hope at life (P = 0.001) was shown in intervention group. CONCLUSION: Telephones follow up in patients with suicide history decrease suicidal thought frequency" and increase hope in life, significantly.

Development and validation of 26-item dysfunctional attitude scale.

INTRODUCTION: Dysfunctional Attitude Scale is one of the most common instruments used to assess cognitive vulnerability. This study aimed to develop and validate a short form of Dysfunctional Attitude Scale appropriate for an Iranian clinical population. METHODS: Participants were 160 psychiatric patients from medical centers affiliated with Isfahan Medical University, as well as 160 non-patients. Research instruments were clinical interviews based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV-TR, Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and General Heath Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Data was analyzed using multicorrelation calculations and factor analysis. RESULTS: Based on the results of factor analysis and item-total correlation, 14 items were judged candidates for omission. Analysis of the 26-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-26) revealed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92. Evidence for the concurrent criterion validity was obtained through calculating the correlation between the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and psychiatric diagnosis (r = 0.55), GHQ -28 (r = 0.56) and somatization, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression subscales (0.45,0.53,0.48, and 0.57, respectively). Factor analysis deemed a four-factor structure the best. The factors were labeled as success-perfectionism, need for approval, need for satisfying others, and vulnerability-performance evaluation. DISCUSSION: The results showed that the Iranian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-26) bears satisfactory psychometric properties suggesting that this cognitive instrument is appropriate for use in an Iranian cultural context.

Personality profile of women affected with borderline personality disorder.

INTRODUCTION: The main objective of the present study is to review the psychological profile of female patients with borderline personality disorder in the women referring to the Centers of Counseling and Psychological Services at Isfahan city based on MMPI-2 test and comparing them with ordinary women. METHOD: The present study is of the type of cause-comparative and the selection of examinees was done in form of random sampling with 50 women with the BPD and 50 ordinary women and through confirmation of test recognition of MCMI-III and clinical interviews. In addition, 370 questions of MMPI-2 have also been implemented. RESULTS: The results of this research showed a significant difference in validity of scales and the clinical scales of MMPI-2 test among women with BPD and regular women. The results of MANOVA test with the power of valuable test confirmed the existing differences. CONCLUSION: The obtained results shows that female patients with BPD has a specific and different psychological profile as compared with ordinary (regular) women and the obtained profile can be used in recognition and forecasting any disorder.

Psychometric properties and validation of Persian version of quality of life in epilepsy inventory (QOLIE-89).

BACKGROUND: Several epilepsy-specific quality of life questionnaires have been developed. One of them is quality of life in epilepsy-89 version. The objective of this study was to develop a Persian version of QOLE-89 and confirm its psychometric properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants were 75 patients with epilepsy. The quality of life questionnaire was adapted to Persian language through a translation and translation-back procedure. Internal consistency by Cronbach's α, was determined and construct validity was assessed by correlation with GHQ-12 and BDI-PC and discriminant validity was confirmed by comparing scores for known groups. RESULTS: Reliability based on internal consistency (Cronbach's α) for QOIE-89 was 0/96 and for 17 subscales was varied form 0/70 to 0/89 and Test-retest reliability (Pearson's correlation coefficient) for the Farsi version of the QOLIE-89 ranged from 0.75 to 0.88. Total score of QOLIE-89 discriminated well between the patients according to depression severity and drug resistance and seizure controllability. Correlation between the total scores, BDI-PC and GHQ-R to confirm construct validity was 0/55 and 0/63, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this cross-sectional survey, Persian version of the QOLIE-89 was reliable and showed properties supporting the construct and discriminant validity at a level comparable with the original and some other versions. Thus, this questionnaire has suitable properties in Iranian population and can be used in clinical trials with epileptic patients.