Seydeh Negar Barekat; Elham Foroozandeh; Seyed Mostafa Banitaba
Abstract
Background: Depression, a prevalent psychological disorder, significantly impacts emotional regulation and cognitive avoidance in the academic and professional performance of students. This study compares two interventions, behavioral activation and mindfulness-based, to improve emotional balance and ...
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Background: Depression, a prevalent psychological disorder, significantly impacts emotional regulation and cognitive avoidance in the academic and professional performance of students. This study compares two interventions, behavioral activation and mindfulness-based, to improve emotional balance and reduce cognitive avoidance in college students experiencing depression.Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a 60-day follow-up period was used in this study. The target population comprised female students at Isfahan State University, Isfahan, Iran who exhibited depressive symptoms during the 2022-2023 academic year, and were referred to the university’s Counseling Center. A convenience sample of 45 participants was selected and randomly assigned to three groups of 15: behavioral activation, mindfulness-based intervention, and a control group. The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) and the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) were administered to all participants at three time points. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests in SPSS version 16.Results: The study found that both mindfulness-based interventions and behavioral activation significantly improved positive emotions and reduced cognitive avoidance in college students with depressive symptoms. For the mindfulness group, positive emotions increased from 15.20±5.59 to 21.00±5.75 at the post-test and then to 18.00±2.85 at follow-up. Cognitive avoidance decreased from 84.66±8.33 to 67.60±7.93 at post-test and then remained stable at 66.93±6.28 at follow-up. The behavioral activation group showed similar trends, with positive emotions increasing from 16.00±6.49 to 19.20±7.07 at post-test and then decreasing to 18.53±5.05 at follow-up. Cognitive avoidance decreased from 80.26±11.78 to 60.93±7.07 at post-test and then increased slightly to 61.60±7.44 at follow-up (P=0.027). While both interventions were effective, behavioral activation had a more lasting impact on positive emotions (P=0.027).Conclusions: The findings of this study suggested that both behavioral activation and mindfulness-based interventions are effective in improving emotional balance and reducing cognitive avoidance in college students with depressive symptoms.
Marjan Ghasempour; Reza Johari Fard; Parvin Ehteshamzadeh; Rezvan Homaei
Abstract
Background: Intensive maternal parenting, while intended to foster academic achievement, has been linked to increased stress and anxiety in children. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of maternal mental health in the correlation between intensive maternal attitudes and cognitive ...
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Background: Intensive maternal parenting, while intended to foster academic achievement, has been linked to increased stress and anxiety in children. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of maternal mental health in the correlation between intensive maternal attitudes and cognitive abilities in female students applying for the gifted exam.Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional approach that incorporated the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. The target population comprised all female students applying for the ninth-grade gifted exam in Tehran, Iran during 2023, along with their mothers. A convenience sample of 301 student-mother dyads participated in the study by completing a battery of self-report questionnaires. These instruments included Cognitive Abilities Questionnaire (CAQ), Intensive Parenting Attitudes Questionnaire (IPAQ), and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The hypothesized model was evaluated using SEM, and bootstrapping was employed to assess the significance of indirect correlations. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 27 and Amos version 25.Results: The findings indicated a negative correlation between intensive maternal attitudes and students’ cognitive capabilities (P=0.020). There was also a significant negative correlation between intensive maternal attitudes and mothers’ mental health (P=0.001). The correlation between mothers’ mental health and girls’ cognitive abilities was positive and significant (P=0.001). The correlation between intensive maternal attitudes and students’ cognitive abilities was significant through the mediating role of mental health (P=0.005).Conclusion: Intensive maternal parenting practices were associated with decreased cognitive abilities in students and poorer mental health in mothers. The negative effect of intensive maternal attitudes on cognitive abilities appears to be indirectly mediated by mothers’ mental health.
Leila Eskandari; Farzaneh Hooman; Parviz Asgari; Marjan Alizadeh
Abstract
Background: Children’s behavioral issues may arise from maternal depression, which can also hinder a child’s mental development compared to their peers. This study aimed to assess the correlation between maternal cognitive fusion, maternal depression, and children’s management of sadness ...
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Background: Children’s behavioral issues may arise from maternal depression, which can also hinder a child’s mental development compared to their peers. This study aimed to assess the correlation between maternal cognitive fusion, maternal depression, and children’s management of sadness in students with specific learning disorders (SLD).Methods: The statistical population for this descriptive-correlational study included all male and female fourth-graders and fifthgraders with SLD, along with their mothers, in Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran, in 2022. A multistage cluster sampling technique was employed to select a research sample of 252 individuals. The research utilized the Children’s Sadness Management Scale (CSMS), Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ), and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI-13) as assessment tools. Data analysis involved Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regression, and an artificial neural network (ANN). The data were ultimately analyzed using SPSS version 27 and MATLAB-2019.Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) for maternal depression, maternal cognitive fusion, and children’s sadness management were 27.96±6.73, 50.61±10.49, and 15.90±4.43, respectively. The research results indicated a positive and significant association between maternal cognitive fusion and children’s sadness management (P<0.001). Conversely, there was a negative and significant association between maternal depression and children’s sadness management (P<0.001). According to the ANN findings, maternal depression exhibited a stronger correlation with children’s sadness management.Conclusion: The findings highlighted that maternal depression exhibits the most substantial correlation with children’s sadness management. Consequently, the development of training programs and workshops targeting the mitigation of maternal depression for mothers of children with SLD is recommended.
