Mehdi Ghazinour

Quality of Life Among Iranian Refugees Resettled in Sweden

The relationships between quality of life, psychopathological manifestations and coping related variables (coping resources, social support, sense of coherence) were examined among individuals who have perceived several severe traumata. One hundred Iranian refugees resettled in Sweden have been investigated by the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI), and the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC), and the WHOQoL-100 questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. Individuals, traumatized by combat experiences as a soldier during the war, with low BDI scores showed on average the significantly highest overall quality of life, the best physical health, the highest scores according to the sense of coherence most pronounced for “Meaningfulness,” and the best availability of social integration compared to participants who did not had these experiences in combats and those with the experience but scored high in the BDI. Quality of life, coping resources, and social support were found closely related to psychopathological manifestations. Motivational orientations (highly developed Meaningfulness—SOC) and various coping competencies probably enable some traumatized individuals to resist against several traumata and to live in a good quality of life without psychopathological disturbances.

Attitudes towards suicide among Kurdish people in Iran.

BackgroundAttitudes towards suicide represent a key stage in the pathway leading to suicide. A deeper understanding of the social, psychological and treatment-related factors influencing the development of attitudes towards suicide could guide suicide prevention strategies especially in a neglected population like Kurds.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study in Iranian Kurdistan, 1,000 households participated in the investigation from April to May 2006 selected by a cluster random sampling process. A questionnaire on attitudes towards suicide (ATTS) was used to measure suicide related attitudes and thoughts.ResultsSuicide related experiences were more often reported from the wider social network (relative, friends, acquaintances) than from family members. There is a significant accumulation of suicide related experiences when a related event was reported in the close family. The level of suicide related attitudes is related to age, gender, marital status, level of education and employment status.DiscussionOpenness towards the topic of suicide as well as abilities to communicate about it should be improved by educating the public and additionally be promoted by changing conservative value systems.

Personality related to coping and social support among iranian refugees in Sweden

The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelatedness between temperament and character according to Cloninger’s biosocial theory of personality, coping behavior, and social support among traumatized refugees. Personality, psychopathological disturbances, coping resources, and social support were assessed in 100 Iranian refugees resettled in Sweden who had been exposed to various extreme traumatic life events in Iran before their escape. Individuals traumatized by war experiences as soldiers, with low Beck Depression Inventory scores showed the lowest scores in Harm Avoidance and the highest in Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness. Concerning coping resources and social support, these subjects scored slightly higher and the traumatized refugees with high Beck Depression Inventory scores scored slightly lower compared with nontraumatized subjects. Resilient refugees are characterized by low harm avoidance, high self-directedness, and high cooperativeness scores which enables them to develop effective coping strategies to obtain sufficient social support and thus to become more resistant against severe trauma.

Age and Gender Differences in the Use of Various Poisoning Methods for Deliberate Parasuicide Cases Admitted to Loghman Hospital in Tehran (2000-2004).

Different methods of poisoning used by individuals with the diagnosis of parasuicide admitted to the Loghman Hospital, Tehran, from 2000 to 2004 were investigated, with particular focus on gender and age differences. Drugs, pesticides, and other agricultural chemicals (women: 12.7%, men: 9%) were the most commonly used methods. In males, the percentage of use of drugs increased with age, but the frequency of pesticides use decreased with age. In females, drugs were most often used in the youngest age group, whereas the use of pesticides was lowest in the youngest age category. Females outnumbered males, especially in the youngest age group of 10 to 19 years olds. Drugs and pesticides were the substances used most often for parasuicide in each age group regardless of gender.

Birth weight, domestic violence, coping, social support, and mental health of young Iranian mothers in Tehran

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate associations of birth weight with sociodemographic variables, domestic violence, ways of coping, social support, and general mental health of Iranian mothers. Six hundred mothers aged 15 to 29 years participated between June 2009 and November 2010. t-Test, analysis of variance, Spearman’s correlation, and multiple regression were used. The results showed that there was no significant association between birth weight and general mental health of the mothers. Prenatal care visits, the mothers’ history of having children with low birth weight (LBW), and weight gain during pregnancy were significantly associated with birth weight. The women who reported physical abuse during pregnancy had infants with lower birth weight. Satisfaction with social support and use of positive reappraisal were significantly associated with higher birth weight. In conclusion, a high quality of prenatal care and screening of pregnant women are recommended. Social environments good enough during pregnancy have protective effects against LBW.

Do Parental Rearing and Personality Characteristics have a Buffering Effect against Psychopathological manifestations among Iranian Refugees in Sweden

The aim of the study was to investigate relationships between temperament, character and perceived parental rearing among Iranian refugees resettled in Sweden. Our hypothesis was that temperament, character and parental rearing exert buffering effect against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the particular impact of specific factors. One hundred refugees participated in the project. They were assessed by means of the SCL-90-R, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the EMBU and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). A high level of self-directedness appeared as having a possible buffering effect against PTSD after several severe traumata. Furthermore, we found specific effects of other personality characteristics and of parental rearing in determining the relationships between the experience of several traumatic events and later psychopathological manifestations among the refugees. The educational level and the length of living in Sweden represented important socio-cultural factors in decreasing psychological disturbances. Even more, we found that despite the experience of an extreme trauma some of the refugees did not suffer from severe depression or other psychosomatic complaints.

Caregivers' quality of life and quality of services for children with cancer: a review from iran.

Objective: Caregivers of cancer patients are exposed to different types of psychosocial stress which influence their quality of life. The purposes of this study were to assess quality of life in caregivers of children with cancer and to investigate the relationship between the caregivers’ quality of life and quality of services in the social work section. Method: 125 caregivers were recruited. Quality of life was measured by the Iranian version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and data concerning service quality were obtained from the Iranian version of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. Findings: Scores in physical health, psychological status and environmental conditions for caregivers of children with cancer were significantly lower than the general population. There was a negative correlation between the tangible domain of SERVQUAL and the psychological status and environmental conditions of quality of life. The tangible dimension was the only aspect of service quality to predict caregivers’ quality of life regarding psychological status and environmental conditions. Conclusion: Caregivers of children with a disease are care consumers and, like all consumers, they expect good service. Delivering high quality services consistently is difficult but profitable for a service organization. In other words, trying to deliver more appropriate services than patients expect to receive from their social work care is one of the most reliable ways to promote caregivers’ satisfaction and quality of life.

Personality of South African Police Trainees

There have been efforts to identify a “police personality” based on dispositional and socialization models. Personality traits of successful police applicants at the Police College in Pretoria, South Africa (N = 1,145 police trainees), with regard to sex, ethnic group, and English language reading skills, were described in terms of scores on the Temperament and Character Inventory. South African police trainees generally evaluated themselves as substantially lower in Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance combined with lower Cooperativeness, but they scored much higher on Self-Directedness, Persistence, and Self-Transcendence compared to South African university students from the same area. These are characteristics expected from future police officers, which supports the dispositional model.

Marital Satisfaction With a Special Focus on Gender Differences in Medical Staff in Tehran, Iran

The family is a fundamental component of society, and marital satisfaction is the main characteristic of a healthy family. The aim of this cross-sectional research was to assess marital satisfaction in medical staff in Tehran, with a special focus on gender differences. Data were collected from 653 medical staff using sociodemographic questions and the ENRICH marital satisfaction questionnaire. The results indicated that marital satisfaction was significantly higher in men than in women. There was a negative correlation between age and marital satisfaction in women. Educational level was associated with marital satisfaction in both genders. Number of children was correlated with marital satisfaction in both men and women. Gender differences in marital satisfaction were revealed, and all sociodemographic factors showed significant relationships, with at least one subscale of marital satisfaction. This study provides a general view of marital satisfaction in Iranian medical professionals as a group with a stressful job.

Burnout among Social Workers in Iran: Relations to Individual Characteristics and Client Violence

Social workers are considered a professional group at high risk of burnout. Noticing the insufficient human resource management and understaffed social work centers, Iranian social workers are faced with a considerable level of physical and mental stress, which can lead to burnout. A national study on 390 social workers was conducted. Among social workers, 10.9% had experienced burnout and 17.4% are at risk of developing burnout. Social workers scored higher in burnout if they were dissatisfied with their income, had experienced violence, or had lower self-esteem. Findings are discussed with regard to Iranian context and recommendations for authorities of Iranian state welfare organizations are made.