Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: This study aimed to investigate the association between religiosity and depression among mothers of children hospitalized in the oncology wards of affiliated hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kerman, Iran.

Materials and Methods: Data were gathered using a religiosity questionnaire  and a depression questionnaire. The sample consisted of 115 mothers of children admitted to the oncology ward, KUMS, among whom the questionnaires were distributed during a 6-month period.

Results: The findings showed that there was an inverse association between religiosity and depression. As regards demographic variables, a statistically significant association was observed only between depression and income. Further analysis of the data revealed significant associations between religiosity on the one hand and income and mothers’ occupation on the other. 

Conclusion: Based on the findings it can be concluded that with an increase in the mothers’ religiosity level the rate of depression decreases in them. We recommend researchers to conduct similar studies to investigate possible associations between religiosity and such variables as anxiety and mental disorders related to it.

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Background and Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Depression Scale (ADS) based on the item-response theory and compare the results with those based on the classic test theory.

Materials and Methods: A total of 750 students (364 males and 386 females) were selected through multistage random clustering (levels proportional to size) and completed a questionnaire comprising 46 questions developed by the investigators.

Results: Results of factor analysis and questions structure showed that the important item-response theory presumptions, namely, unidimensionality and local independence, are contained in ADS. As regards the psychometric characteristics of the questions, results from the two theories were similar, except that the item-response theory provided more valid indices for assessing the questions. Further analysis of the data indicated that the two theories showed close values for internal consistency with regard to psychometric characteristics, such that values of 0.933 and 0.947 were obtained for Alpha Cronbach and marginal validity, respectively. Finally, the normality scores were calculated based on the Item Response Theory with those based on the Classic Test Theory. Ranking the individuals by the two theories showed considerable differences as regards the depression construct continuum, such as a difference of 86, 92, or 93 individuals.

Conclusions: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the item-response theory models provides a higher number of more exact indices for judgment and making decisions about questions, tests and individual ranking. Therefore, application of the item-response theory for assessment of other educational and psychological constructs is recommended.

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Background and Aim: Considering the importance of children's dietary patterns in the general health and vitality of the population in the future and the effect of maternal depression on performing maternal tasks  and responsibilities regarding children's eating habits and behaviors, this study was designed and conducted to determine the relationship between maternal depression and children's dietary patterns.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study included 313 primary school children in Tehran in the first semester of the academic year 2018-2019 selected through stratified cluster sampling. The following questionaires were used to collect the data: general and demographic questionnaires  related to mothers and children, the Beck standard questionnaire to assess maternal depression, and a food frequency questionnaire to assess the children’s food patterns. The SPSS-22 and Stata-13 were used to analyze the data. Using exploratory factor analysis the dominant food patterns of the children were determined. The statistical tests used for data analysis included descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients.
Results: Data analysis showed the prevalence of depression among the mothers and the dominant dietary pattern among the children to be 31.3% (n=98)  and vegetarian dietary patterns, respectively. The children’s body mass index, heights and waist circumference were significantly positively associated with with some of the dietary patterns (p<0.05). However, no significant association was found between maternal depression and the children's dietary patterns (p>0.05).
Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, maternal depression has no significant association with children's dietary patterns. Conducting similar studies with larger sample sizes are recommended.

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Background and Aim: Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is experiencing some physical and psychological symptoms in the last days of the menstrual cycle; it interferes with educational, social and family functioning, creating problems for the adolescents. The objective of this study was to determinee the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic treatment program on anxiety, depression and stress in female adolescents with premenstrual syndrome and their mothers' quality of life.
Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on 26 female adolescents with PMS referring to two health centers in Tehran, Iran in 2019. They were divided randomly in 2 groups, namely, an intervention (n=12, attending six 90-minute session per week‎) and a control (n=14) group. Data were gathered using the WHO Quality of Life, Beck depression, the DASS and PMS Screening Tool (PSST) questionnaires initially and after one month. The repeated ANOVA test was used for data analysis using SPSS software version 21; a p-value of <5% was considered to show statistical significance.

Results: As compared to the control group, at the end of the period the intervention group showed a statistically significant decrease in the means of the three variables of depression, anxiety and stress (p <0.05). The decrease significantly improved the quality of life of the mothers.

Conclusion: The findings of this study show that a transdiagnostic treatment program can be an effective method to reduce the psychological problems of adolescent girls and improve the quality of life of their mothers.

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Background and Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness and emotion regulation based on dialectical behavior therapy on negative emotions (anxiety, anger and depression) among people with borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Materials and Methods: This was a single-case experiment study of the multiple-step baseline type conducted in eight one-hour sessions on three patients with a one-month follow-up. The statistical population was patients suffering from borderline personality disorder, from among whom three volunteers diagnosed by a psychiatrist were selected by the targeted available selection process and a structured clinical interview based on the research criteria.  Data were collected using the second edition of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI) questionnaires.                                                
Results: Data analysis using special graphs and tables for the single-subject designs showed that the effect size in the variables of anxiety, depression and anger for the three subjects was, respectively,  as follows: for the first subject 2.494, 2.260 and 2.484; for the second subject 3.087, 2.827 and 2.727;  and for the third subject 4.854, 2.183 and 2.917.
Conclusion: This treatment method can bring about statistically significant changes in the symptoms of depression, anxiety and anger in patients with borderline personality disorder.