Journal of Assessment and Research in Applied Counseling (JARAC)

Predicting Childhood Trauma Based on the Unconscious with the Mediating Role of Alexithymia in Adults with Social Anxiety Attending Counseling Centers in Tehran

Faraz Ghoorchian *

Objective: The present study aimed to predict childhood trauma based on the unconscious with the mediating role of Alexithymia in adults with social anxiety attending counseling centers in Tehran.

Methods and Materials: The research method was fundamental in aim and descriptive-correlational in design. The study population included all adults with social anxiety attending counseling centers in Tehran. Samples were selected from Tehran through a non-probabilistic and purposeful method. Considering the number of observed variables and allocating a coefficient of 15 for each observed variable, 240 individuals were chosen as the sample size. The data collection tools were the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire by Bernstein et al. (1988), the Alexithymia Scale by Bagby et al. (1994), and the Unconscious Awareness Questionnaire by Bell (2000). Data analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and structural equation modeling. SPSS-24 and AMOS-26 software were used for data analysis.

Findings: The results showed that the indirect relationship of the unconscious to childhood trauma through Alexithymia is significant at β=0.24 and p≤0.05. It can also be said that since the zero is not included in the upper and lower limit range, Alexithymia plays a mediating role in the relationship between the unconscious and childhood trauma.

Conclusion: Considering the theoretical validation of the research findings, health and treatment specialists are advised to develop educational and therapeutic programs for individuals with symptoms of social anxiety at the clinical level.

The Effectiveness of Self-Talk Training on Craving, Mental Health, and Rejection Sensitivity in Individuals with Substance Dependence

Maryam Beheshti

; Hossein Ebrahimi Moghadam *

; Nasrin Bagheri

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of self-talk training on craving, mental health, and rejection sensitivity in individuals with substance use disorders.

Methods and Materials: The research utilized a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up phases. The statistical population included all opioid substance abusers who referred to outpatient treatment centers in Nasim Shahr during 2021–2022, from which 60 participants were selected through purposive sampling based on the inclusion criteria. Data collection instruments included a demographic information checklist (researcher-developed form), the Craving Assessment Questionnaire for Substance Use after Abstinence (Salehi Fedardi et al., 2011), the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (Keyes, 2002), and the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (Downey & Feldman, 1996). The self-talk training program was conducted over 10 sessions for the experimental groups, while no interventions were implemented for the control group. Data were analyzed using statistical assumption tests and repeated measures analysis of variance with SPSS software version 26.

Findings: Results indicated a significant interaction effect between group membership and time across pre-test, post-test, and follow-up phases in the linear combination of craving, mental health, and rejection sensitivity variables (p < .05).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that self-talk training was effective in reducing craving and rejection sensitivity while improving mental health in individuals with substance use disorders.

Prediction of Social Anxiety in Students Based on Personality Dimensions and Parenting Styles

Ghazal Abdollahi Nigjeh

; Zohreh Alizadeh Haghighi *

; Sima Nazarpour

Objective: The present study aimed to predict students' social anxiety based on personality dimensions and parenting styles.

Methods and Materials: This research was descriptive-correlational and applied in terms of purpose. The statistical population included all male elementary school students (second stage) in District 2 of Tehran during the 2023–2024 academic year. A total of 384 students were selected using a cluster random sampling method. Data were collected using the NEO Personality Inventory, Baumrind's Parenting Styles Questionnaire, and the Spence Social Anxiety Scale. Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation and stepwise linear regression methods.

Findings: The results showed a direct relationship between the conscientiousness personality dimension and students' social anxiety (p < .001) and an inverse relationship between the agreeableness personality dimension and students' social anxiety (p < .05). Additionally, a direct relationship was found between the authoritarian parenting style and students' social anxiety (p < .001). Regression analysis results indicated that the authoritarian parenting style and the conscientiousness personality trait could predict 18% of social anxiety in students (p < .001).

Conclusion: Therefore, attention to parenting styles and children's personality dimensions is crucial in understanding the occurrence of social anxiety.

Effectiveness of Play Therapy-Based Interventions and Their Impact on Improving Socio-Emotional Skills in Children with Speech Disorders

Zahra Soltani pari *

; Fatemeh Ghonji Feshki

, Somayeh Mohammadi Moghadam

, Farah Khalighi

, Soroush Alimardani

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of play therapy-based interventions and their impact on improving socio-emotional skills in children with speech disorders in Tehran.

Methods and Materials: This research method was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test, along with a control group and a follow-up phase. The statistical population of this study included children with speech disorders who visited the Roozbeh Speech Therapy Center in Tehran in 2024. The research sample consisted of 32 boys aged 5 to 6 years, selected through purposive sampling. They were then divided into two groups of 16, comprising an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of play therapy. Data were collected using the Miller Socio-Emotional Skills Questionnaire (1997) and analyzed through mixed analysis of variance with repeated measures in SPSS22.

Findings: The results of this study indicated that the intervention was effective in changing the socio-emotional skill scores of children with speech disorders. The differences from the post-test to the follow-up phase were not statistically significant (p > .05). This indicates that the results were sustained over the follow-up phase, and the effectiveness of the play therapy-based interventions on improving socio-emotional skills in children with speech disorders remained stable.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that play therapy, as a multidimensional intervention, helps children with speech disorders enhance their socio-emotional skills across all dimensions.

Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Various Play Therapy Types on Behavioral Symptoms of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Azam Baktashian

; Mansure Shahriari *

; Masoud Ghasemi

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to conduct a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of various types of play therapy on the behavioral symptoms of children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Methods and Materials: A meta-analysis method was employed based on the nature of the study. The statistical population consisted of articles and research conducted in this area. ADHD, behavioral symptoms, and play therapy were searched in various databases. The sampling method from this population was theoretical sampling. To search for Iranian research, only Persian sources and studies conducted in Iran were considered. These studies were published in scientific-research journals over the past decade (2011–2021) and examined various forms of play therapy on the behavioral symptoms of children with ADHD. They had an appropriate sample size and met methodological requirements (including hypothesis formulation, research design, statistical population, sample size and sampling method, measurement tools, statistical hypotheses, statistical analysis methods, and the correctness of statistical computations). A subset of the population under review was selected using a predetermined method. The statistical population in the second phase of the study, focusing on internal validation, included all specialists and experts in child play therapy for ADHD. The sample size in this section consisted of 8 specialists, selected through purposive sampling. A content analysis checklist was used in this study.

Findings: Results indicated that in the causal relationship between play therapy and children's behavioral symptoms, all effect sizes extracted were ranked based on Cohen's index, and to confirm significance, the statistical values p-value and t-value were reported. For all components, these indices were less than 0.05 (P < 0.05) and greater than 1.96, respectively.

Conclusion: Therefore, this therapeutic program can be utilized to reduce behavioral problems in these children.

Effectiveness of a Motor Rehabilitation Program on Proprioception and Visuospatial Processing in Children with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities

Ommehleila Aryan

; Samira Vakili * ; Mohammadparsa Azizi

, Maryam Asaseh

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a motor rehabilitation program on proprioception and visuospatial processing in children with intellectual developmental disabilities.

Methods and Materials: The research method was quasi-experimental, using a pretest-posttest design with a control group and a two-month follow-up. From the population of trainable children with intellectual developmental disabilities aged 7 to 12 years from exceptional elementary schools in Tehran during the 2023-2024 academic year, a sample of 30 children with an intelligence quotient range of 50 to 75 was selected using a convenience sampling method. They were randomly assigned to two groups of 15 participants (experimental and control groups). Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance.

Findings: The results indicated that the posttest and follow-up test scores of proprioception and visuospatial processing in children with intellectual developmental disabilities in the experimental group increased compared to the pretest. The results of the repeated measures analysis of variance also showed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of proprioception and visuospatial processing, and this difference persisted over time (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it is recommended to use the motor rehabilitation program in this study to improve the cognitive status of children with intellectual developmental disabilities.

Predicting Addiction Proneness Based on Emotional Intelligence, Moral Intelligence, Mental Health, and the Mediation of Life Stressful Events in Working Children

Hosna Karimi

; Marjan Jafari Roshan *

; Azin Taghipour

Objective: This study aimed to predict addiction proneness based on emotional intelligence, moral intelligence, mental health, and the mediation of life stressful events in working children in Tehran.

Methods and Materials: This correlational study employed structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all working children aged 12 to 18 in Tehran in 2024. A total of 215 participants were selected using a non-random convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Addiction Proneness Scale (APS), the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (EIQ), the 25-Symptom Checklist (SCL-25), the Lennick and Kiel Moral Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ), and the Life Stressful Events Questionnaire by Khodayari Fard and colleagues. The reliability of the tools was assessed through internal consistency, using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed using SPSS-24 and AMOS-24.

Findings: The findings indicated that mental health (P = 0.001, β = 0.365), emotional intelligence (P = 0.005, β = -0.251), and moral intelligence (P = 0.001, β = -0.359) predict addiction proneness in working children. Life stressful events mediated the correlation between mental health (P = 0.001, β = 0.128) and addiction proneness. Life stressful events also mediated the correlation between emotional intelligence and addiction proneness (P = 0.029, β = -0.067). Notably, the indirect path coefficient between moral intelligence and addiction proneness was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Based on the study findings, there is a significant relationship between addiction proneness and emotional intelligence, moral intelligence, and mental health. Life stressful events mediate the relationship between addiction proneness, emotional intelligence, and mental health.

Determining the Effectiveness of Zen Technique on Psychological Well-being and Pain in Elderly Residents of Kahrizak Nursing Home

Seyedeh Robabeh Riazi

; Fatemeh Golshani *

; Anita Baghdasarians

, Marjan Jafari Roshan

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Zen meditation techniques on psychological well-being and pain in elderly residents.

Methods and Materials: The study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up assessments and included both experimental and control groups. A total of 42 elderly residents (20 men and 22 women, aged 65-85) from Kahrizak Nursing Home in Tehran, Iran, in 2023 were randomly assigned to the groups. The experimental group received Zen meditation training over 20 sessions (100 minutes per session, three times a week), while the control group received no intervention. Psychological well-being was assessed using the Ryff Psychological Well-being Questionnaire, and pain levels were measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using mixed two-factor ANOVA.

Findings: Results indicated that Zen meditation training significantly improved psychological well-being in the experimental group compared to the control group, with notable increases in self-acceptance, positive relations, autonomy, and personal growth. However, the effect on pain reduction was less pronounced and not significant compared to controls, although some pain reduction was observed in the post-test and follow-up assessments.

Conclusion: Zen meditation training effectively enhanced psychological well-being among elderly participants, suggesting it could be a beneficial intervention for improving mental health in this population. However, the limited effect on pain highlights the need for further investigation and potentially combining Zen meditation with other pain management strategies. The study recommends more extensive longitudinal research to establish the long-term impact of meditation on well-being and pain in diverse elderly populations.

About the Journal

E-ISSN: 3041-8518
Director-in-Charge: Dr. Mehdi Rostami
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Valiolah Farzad
Associate editor: Dr. Mehdi Rostami
Owner: KMAN Research Institute
Publisher: KMAN Publication Inc. (KMANPUB)
Contact email: jarac@kmanpub.com / journalarcp@gmail.com
Open access: YES

Journal of Assessment and Research in Applied Counseling is a scientific open-access double-blind anonymous peer-review journal publishing original articles, reviews, short communications and scientific reports of a high scientific and ethical standard in psychology, counseling and related academic disciplines. This journal is published four times per year, in English, by KMANPUB. It covers scientific subjects in the following fields:

Assessment, evaluation and measurement tools for counseling and psychotherapy
New individual and family psychotherapy and counseling approaches

Journal of Assessment and Research in Applied Counseling is indexed and abstracted by the Google Scholar, APA PsycInfo, LinkedIn, ABCD Index, Researchgate, and DOAJ.