The Effects of Relaxing Music on Life Distress and Maternal-fetal Attachment in Pregnant Women

Background: Although pregnancy and motherhood are enjoyable experiences, they are associated with numerous biopsychological changes requiring adaptation. The present study aimed to assess the effects of relaxing music on life distress and Maternal-Fetal Attachment (MFA) in pregnant women. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and a control group design. The research population included all Iranian pregnant women referring to Laleh Hospital in Tehran City, Iran, in 2020. In total, 30 women were selected using the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into the intervention and control groups (n=15/group). The required data were collected using the Life Distress Inventory (LDI) and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS). The intervention group listened to relaxing music for twelve 45-50-minute sessions in the morning and during routine midwifery visits; however, the controls received no intervention. The collected data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS V. 22. Results: The obtained results indicated that the intervention group reported a lower level of life distress in the post-test, compared to the controls (P=0.0001, F=15.860). The intervention group also achieved a higher mean score on MFA, than the control group (P=0.0001, F=35.872). Conclusion: According to the present research findings, reproductive health, nursing professionals, and psychologists could recommend music as a complementary therapy to reduce stress and distress experienced by expecting mothers and to improve MFA.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Integrated Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy in Motivational Structure of Hepatitis B Patients

Background: It is essential to understand and support hepatitis B patients to minimize their challenges and limitations and provide them with appropriate treatment. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate training and consulting programs to prepare for and identify various aspects of the disease. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-integrated cognitive-behavioral group therapy (MiCBT) in the motivational structure of hepatitis B patients in Tehran, Iran. Methods: This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The study sample consisted of 28 hepatitis B patients selected from all patients visiting specialist clinics in Tehran in 2020. Following the interviews and completion of the Personal Concerns Inventory, 14 patients were selected per group using simple random sampling and were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. A posttest was conducted after 12 sessions of MiCBT (one 90-min group session weekly for three months). Data were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS software. Results: The results revealed a significant increase in adaptive motivational structure (P < 0.001) and a significant decrease in maladaptive motivational structure (P = 0.012) in hepatitis B patients following the therapeutic intervention. Conclusions: The study indicated the MiCBT effectiveness in increasing adaptive motivational structure and decreasing maladaptive motivational structure in hepatitis B patients. As a therapeutic approach, MiCBT can make the motivational structure of hepatitis B patients more adaptive.

Fostering Students’ Retention in Photosynthesis Using Concept Mapping and Cooperative Mastery Learning Instructional Strategies

<p style="text-align: justify;">The performance in biology at the secondary level has not been as good as expected. This has been a matter of concern. Thus, there has been a continuous focus on exploring newer innovative learner-centered and friendly instructional strategies to enhance understanding and retention in biology. This study, therefore, determined the effects of Concept Mapping (CM) and Cooperative Mastery Learning (CML) on fostering retention in photosynthesis among secondary schools in Nyamagabe district, Rwanda. A pre-test and post-test non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design was used. Data were obtained from 151 students taught with CM, 144 students taught with CML, and 154 students taught with Conventional Teaching Methods (CTM). The Photosynthesis Retention Test (KR-21= 0.82) was used for data collection. The data were mainly analyze d using mean and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results showed that the CM and CML treatment groups outperformed the CTM group in retention in photosynthesis. There was a statistically significant difference in favor of the CM between the two experimental groups. The male and female students taught using CM retained equally in photosynthesis while gender difference was revealed in the mean retention scores of the students exposed to the CML, with females retained significantly higher than males. The study concluded that the CM and CML strategies were more effective than CTM. It was suggested, among other things, that teachers should be encouraged to apply CM and CML strategies when teaching biology.</p>

Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Depression and Anxiety in People with Substance Use Disorder

Background: The comorbidity of substance use, mood disorders, and anxiety has been proven in various studies, leading to many clinical implications. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in depression and anxiety in individuals with substance use disorder. Methods: This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all people with substance abuse in Urmia in 2019, including 220 subjects. The sample consisted of 50 individuals with substance use disorders selected by purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in eight sessions, each lasting 90 min, based on the ACT protocol by Hayes et al. (2004), while the control group did not receive any intervention. The data were obtained using the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Pretest and posttest were performed in both groups. The collected data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) using SPSS23 software. Results: The results showed that after controlling for the pretest effects, a significant difference was observed between the mean posttest scores of the two groups in both depression and anxiety (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Acceptance and commitment therapy is an appropriate strategy to effectively improve depression and anxiety in people with substance use disorder.

The Influence of Gender and Interest on the Use of Learning Strategies in Biology Lessons

<p style="text-align: justify;">For biology students, the diversity, complexity, and abundance of content in this field yield a heavy study load. Hence, appropriate learning strategies are key in supporting learners’ academic success. In biology, the factors gender and interest hold a unique position within the natural sciences, as there is an academic imbalance to the disadvantage of male students. In the present study, we examined the influence of gender and interest as well as its interdependences on the students’ use of learning strategies for biology learning. A total of 180 seventh through tenth grade students (Mage=14.47; SD=1.35; 60% female) from four general-track secondary schools located in Germany participated in this study. Data on the students’ level of interest and the use of learning strategies in biology lessons were collected. We used multivariate analysis of covariance with the students’ age as the covariate to analyse our data. Results revealed a significant effect of gender on the students’ use of the learning strategies rehearsal, organisation, effort, and time management. With regard to elaboration and effort, the effects of interest were found to be significant. The gender gap regarding learning strategy use was narrower for students with high levels of interest. These findings might have implications for beneficial teacher behaviour in biology.</p>

Impact of Mindfulness Training on Spanish Police Officers’ Mental and Emotional Health: a Non-Randomized Pilot Study

Objectives The purpose of this exploratory non-randomized controlled study was to determine the acceptance and effectiveness of an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) co-designed by a police officer. Methods A pretest-posttest control group design was followed. Participants (MBI group = 20; control group = 18) answered baseline and post-training self-reported measures. In addition, the weekly emotional state of the MBI group was collected. Paired-samples t-test and analysis of covariance were performed for pre-post within-group and between-group differences, respectively, as well as linear mixed effects analysis of repeated measures for week-by-week data. Results High acceptance and attendance rates, as well as significant pre-post within-group differences in the MBI group in mindfulness (η2 = 0.43), self-compassion (η2 = 0.43), depression (η2 = 0.54), anxiety (η2 = 0.46), stress (η2 = 0.51), difficulties in emotion regulation, sleep quality (η2 = 0.57), and burnout (η2 = 0.31–0.47), were identified. Moreover, police officers who underwent the MBI experienced a week by week decrease of anger, disgust, anxiety, sadness, and desire. Finally, after adjusting for pre-test scores, significant between-group differences were found in the way of attending to internal and external experiences (observing mindfulness facet; ηp2 = 0.21), depression symptoms (ηp2 = 0.23), general distress (ηp2 = 0.24), and the degree of physical and psychological exhaustion (personal burnout; ηp2 = 0.20). Conclusions The preliminary effectiveness of this MBI on psychopathology and quality of life outcomes in Spanish police officers was discussed. Previous evidence regarding the promising use of MBIs in this population was supported.

The Reliability of a New Device for Measuring the Maximum Bite Force

Objective. To test the inter- and intraexaminer reliability of a recently developed instrument for measuring the maximum bite force (MBF). Material and Methods. Sixty patients who were clinically confirmed as having Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) and 60 healthy controls were included in this study. For each subject, age, gender, weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. The maximum bite force was recorded in alternate order with a bite force sensor (D1) and an occlusal force meter (D2). Bite force was measured in the first molar region. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and kappa statistic were applied to assess the reliability between D1 and D2 in the assessment of maximum bite force. The independent t -test was performed to find the statistical significance between the two study groups. The paired t -test was applied to find out the difference between the right and left disease in groups of two devices separately. The one-way analysis of covariance (ANOVA) was performed to find the significant difference between grades of OSMF. Results. The results of the kappa values were 0.8531 ± 0.0724 and 0.7336 ± 0.0737 for interdevice reliability in OSMF patients in right and left sides. Similar findings were obtained in right and left sides of healthy individuals ( 0.7549 ± 0.0816 and 0.9440 ± 0.0806 ) and in the total sample ( 0.8132 ± 0.0544 and 0.8303 ± 0.0538 ). Pearson’s correlation coefficient between two devices revealed a high and significant positive correlation between D1 and D2 separately and in the whole sample. Conclusion. The observations of the present study suggest that the bite force sensor can be used as a reliable device for measuring bite force.

The Effectiveness of Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Therapy on Alexithymia and Marital Boredom, Case study: Women Affected by Marital Infidelity in Mashhad, Iran

Introduction: The aim of current paper was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy (ACT) and group cognitive therapy (GCT) on Alexithymia and marital boredom (MB) among women affected by marital infidelity in Mashhad. Method: This clinical trial was a double- blind study with a pretest-posttest design in which two intervention groups and one control group were investigated. The study performed on women who realized their spouse infidelity and referred to Azad University Counseling Center in Mashhad in 2018. The sample consisted of 30 women who were selected by purposive sampling and were randomly assigned to two intervention groups and a control group (n=10 per group). The intervention groups were put under ACT training (twelve 90-minute sessions) and GCT training (twelve 90-minute sessions), but the control group did not receive any intervention. Data was obtained by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and Pines Marital Boredom Scale and was analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance with SPSS (version 22) software. Results: The results showed a significant reduction in the mean score of MB in the ACT group, also there was a significant reduction in the mean score of Alexithymia in the GCT group (P <0.05). So comparing both therapies, ACT was more influential on reducing marital boredom whereas GCT was more effective on reducing alexithymia. Conclusion: Although both intervention methods were effective on Alexithymia and Marital Boredom in women affected by marital infidelity, it was demonstrated that ACT and GCT have more effect on Marital Boredom and Alexithymia, respectively.

Effectiveness of Psychodrama on the Body Image of Senior High Female Students in Tehran, District 15

Introduction: In this study the effect of psychodrama on body image of female students at secondary school has been examined. Method: In this quasi experimental study, all the female students at secondary school who were studying at high school in academic year 2016-2017 in Tehran were selected as a statistical society. Among the high schools in Tehran's 15th district, one school was selected by Purposive sampling method. They were examined by the Multidimensional Body-Self Relationships Questionnaire (MBSRQ). 24 female students were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control groups. Then, 8 sessions of 1.5 hours of psychodrama were performed for the experimental group, but the control group did not receive any intervention. In addition to descriptive statistics, Multivariate analysis of covariance were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the psychodrama on the body image of students and the SPSS-25 software was used for all the analyses (p>0.05. ( Results: In this analysis, the second-year high school student participants were adolescent girls with an average age of 14.34 years. The results the study showed The Mean ±SD of physical satisfaction component had more change from pre-test (25.08± 3.65) to post-test (32.50 ±4.85). Moreover, The Mean ±SD of the body image increased from pre-test (144.50 ±12.33) to post-test (16.165 ± 12.96). Conclusion: Psychodrama had remarkable improvement on body image of female students who were selected in this research

The Effect of Acceptance and Commitment and Problem-Solving Skills Training on Reducing Emotional Divorce

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the acceptance, commitment and problem-solving skills training on reducing the emotional divorce and the marital frustration. Method: The research method, with regard to the quasi-experimental nature of the subject, was selected with a pre-test post-test design with a control group. The statistical population was the couples attending the Family counseling centers in Kerman city in 2019. The study sample involved 30 participating couples who were selected using convenience sampling and were divided into two experimental and control groups. Training the acceptance, commitment and problem-solving was presented to the couples in the experimental group during eight two-hour sessions. The educational content was about couples' problems in marital relationships, choosing a common marital value and offering a solution based on it, and identifying internal and external barriers to action based on values. To assess the subjects in both groups, the Emotional divorce questionnaire, and the Marital Frustration questionnaire Completed before and after the intervention. In order to analyze the data, mean value, standard deviation (SD), and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) were used. SPSS version 22 was further used. The significance level of the study was considered to be p=0.05. Results: The results of the covariance analysis for the participants who were 30-60 years old couples with at least five years of marital experience showed that training the acceptance, commitment and problem-solving was effective on reducing the emotional divorce and frustration. While the mean value of emotional divorce for the pre-test was (M=14.33), the results for the post-test changed to (M=11.80). Marital frustration was also changed from (M=48.93) in the pre-test to (M=44.60). Conclusions: According to the results, maybe we need to consider a more serious role for training the acceptance, commitment and problem-solving in the educational and therapeutic interventions related to reducing the emotional divorce and the marital frustration of the couples.