Insomnia is a common problem in the general population. To treat insomnia, medication therapies and insomnia-related cognitive-behavioral interventions are often applied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on sleep quality, dysfunctional sleep beliefs and attitudes, experiential avoidance, and acceptance of sleep problems in individuals with insomnia, compared to a control condition. A total of 35 participants with diagnosed insomnia (mean age: 41.46 years old; 62.9% females) were randomly assigned to the ACT intervention (weekly group therapy for 60–70 min) or to the active control condition (weekly group meetings for 60–70 min without interventional and psychotherapeutic character). At baseline and after eight weeks (end of the study), and again 12 weeks later at follow-up, participants completed self-rating questionnaires on sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, emotion regulation, and experiential avoidance. Furthermore, participants in the intervention condition kept a weekly sleep log for eight consecutive weeks (micro-analysis). Every morning, participants completed the daily sleep log, which consisted of items regarding subjective sleep duration, sleep quality, and the feeling of being restored. Sleep quality, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes towards sleep, emotion regulation, and experiential avoidance improved over time, but only in the ACT condition compared to the control condition. Improvements remained stable until follow-up. Improvements in experiential avoidance were related to a favorable change in sleep and cognitive-emotional processing. Micro-analyses showed that improvements occurred within the first three weeks of treatment. The pattern of results suggests that ACT appeared to have improved experiential avoidance, which in turn improved both sleep quality and sleep-related cognitive-emotional processes at longer-term in adults with insomnia.

BACKGROUND: Suicide ideation is one of the common mental health problems among university students. This study aimed to explain suicide ideation susceptibility by examining the relationships between psychological factors. METHODOLOGY: The population of the study included all female undergraduate students at the University of Isfahan in autumn 2018. A sample of 180 individuals were selected through multistage sampling from different faculties and majors. The scales used in this study included adults attachments inventory, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, and Suicide Ideation Scale. The statistical analyses included t -test, Pearson correlation, and path analysis. RESULTS: Suicide ideation was reported in 25% of the participants. The t -test analysis indicated that the mean scores for dysfunctional attitudes ( P < 0.01) and problem-focused coping ( P < 0.01) were significantly different in with and without suicide ideation groups. Suicide ideation significantly correlated with problem-focused coping ( r = −0.42, P < 0.01), emotion-focused coping ( r = 0.25, P < 0.05), and dysfunctional attitudes ( r = 0.23, P < 0.05). Path analysis showed that dysfunctional attitudes and emotion-focused coping significantly influenced suicide ideation. Moreover, the indirect effect of insecure (ambivalent and avoidant) attachment styles by mediating role of dysfunctional attitudes and emotion-focused coping was statistically significant ( P < 0.01) and the indirect effect of dysfunctional attitudes by mediating role of emotion-focused coping as well ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Insecure attachment styles and dysfunctional attitudes work as stress–diathesis model in predicting suicide ideation and increase suicide ideation susceptibility by affecting emotion-focused coping strategy. The hypothesized model in this study can help formulate, evaluate, and prevent suicide risk.

The internal and external validity of cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) relative to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-inattention (ADHD-IN) was evaluated herein with Farsi-speaking adults. A total of 837 Iranian adults assessed throughout the whole country (54.72% women, M_age = 23.85; SD = 7.05; age range = 18 to 58 years; 75% between 18 and 24 years old; reporting higher educational training) completed self-report measures of CDS, ADHD-IN, ADHD-hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), depression, anxiety, and stress. Seven of the fifteen CDS symptoms showed a good convergent (high loadings on the CDS factor) and discriminant (higher loadings on the CDS factor than the ADHD-IN factor) validity. CDS also showed stronger first-order and unique associations with depression than ADHD-IN, whereas ADHD-IN showed stronger first-order and unique associations with ADHD-HI and anxiety than CDS. The first-order and unique associations of CDS and ADHD-IN did not differ in relation to stress. This study is the first to support the validity of the self-report of assessing CDS symptoms with the Adult Concentration Inventory with Farsi-speaking individuals residing in Iran, thus further strengthening the transcultural validity of the CDS, and paving the way for further transcultural research in the field of CDS among adults.

Introduction: Bullying has become a growing concern among adolescents, particularly in the context of cyberbullying, where electronic devices are used to harass others. Understanding the distinct roles of cyberbullies and victims of cyberbullying in relation to various consequences on psychological well‐being is crucial. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the mediating role of perceived social support in explaining the relationship between cyberbullying and the psychological well‐being of secondary high school students.Method: This study employed a cross‐sectional design, in high school students (aged 15–18 years) in Isfahan city, Iran, in 2021. A stratified sampling method was used to select 1051 students. Data were collected through a checklist and three cyberbullying psychological well‐being and perceived social support questionnaires. Considering that the purpose of the study was to examine a set of dependency relationships, the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Mplus, and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) softwares and the structural equation method was applied.Results: The results revealed a significant negative relationship between cyberbullying, psychological well‐being, and all its dimensions, except for autonomy and positive relationship with others. Conversely, a positive and significant relationship was observed between cyberbullying victims and psychological well‐being, except for purpose in life dimension. Additionally, there was a negative and significant relationship between cyberbullying, cyber victimization, and perceived social support, including its dimensions. Furthermore, perceived social support was found to mediate the relationship between cyberbullying and psychological well‐being significantly.Conclusion: The study highlights that high school students involved in cyberbullying and cyber victimization are susceptible to a decline in their psychological well‐being. Therefore, it is imperative for parents, teachers, and education officials to understand the role of social support to mitigate the negative impacts of cyberbullying in adolescents.

Adolescents’ mental health may be influenced either negatively or positively through loss of a parent, especially bereavement due to a traumatic death. This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to investigate Afghan adolescents’ post-traumatic growth after traumatic loss of father. The participants were 14 female and male Afghan adolescents who met the inclusion criteria. Post-traumatic growth was substantiated by virtue of post-traumatic growth questionnaire. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview, and Colaizzi analysis method was used for data analysis. Two main themes were extracted: (a) moving forward with hope and (b) factors associated with enhancement of hope. Findings showed that Afghan traumatized adolescents achieved post-traumatic growth over time. The most important factors in enhancement of hopefulness were social support, psychological, and cognitive factors, as well as spiritual well-being. Our findings suggested that both schools and non-governmental organization in Afghanistan may be benefitted from more accessible opportunities to enhance post-traumatic growth for bereaved adolescents.

Aim: The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group play therapy to improve social acceptance and hope for children with cancer. Method: This study was experimental and population was 10-8-years-old children with cancer in the Sydalshohada hospital of Isfahan. 30 patients were selected for sampling and randomly divided into two groups, test group (n = 15) and control group (n = 15). Subjects Participated in 10 sessions of play therapy and 1-month follow-up after completing the research tools, social acceptance of children scale (Ford and Rubin, 1970) and Snyder hope of children scale (Snyder et al., 1997). Result: The results showed that play therapy training significantly increased the rate of social acceptance (P=0.009, F=7.71) and hope (P=0.005, F=9.53) and these results were stable in the follow-up phase. Conclusion: the results proved that we can use play therapy in improving social acceptance and hope for children with cancer.