Objective: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions increase psychological flexibility and improve mental health and quality of life in patients with myocardial infarction.
Study design: A controlled clinical trial study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an ACT intervention in improving the quality of life in patients with MI in Isfahan, Iran.
Method: The present controlled clinical trial with a pre and post-test design was conducted on a statistical population consisting of patients with MI admitted to hospitals in Isfahan (n = 60) who were selected through sequential sampling based on the study inclusion criteria and were randomly divided into an intervention and a control group (n1 = n2 = 30). The case group received 8 weekly 90-minute sessions of ACT and the control group received no interventions. The pretest-posttest design was administered in both groups using a demographic questionnaire and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) designed to assess the health status of patients with heart failure in terms of quality of life. The data obtained were analyzed in SPSS-20 using descriptive statistics and the ANCOVA.
Results: In this study, 2 general areas of quality of life, including physical and mental health, were examined in the patients. There was a significant increase in the quality of life and subscales of mental and physical health in the experimental group (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of ACT in improving quality of life in these patients, this method of intervention can be used as a complementary therapy in health care centers to reduce the side-effects experienced by these patients.

Objective: Bipolar disorders are among the most common chronic mental disorders. Despite the recent improvement in controlling psychiatric disorders, treatment of bipolar disorders remains a challenge.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of consuming probiotics in patients with bipolar disorder-type 1 compared to the placebo group.
Method: This was a permuted blocked randomized clinical trial conducted in Shahid Beheshti mental hospital in Kerman, Iran, from October 2017 to October 2018. Two psychiatrists diagnosed and hospitalized all 38 patients with type 1 bipolar disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Using blind randomized blocking method size 4, patients were divided into 2 groups of placebo and probiotic. Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Hamilton's Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were completed at the beginning, week 4, and week 8 of the study by a psychiatry resident. Independent t test, Mann-Whitney and repeated measures ANOVA tests were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.
Results: There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in age, sex, and severity of mania and depression. Consumption of probiotics reduced the scores of YMRS and HDRS over time in the probiotic group more than the placebo group, but it was not significant.
Conclusion: Consumption of probiotics had non-significant effects on improvement and treatment of bipolar type 1 patients. It is suggested that future studies be conducted with different probiotic microbial strains and longer period of treatment.

Objective: Psychological education for families in the form of a model is one of the effective approaches in managing problems caused by mental health problems. The present study aimed to determine the effect of using the participatory care model on the caregiver burden and resilience of home caregivers of patients with mental disorders.
Method: In this clinical trial, 66 households with psychiatric patients hospitalized at Shahid Rajaee Psychiatric Hospital in Yasuj during 2014-2015 were selected and assigned into 2 groups of experimental and intervention based on convenience and simple random sampling. The data of this study were gathered by Novak & Guest (1989) Caregiver burden and Sixbey (2005) Resilience Questionnaire before and after intervention. Participatory care model was performed for 12 ninety-minute sessions in the intervention group. No intervention was provided to the control group during the study period. SPSS software (version 21) was used to run the descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Chi-squared test showed that the caregiver burden was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group after the intervention (P = 0.0001). Following the intervention, increased resilience and all its components were observed in the experimental group compared to the control group. According to the independent t test and Mann-Whitney U, the 2 groups were considerably different (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The application of the participatory care model efficiently increased resilience and decreased the intensity of the caregiver burden on the home caregivers of patients suffering from mental disorders.

Objective: Most adolescents do not meet national recommendations for healthy lifestyle and reducing depressive symptom. A comprehensive educational program with its specified questionnaire is needed to improve healthy lifestyle to assess the lifestyle components. This study aimed to confirm the validity of a healthy lifestyle questionnaire to assess depressive symptoms among adolescents.
Method: A descriptive predictive study using simple random sampling was performed in a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, among 235 school-going adolescents (13-15 years old) with Malaysian nationality. The instrument consisted of a set of dual language (English and Malay) for both researcher-administered questionnaires (knowledge, attitude, eating behavior, and relaxation activities) and standard-validated questionnaires (Physical Activity questionnaire for Adolescents, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale- 21, and Brief Copping). Data were analyzed using the kappa statistics (k) and the intraclass correlation coefficient test for reliability and Partial Least Squares (PLS) for validity.
Results: The reliability of all variables was over the substantial level (ICC and/or k > 0.61). The model and construct variables were predictive of depressive symptoms by 49.4%. To analyze the validity of the questions, 11 questions were removed from the initial model for factorial loading less than 0.5. In convergent validity of theory of information-motivation-behavioral skills, AVE (average variance construct), the outer loading, was higher than 0.5.
Conclusion: PLS confirmed the existence of sufficient correlations between different items of the construct. Thus, the weights of indicators appeared to be appropriate indicators for the model. The results proved that the information, motivation, and behavioral skills model was efficient for healthy lifestyle and can be a good base for further research.

Objective: The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a well-known screening instrument to assess autistic spectrum symptoms quantitatively. This study assessed the different types of reliability of the Farsi translation of the scale.
Method: This scale was translated into Farsi and back translated considering all aspects of methodology in translation. Then, based on stratified sampling, 533 7-11-year-old students were randomly selected from the mainstream schools located in the central parts of Tehran, the capital of Iran. For all the students, SRS-2 was completed by both the parents and teachers. To check retest reliability, the test was administered again for 15% of the total participants after a 2-4 week-period. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, split-half” and Gottman” methods, and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) were used.
Results: The mean total raw score was 48.47 (±23.63) and 53.17 (±27.33) in the sequence of the parents and teachers’ reports. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha; 0.86 and 0.89), test-retest reliability (ICC; 0.72 and 0.83 for parents and teacher’ ratings, respectively), and interrater reliability (ICC; 0.72) showed well-accepted measurement performance.
Conclusion: The findings indicated that the Farsi SRS-2 can be used as a reliable instrument to measure social responsiveness as autistic symptoms in Iranian child population.

Objective: Recent studies have revealed that fatty acid profile can be associated with psychological disorders. However, evidence on stress and anxiety is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between stress and anxiety, defined as mood states, and erythrocyte fatty acid (FA) profile.
Method: This case-control study was conducted on 45 female students with degrees of stress and anxiety without depression disorder and 45 matched controls with no depression, stress, or anxiety. Self-administered questionnaires included a 28-item Food Frequency questionnaire and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), which were used to measure dietary patterns and psychological disorders, respectively. Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids were analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography.
Results: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was significantly lower in the case group (p = 0.008). Hydrogenated fats were associated with degrees of stress and anxiety (OR = 1.53, p = 0.019), while linoleate and DHA were inversely associated with stress and anxiety scores (OR = 0.37, p = 0.05; OR = 0.31, p = 0.014, respectively). Monounsaturated FAs (MUFAs) and total RBC trans FA were associated with increased risk of stress and anxiety (OR = 1.81, p < 0.001; OR = 3.38, p = 0.003, respectively).
Conclusion: Trans-fatty acids may be related to stress and anxiety scales but linoleate and DHA could decrease the risk. The effect of MUFAs may be regarded as a result of compensatory biological mechanisms.

Objective: This study aimed to measure the prevalence of internet addiction and its impact on the psychological well-being of adolescents in Tehran, considering the sociodemographic characteristics.
Method: In this cross sectional study, a total of 945 (mean age of 14.85) students (522 boys and 423 girls) were recruited by 2-stage clustering sampling method in 2017. The Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) were used to measure internet addiction and psychological characteristics, respectively. The data were analyzed using multiple-logistic regression analysis adjusted for internet addiction and sociodemographic variables.
Results: Overall, 20% of the adolescents were internet addicts. Gender, consanguineous marriage, and father’s education level were significantly associated with internet addiction. Regarding emotional and behavioral characteristics, internet addiction was significantly associated with the scores of internalizing (OR = 5.03; 95% CI: 3.05-8.28) and externalizing problems (OR = 5.84; 95% CI: 3.61-9.43), the total score of empirical scales (OR = 6.51; 95% CI: 3.71-11.6), and all DSM-oriented scales of the YSR (p < 0.001). Except for school performance, other competency scales had no correlations with internet addiction.
Conclusion: Regarding the high prevalence of the internet addiction and its correlation with emotional and behavioral characteristics, students and their parents should be advised of the detrimental impacts of internet addiction and try to focus on its constructive application.

Objective: This study aimed at investigating the mediating role of perceived stress in anticipation of anxiety and depression on facing the ultimate concerns (death, loneliness, freedom, and meaningfulness).
Method: A total of 389 students from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad participated in this study in 2017-18. The participants were selected using random sampling. The data were collected using the subscales of anxiety and depression in depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS), Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), the third edition of Loneliness Scale UCLA (UCLA-LS), the subscale of meaning in life in Meaningfulness of Life Questionnaire (MLQ), responsibility scale of California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Then, they were evaluated using Pearson correlation and path analysis.
Results: The correlation between the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and death anxiety and loneliness was direct and significant with the perceived stress. The relationship between the perceived stress with meaningfulness of life and responsibility was significantly inverse. The analysis of the data path showed that the component dealing with existence (loneliness and death anxiety) predicted 20% of anxiety symptoms through perceived stress in the model that was fitted well with research data.
Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that the relationship between dealing with ultimate concerns and anxiety symptoms was not linear. Dealing with ultimate concerns affects the anxiety symptoms through the perceived stress. Therefore, attention to the perceived stress management to promote health and prevent anxiety disorders is important.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the influence of short-term (2-week) exposure to social (SE) and/or physical enrichment (PE) on the anxiety-like behavior of ovariectomized (OVX) NIH Swiss mice.
Method: One week after surgery, each OVX mouse was housed under one of 4 social conditions: (1) isolated, (2) accompanied by an intact female, (3) accompanied by an intact male, or (4) in a community of 10 OVX individuals. The animals in each of these environments were divided into 2 subgroups, consisting of the presence and absence of PE. Following a 2-week exposure to the respective conditions, each OVX mouse was subjected to either the light/dark exploration test (LDT) or the elevated plus maze (EPM) to examine anxiety-like behavior.
Results: The LDT and EPM showed very similar patterns. Compared to an impoverished environment, PE elicited a significant anxiolytic effect for OVX mice housed alone or in companion of an intact female (F [1, 54] = 16.11, P = 0.001). By contrast, mice living in community but without PE displayed anxiogenic-like behavior, perhaps due to crowding, compared to the animals living in isolation (F [1, 36] = 5.64, P = 0.023).
Conclusion: This study emphasized the importance of taking housing conditions into account during the screening of new anxiolytic agents and the critical role of OVX in the regulation of anxiety.

Objective: Infertility influences various emotional, psychological, social, and relational aspects of women’s lives. By employing a systematic review on the papers published in this field, this study aimed to identify the consequences of infertility on psychological and social health of women in Iran.
Method: This was a descriptive study, conducted through a systematic review according to the directions denoted by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) in 2018. To investigate the entirety of the published studies on the sociopsychological consequences of women’s infertility in Iran, various databases, including Comprehensive Human Science Portal, Scientific Information Databases (SID), Magiran, National Library and Archives of I. R. IRAN, Noormags, MEDLIB, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Medline, and ProQuest, were explored for the studies published between 1991 and 2018. The selected papers were evaluated according to the content analysis method.
Results: Out of the 53 papers investigated, 27 were published in domestic journals (51%), while the remaining 26 papers were published in international journals and were in English (49%). The results revealed that sociopsychological consequences of women’s infertility are categorized in 6 main categories: (1) quality of life, (2) depression, (3) anxiety, (4) social support, (5) violence, and (6) sexual function.
Conclusion: The results of this study can be used to design psychocognitive interventions and assist women in decreasing the emerging psychological pain and pressure.