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The present research aimed to study the relationship between traumatic experiences and somatic symptoms severity in students. Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. The study population included all students of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The study sample consisted of 264 healthy adult university students, who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Participants were asked to fill out two self-report measures: Patient Health Questionnaire Physical Symptoms and Traumatic Experiences Checklist. The study data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. All analyses were conducted using SPSS20. Results: Based on the obtained results, a significant relationship was found between traumatic experiences and somatic symptoms severity (P<0.01). Multiple regression analysis indicated that emotional neglect significantly predicted 23% of somatic symptoms severity (P<0.001). In addition, no significant correlation was found between physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and emotional abuse with somatic symptoms severity. Conclusion: Study results indicated that traumatic experiences, especially emotional neglect, are important in the prediction of somatic symptoms severity.

Background: There is no published evidence about the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Behavioral Avoidance Scale (CBAS) in Eastern cultures. Aims: The current research evaluated the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the CBAS. Method: The research consisted of two studies. In Study 1, a university student sample (n = 702) completed the CBAS, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Thought Control Questionnaire and the Anxious Thoughts Inventory. In Study 2, a general population sample (n = 384) and a clinical sample (n = 152) completed the CBAS, the Young Compensation Inventory and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21. Results: Exploratory factor analysis of the data from Study 1 suggested a four-factor solution for CBAS. The CBAS had acceptable internal consistency and test–re-test reliability, and showed significant correlations with depression symptoms and anxious thoughts. Confirmatory factor analysis of the data from Study 2 indicated good fit between the four-factor model and data. The CBAS had a significant relationship with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, but no associations with schema compensatory behaviour strategy. Finally, the CBAS and its subscales successfully distinguished a clinical sample from a general population sample. Conclusions: The findings provide preliminary evidence for reliability and validity of the CBAS among Iranian student, general population and clinical samples.

Objectives:Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) show poor cognitive performance during neuropsychological tests. Literature is scarce regarding veterans suffering with chronic PTSD. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to compare the cognitive deficiencies of veterans with chronic PTSD with those of healthy participants. Methods:A total of 51 hospitalized veterans and 45 healthy individuals were selected using a purposeful sampling method. Both groups performed a simple Stroop Test and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and completed the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Results:The results of independent samples t-test showed a significant difference in cognitive impairment between the veterans with PTSD and healthy subjects, and the veterans had lower performances on most aspects of the tests than that of the control group.Discussion: According to our results, veterans with chronic PTSD showed lower cognitive performance than that of healthy individuals. This suggests that examination of the cognitive functioning of patients with PTSD can be useful in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of PTSD.