Majid Barzegar’s research while affiliated with Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht and other places

Objective: The present study aimed to present a causal model of academic engagement based on school climate, epistemological beliefs, and problem-solving styles, with the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Methods and Materials: This study was of a correlational type and employed the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The statistical population included all high school students in Bushehr County during the 2022-2023 academic year, totaling 1,350 individuals. Based on Cochran's formula, a sample of 299 students was selected through cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the Academic Engagement Questionnaire by Reeve, the School Climate Questionnaire, the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire by Schommer, the Problem-Solving Styles Questionnaire by Cassidy and Long, and the Academic Self-Efficacy Questionnaire by Jinks and Morgan. Data analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation, regression analysis, and path analysis methods. Findings: The research findings indicated that school climate has a direct effect on academic self-efficacy. Epistemological beliefs have a direct effect on academic self-efficacy. Constructive problem-solving styles do not have a significant effect on academic self-efficacy in high school students. Non-constructive problem-solving styles have a significant positive effect on academic self-efficacy in high school students. Academic self-efficacy has a direct effect on academic engagement. School climate has a direct effect on academic engagement. Epistemological beliefs have a direct effect on academic engagement. Constructive problem-solving styles have a significant effect on academic engagement in high school students. Non-constructive problem-solving styles do not have a significant positive effect on academic engagement in high school students. School climate indirectly affects academic engagement through the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Epistemological beliefs indirectly affect academic engagement through the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Constructive problem-solving styles do not have an indirect effect on academic engagement considering the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Non-constructive problem-solving styles have an indirect effect on academic engagement considering the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Conclusion: The study confirms that school climate, epistemological beliefs, and problem-solving styles significantly influence academic engagement, with academic self-efficacy playing a critical mediating role. These findings highlight the importance of fostering a positive school environment and developing students' self-efficacy and epistemological beliefs to enhance academic engagement and performance.

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the difference in effectiveness between Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy (ACT) and pharmacotherapy on reducing non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients who visited the Imam Reza Clinic in Shiraz, Neurology Department. Methods and Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 36 participants were purposefully selected for two groups (each group = 18 participants). The tools used for the assessment and diagnosis of disorders by a clinical specialist included the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) for Parkinson's Disease. Findings: The findings confirmed the effectiveness of ACT and pharmacotherapy on non-motor symptoms, covering components such as cardiovascular, sleep/fatigue, mood/cognition, perceptual problems/hallucinations, attention/memory, gastrointestinal, urinary, sexual function, and miscellaneous issues (P < 0.05). The results indicated that the effectiveness of ACT was greater than that of pharmacotherapy, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Therefore, it is recommended that centers associated with Parkinson's patients use ACT to improve the mentioned components and thereby enhance the well-being of this group of patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of body checking behavior and body image in the relationship between emotional regulation and coping styles with binge eating disorder. Methods: The research design was a cross-sectional descriptive study of a correlational nature. The target population consisted of all women visiting clinics in Shiraz, and a sample of 200 women was selected using the convenience sampling method. The measurement tools used in this study included the Body Checking and Body Image Questionnaire, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Coping Styles Questionnaire, and the Binge Eating Disorder Scale. The obtained data were analyzed at both descriptive and inferential levels. In the descriptive section, indices such as mean, standard deviation, minimum, and maximum scores were calculated. At the inferential level, Pearson correlation coefficient and path analysis with structural equation modeling were conducted. Findings: The results indicated that body checking behavior and body image, as mediating variables, create a significant relationship between emotional regulation and coping styles with binge eating disorder. Both emotional regulation and body checking behavior directly and indirectly predicted binge eating disorder. Additionally, coping styles, particularly problem-focused coping, helped reduce binge eating behaviors, whereas emotion-focused and avoidant coping styles had more negative effects on this disorder. Conclusion: These results emphasize that body image and checking behaviors can increase body dissatisfaction and contribute to the persistence of binge eating disorder.

Objective The low level of psychological well-being is one of the most common problems of the women who are the heads of households, and various educational programs have been conducted to improve the psychological well-being of such a group. The present study was conducted to outline the effectiveness of mindfulness-based educational intervention in the psychological well-being of women as the heads of households. Methods This research as a semi-experimental study was done by pretest–posttest design and control group. The study statistical population included all women as the heads of households in Shiraz, who had a file in the Shiraz based welfare office and at the same time their children were studying in schools covered by the 2nd district educational department of Shiraz in 2022–2023. Out of the female heads of the households in the statistical community, 30 women were selected as Purposive sampling and then randomly divided into two 15-individual groups, including experimental group (training on mindfulness-based therapy) and control group. The research tool included Ryff’s psychological well-being scale (Ryff, 1989). The experimental group was subjected to training on mindfulness-based therapy (Baer et al., 2006) during eight 90-min sessions. However, the control group did not receive any intervention. Result After running the intervention, a significant difference was seen between the components of autonomy, personal growth, purpose in life, self-acceptance, positive relationship with others, and psychological well-being after running the educational intervention between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05), while no meaningful difference popped up between the experimental and control groups in terms of environmental mastery as one of the aspects measured in psychological well-being scale after the educational intervention (P = 0.602). Conclusion According to the results, it seems that psychologists can benefit from the method of training on mindfulness-based therapy in order to increase the psychological well-being of women as the heads of households.

Objective Low level of psychological well-being is one of the most common problems of female heads of households, and various educational programs have been conducted to improve the psychological well-being of this group, the present study was conducted to develop the effect of educational intervention according to Mindfulness on the psychological well-being of female heads of households. Methods The method of this research was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all female heads of households in Shiraz city who had a file in the Shiraz city welfare office and at the same time their children were studying in schools covered by the 2nd district education office of Shiraz city in 2022–2023. Among the female heads of households in the statistical community, 30 women were selected as available and then randomly divided into two groups of 15 including experimental group (training based on mindfulness) and a control group. The research tool included psychological well-being questionnaire (Ryff, 1989). The experimental group was subjected to training based on mindfulness-based therapy (Baer et al., 2006) during 8 90-minute sessions, But the members of the control group did not receive any intervention. Result After intervention, there was a significant difference between the components of individual independence, personal development, purposefulness in life, self-acceptance, positive relationship with others, and psychological well-being after the educational intervention between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05), but no significant difference in Environmental Mastery after the educational intervention between the experimental and control groups (P = 0.602). Conclusion According to the results, it seems that psychologists can use the method of training based on mindfulness therapy in order to increase the psychological well-being of women heads of households.

Introduction: Social anxiety disorder is characterized by the fear of negative evaluation. This psychological construct results in individual’s poor functioning. Aim: The present research aimed to compare the effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness therapy on the fear of negative evaluation in individuals with social anxiety disorder. Method: This quasi-experimental study, with a pretest-posttest control group design, was conducted on a population of individuals with social anxiety symptoms, who were referred to the psychological clinics of Shiraz, Iran, in 2019. Sampling was performed using the convenience sampling method. After initial evaluations, 45 people were randomly divided into three equal groups (two intervention groups and one control group). The CBT protocol proposed by Hoffman and Otto (2008) and the Acceptance and Mindfulness protocol by Fleming and Kukowski (2007) were used to implement the interventions (12 two-hour sessions). The participants also completed the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) by Connor et al. (2000) and the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale by Leary (1983) before and after the intervention. Data analysis was performed in SPSS-24, using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: The results of MANCOVA test showed a significant difference between the scores of the control and experimental groups (P<0.001). Compared to the control group, the fear of negative evaluation reduced in the experimental groups. Although there was no significant difference between the two treatment approaches (P>0.05), the effect of mindfulness treatment was slightly higher than CBT. Conclusion: In this study, comparison of the two mindfulness and CBT approaches indicated no significant difference between these two methods in reducing the fear of negative evaluation among individuals with social anxiety. Therefore; it is suggested to use acombination of these two methods to reduce the fear of negative evaluation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of goal setting in the relationship between creative thinking and academic hope. Methods and Materials: In this correlational study, from the population of male first and second grade students in Kazeroon, 266 participants were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling from the cities of Kazeroon, Khesht, Kenartakhteh, Baladeh, and Jarreh. To achieve the research objectives, standardized questionnaires on goal setting, academic hope, and creative thinking were used, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.97, 0.93, and 0.98, respectively. Findings: The goodness of fit index with a value of 0.603 confirmed the overall model fit. Goal setting, with a total path coefficient of 0.154, influenced the relationship between creative thinking and academic hope using the bootstrap approach in the partial least squares method. Conclusion: This study aimed to explore the mediating role of goal setting in the relationship between creative thinking and academic hope among high school students. The findings revealed significant relationships between these variables, supporting the proposed hypotheses and aligning with previous research.

Background & aim: Divorce brings emotional separation and psychological pressures for most women, which requires the most changes for re-adaptation in these people. Therefore, the purpose of the present research was to determine and develop a structural model of adjustment after divorce based on social and psychological factors in divorced women in Shiraz. Methods: The present descriptive correlational study was conducted in Shiraz city in 2018. The statistical population of the study included all divorced women who were divorced for at least two years and were not remarried. 416 samples were selected through available sampling from fifteen psychological clinics under the supervision of welfare and family courts. Moreover, they were evaluated through Fisher's post-divorce adjustment questionnaires, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Questionnaire, Bell's Social Adjustment Questionnaire, Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire, Neo Short Form Five-Factor Personality Questionnaire, and Emotion Cognitive Regulation Strategies Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation, multiple regression and Fisher's statistical tests. Results: The results indicated that the variables of perceived support, attachment styles and personality traits through the variables of cognitive regulation of emotion and social adjustment had a significant effect on adjustment after divorce (p