Leili Panaghi

Factors Associated With Suicidal Attempts in Iran: A Systematic Review

Context: Suicide prevention is a health service priority. Some surveys have assessed suicidal behaviors and potential risk factors. Objectives: The current paper aimed to gather information about etiology of suicide attempts in Iran. Data Sources: Pubmed, ISI web of science, PsychInfo, IranPsych, IranMedex, IranDoc as well as gray literature were searched. Study Selection: By electronic and gray literature search, 128 articles were enrolled in this paper. Pubmed, ISI web of science, PsychInfo, IranPsych, IranMedex, IranDoc were searched for electronic search. After reading the abstracts, 84 studies were excluded and full texts of 44 articles were reviewed critically. Data Extraction: Pubmed, ISI web of science, PsychInfo, IranPsych, IranMedex, IranDoc as well as gray literature were searched to find any study about etiologic factors of suicide attempt in Iran. Results: Depressive disorder was the most common diagnosis in suicide attempters that is 45% of the evaluated cases had depression. One study that had used Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) found that Histrionics in females and Schizophrenia and Paranoia in males were significantly influential. Family conflicts with 50.7% and conflict with parents with 44% were two effective psychosocial factors in suicidal attempts. In around one fourth (28.7%) of the cases, conflict with spouse was the main etiologic factor. Conclusions: According to the methodological limitations, outcomes should be generalized cautiously. Further studies will help to plan preventive strategies for suicidal attempts; therefore, continued researches should be conducted to fill the data gaps.

Beyond the Couple: A Qualitative Analysis of Successful In-law Relationships in Iran

In-laws can play a significant role in the success or failure of marriages around the world. In the Middle East, recent quantitative research indicates that having trouble with in-laws is a major predictor of divorce in Iran. To explore this further, we undertook a qualitative (grounded theory) analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 Iranian daughters-in-law, five sons-in-law, three mothers-in-law, three fathers-in-law, and three expert family clinicians. Emergent concepts, themes, and coding categories were consistent with a Family Triad Model (FTM) of successful marital and in-law relationships, wherein each spouse must (a) form we-ness with their partner, (b) establish flexible boundaries between themselves and their families of origin, and (c) join their in-laws. A higher-order core category suggested that optimal couple and family functioning depends on the coherence or balance of these functions across the triadic role components of spouse, child-in-law, and family-in-law (or family-of-origin). In the changing cultural context of Iran, where blood relations have traditionally held primacy over marital relations, such triadic coherence appears crucial to marital success, at least from the perspective of many women. Our FTM results also highlight the importance of taking in-laws into account when planning educational, preventative, or clinical interventions.

Non-suicidal self-injury in a sample of university students in Tehran, Iran: prevalence, characteristics and risk factors

ABSTRACT Despite increased empirical and clinical attention to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in Western countries, far less is known about NSSI in non-Western cultures. This study is the first to investigate the prevalence, characteristics and risk factors of NSSI in a sample of university students in Tehran, Iran. All participants (n = 554, mean age = 22.65, 57.2% female) were asked to self-report on NSSI over their lifetime. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised were employed. A lifetime NSSI prevalence of 12.3% (n = 68) was found with no gender differences. Using logistic regression, lack of emotional awareness remained negatively significant for females after controling for anxiety, depression and suicidality; however, after controlling for the psychological symptoms, no relations were found between emotion dysregulation and a history of lifetime NSSI for male students. In a separate logistic regression, lifetime NSSI predicted suicide attempt above and beyond depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation across gender. Our results on the relations between emotion dysregulation and lifetime NSSI contradict the ample research in the West, emphasizing emotion dysregulation as a risk factor of NSSI and suggest that this relation might vary across cultures. The results are situated within the sociocultural context and compared and contrasted with Western data.

Knowledge and Attitude of Primary School Teachers in Tehran/Iran towards ADHD and SLD.

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of primary school teachers in Tehran (Iran) towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and specific learning disability (SLD). This study was conducted on 205 primary school teachers in Tehran. Using multi-stage sampling, 25 schools were selected randomly. The selected teachers completed a self-report questionnaire on knowledge and attitude towards ADHD and SLD. They were found to have average knowledge of as well as mostly neutral attitudes towards SLD and ADHD. There was a positive significant relationship between knowledge and attitude scores of the participants on the two disorders. Regarding students with ADHD or SLD, instead of referring to specialists, most teachers chose to inform the parents. Our findings mainly indicate average knowledge and attitude scores for both ADHD and SLD-compared to lower findings in previous studies. Those responsible for organizing and holding in-service training workshops on these issues need to have complete mastery and up-to-date information. It is necessary that the results of such studies be used in educational planning and policy making in the Ministry of Education.