Mental Health and Lifestyle Journal

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of transdiagnostic parenting training on the quality of life and acceptance and action in mothers of lower secondary school children. This study employed a quasi-experimental design using a pretest–posttest method with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population consisted of mothers of elementary school children in Isfahan during the 2024–2025 academic year. Thirty participants were selected through convenience and voluntary sampling and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 15) and the control group (n = 15). The research instruments included the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1989) and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire developed by Bond et al. (2007). Parenting training was conducted in eight 90-minute sessions based on the transdiagnostic approach. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc test. The results of the analysis of variance indicated that transdiagnostic parenting training led to a significant increase in quality of life and a significant reduction in acceptance and action scores among mothers in the experimental group compared to the control group at both the posttest and follow-up stages. A significant interaction between time and group membership was observed for both main variables, indicating the sustained effectiveness of the intervention. Transdiagnostic parenting training enhances psychological indicators of mothers, including improved quality of life, greater flexibility, and reduced experiential avoidance. Therefore, it can be applied as an effective approach in parent education.

Autism spectrum disorder can be considered a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by communicative deviation or delay, persistent deficits in reciprocal social interactions, restricted patterns of communication, and repetitive behaviors. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy on stigma in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. This study was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. Forty-five mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned equally to two experimental groups and one control group (15 participants in each group). One experimental group participated in an acceptance and commitment therapy program consisting of eight 90-minute sessions, and the other experimental group participated in a cognitive-behavioral therapy program consisting of eight 90-minute sessions, while members of the control group did not participate in these programs. Participants were assessed using the Internalized Stigma of Parents of Disabled Children Questionnaire (2009). Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate covariance analysis. The results indicated that acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy had a positive and significant effect on stigma in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (P < .01). Furthermore, the findings showed no significant difference between the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy regarding stigma and its subscales (P < .05). The findings of this study suggest that acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy programs can play an important role in reducing stigma in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.

The present study aimed to investigate the predictive role of unhealthy eating behaviors and health-promoting lifestyle in explaining levels of health anxiety among members of the Overeaters Anonymous Association in Isfahan during 1403. This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 400 members of the Overeaters Anonymous Association in Isfahan, selected through random convenient sampling. Data were collected using the Health Anxiety Questionnaire (Short Form) by Salkovskis and Warwick (2002), the Eating Attitudes Test-20 by Garner and Garfinkel (1979), and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II by Walker and Hill-Polerecky (1997). All instruments had established validity and reliability in Iranian populations. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic and main study variables. Pearson correlation coefficients examined associations between health anxiety and predictor variables, and multiple linear regression analysis was applied to assess the predictive power of unhealthy eating behaviors and health-promoting lifestyle for health anxiety. All analyses were conducted in SPSS-26 with a significance level set at p < 0.01. The results showed that health anxiety was positively and significantly correlated with unhealthy eating behaviors (r = .54, p < .01) and negatively and significantly correlated with health-promoting lifestyle (r = −.48, p < .01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the model was significant, F(2, 397) = 83.27, p < .01, explaining 39% of the variance in health anxiety (R²adj = .39). Unhealthy eating behaviors significantly and positively predicted health anxiety (B = 0.71, β = .46, t = 8.97, p < .01), whereas health-promoting lifestyle significantly and negatively predicted health anxiety (B = −0.39, β = −.38, t = −7.83, p < .01). The findings indicate that disordered eating patterns are a significant risk factor for elevated health anxiety, while engagement in health-promoting behaviors serves as a protective factor. Targeted interventions that reduce unhealthy eating behaviors and strengthen health-promoting lifestyle habits may be effective in mitigating health anxiety in at-risk populations.

Although the expansion of urbanized areas has increased people’s access to modern facilities and urban infrastructures but decreased the quality of life due to social, environmental and economic imbalances characterizing large cities. Based on urban ecology approach, green infrastructure can be used as phenomenon for increasing life quality level. This article employed urban ecology approach methodology through grounded theory to develop a critical analysis of scientific evidence-based work for theory construction quality of life. After reviewing valid scientific sources, studying the literature on the subject and the previously presented models. For collecting data, eighteen participants (10 men; 8 women) underwent semi-structured interviews and data coded to form the basis of theory. Then data collection was continued until reaching saturation stage. Atlas.ti software is used for coding steps. According to grounded data theory, after performing the coding steps, a conceptual model is presented and its categories and characteristics has been highlighted. In addition to identifying causal conditions, contextual and cibtext, intervening conditions and phenomenon, this model shows that strategies such as improvement of ecological knowledge, social and cultural infrastructure, promote development by ensuring environmental quality, promote the urban and natural environment through green patches and corridors and ecological culture system have consequences such as Low impact development which protect and restore ecological services at cities, sustain healthy ecosystem function and human wellbeing, Social safety and equality, Green economic infrastructure, green industries and creating job opportunities, Human ecological zone with recreation opportunities for today's 

The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of short-term solution-focused therapy and compassion-focused therapy on self-efficacy in married women. The research method was experimental, using a pretest-posttest-follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all married women who referred to the Hazrat Zainab Cultural Center in Mashhad during the 2022–2023 academic year. The sample included 60 women selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups of 20 participants each. The instrument used in this study was the General Self-Efficacy Questionnaire by Sherer et al. (1982). The short-term solution-focused therapy was conducted in six 90-minute sessions using the Diamond model, while the compassion-focused therapy sessions followed Gilbert’s (2014) protocol and included twelve 90-minute sessions held weekly. The control group was placed on a waiting list. A pretest was administered before the intervention, a posttest after the sessions, and a follow-up assessment was conducted two months later. During the course of the intervention and assessments, two participants from both the control group and the solution-focused therapy group dropped out, along with four participants from the compassion-focused therapy group. The data were analyzed using SPSS-27 software and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed that in the posttest and follow-up phases, there were statistically significant differences between the experimental groups (compassion-focused therapy and solution-focused therapy) and the control group. The results indicated that both therapeutic approaches were effective in enhancing self-efficacy in married women and had lasting effects (p < .05); however, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness between the two approaches.

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacological treatment (methadone maintenance) in improving mental health and pain self-efficacy among male substance users receiving services at a harm reduction center in Andimeshk City. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up assessments across three groups: CBT (n = 27), pharmacological treatment (n = 27), and a control group (n = 26). Participants were selected purposively from among opioid-dependent men aged 18–57 who were registered with the harm reduction center and met inclusion criteria based on DSM-V diagnosis and psychiatrist confirmation. The intervention group received four sessions of structured CBT, while the pharmacological group underwent standard methadone maintenance therapy over the same period. Data were collected using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), with analysis conducted using ANCOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests via SPSS-20. The results showed significant differences between groups in both mental health and pain self-efficacy post-test scores. The CBT group demonstrated greater reductions in GHQ-28 scores (F(2,77) = 34.79, p < .001, η² = .479) and higher increases in PSEQ scores (F(2,77) = 41.03, p < .001, η² = .516) compared to both the pharmacological and control groups. Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons indicated that CBT was significantly more effective than pharmacological treatment and control in both outcomes (p < .001). Group cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective than pharmacological treatment in improving both psychological health and pain self-efficacy in male substance users. These findings support the integration of CBT into harm reduction programs as a complementary or alternative treatment approach to medication.

This study aimed to compare the components of death anxiety—pure death anxiety, general factor, and fear of pain and surgery—between married and unmarried elderly individuals residing in Shiraz. The research employed a causal-comparative design. The statistical population included all elderly members of the Jahandidegan Center in Shiraz in 2025. Using convenience sampling, 90 participants (52 married and 41 unmarried) were selected and matched by gender and marital status. Data were collected using the Templer Death Anxiety Scale, a 15-item self-report questionnaire measuring various aspects of death anxiety. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26. Assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variances were confirmed, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine group differences. The results of the MANOVA showed no statistically significant differences between married and unmarried elderly individuals in the overall combination of death anxiety components (Wilks' Lambda = 0.978, F = 0.67, p = 0.574, η² = 0.022). Univariate analyses also revealed no significant group differences across individual components: pure death anxiety (F = 0.40, p = 0.528), general factor (F = 0.22, p = 0.638), and fear of pain and surgery (F = 0.32, p = 0.575). All effect sizes were negligible. The findings suggest that marital status does not significantly influence levels of death anxiety or its components among elderly individuals in Shiraz. Psychological, spiritual, and social protective factors may play more central roles in shaping death-related fears in old age than demographic variables such as marital status. These results highlight the importance of holistic and inclusive mental health approaches for all elderly individuals, regardless of their marital condition.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based schema therapy on cognitive emotion regulation in men with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The research method was classified as a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, including an experimental group and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all men with generalized anxiety disorder in the western region of Tehran. From this population, 30 individuals were selected through convenience sampling, with 15 participants assigned to the experimental group and 15 to the control group. To assess the research variables, demographic characteristics and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire developed by Garnefski and Kraaij (2006) were employed. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software, applying both descriptive and inferential statistics, including multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA and ANCOVA). The results demonstrated that mindfulness-based schema therapy was effective in improving cognitive emotion regulation in men with GAD with 99% confidence. Therefore, it can be concluded that mindfulness-based schema therapy significantly enhances cognitive emotion regulation in men with generalized anxiety disorder, and it can be considered a useful and effective intervention for the treatment of GAD.