BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression is a significant common health problem that has negative effects on mental and physical health of mothers and their infants. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being (SWB) and perceived social support with postpartum depression in new mothers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a descriptive survey design, 200 mothers in the 4 th –8 th weeks after delivery, who referred to selected therapeutic centers in Qom Province, were selected by a convenience sampling method. They were asked to answer the question of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, SWB Scale, and Farhangestan Spiritual Health Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and Chi-square. RESULTS: The prevalence of postpartum depression in this group was 22%. Pearson correlation test showed that there was a negative correlation between high level of perceived social support and SWB with postpartum depression. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that perceived social support and SWB have an important role in low depressive symptom in mothers during postpartum. This result can help health-care professionals to pay much attention to social support and SWB as a protective factor against postpartum depression in postpartum or pregnancy care programs.

Objective: The present study was conducted to compare neurocognitive profile in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and bipolar II disorder (BD-II) and to find whether BPD can be classified as one of bipolar spectrum disorders. Method: A total of 35 patients with BPD and 35 euthymic patients with BDII disorder were selected by convenience sampling method. These 2 groups were compared with 30 healthy individuals using neurocognitive battery tests that assessed cognitive flexibility and set-shifting, response inhibition, problem-solving, decision-making, and sustained and selective attention. Data were analyzed using independent t test, X2 and ANOVA. Results: Patients with euthymic BDII and BPD had poorer performance than the healthy group in most neurocognitive domains (p<0.05). Both patient groups showed similar functions in cognitive flexibility and set-shifting, decision-making, sustained and selective attention, and problem-solving (p<0.05). BPD patients had more elevated response inhibition deficits than BD-II patients (P<0.05). Also, BPD patients had poorer performance in planning compared to BD-II patients (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results provided empirical support for previous findings which have reported that patients with BPD and BD-II show neurocognitive dysfunctions. Despite the similarity between these 2 clinical groups in terms of neurocognitive profile in this study, more extensive studies are needed to confirm the hypothesis that BPD can be conceptualized as one of bipolar spectrum disorders.

Background and Objectives:Premenstrual syndrome is defined as a group of physical and psychological symptom, which happens during luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Researches have indicated that premenstrual syndrome has significant effects on mental health and well-being of women. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of premenstrual syndrome and its relationship with psychological well-being in the students of Qom University of Medical Sciences. Methods:In this descriptive-correlational study, a total number of 226 female students of Qom University of Medical Sciences, were selected using convenience sampling method during 2017-2018. The participants were asked to respond to the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale, Ryff Psychological Well-Being Scale, and demographic checklist. Data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation, and multivariate regression statistical techniques. Results:In this research, 37% of the students reported mild symptoms, 49.8% moderate symptoms, and 13.2% severe symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Pearson correlation coefficient test also showed that symptom severity had a significant correlation with psychological well-being (p<0.01), which could predict 11% of psychological well-being variance. Conclusion:The results of the current study revealed that premenstrual syndrome has a high prevalence in female students. Moreover, premenstrual syndrome is an appropriate predictor of psychological well-being in female students.

Background: Recently, more evidence has been presented regarding the role of behavioral activation/inhibition systems as predictors of substance use disorders. In fact, these systems are regarded as potentially important factors in the development of this complex psychiatric problem. Objectives: This study aimed to determine how behavioral activation/inhibition systems, namely behavioral activation, behavioral inhibition, and fight-flight freezing systems, affect substance abuse in bipolar patients. Methods: A total of 79 patients with bipolar disorder were selected among hospitalized patients in the psychiatric ward of Kamkar-Arabnia Hospital in Qom, Iran. The participants completed the Gray-Wilson personality questionnaire, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Mood Disorder Questionnaire, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: Behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition systems emerged as significant predictors of substance abuse in bipolar patients (χ 2 = 52.511; df = 3; P < 0.0005). Gender and type of bipolar disorder (I or II) showed no significant association with the scores of behavioral activation, behavioral inhibition, or fight-flight freezing systems. Also, the behavioral inhibition system scores could predict manic mood (χ 2 = 7.067; df = 3; P < 0.070). Conclusions:The findings of the current study provide further evidence regarding the role of behavioral activation and inhibition systems as predictors of substance abuse in bipolar patients.

Introduction: In the recent years, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been considered by researchers as one of the possible effective approach in the treatment of major depressive disorder. However, the results of these investigations are often contradictory. According to this, the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of tDCS in reducing symptoms of people with major depressive disorder. Methods: In the sham-controlled randomized trial, twenty people with major depressive disorder referred to a private psychiatric clinic in Tehran City, Iran. They were selected by convenience sampling and divided into the intervention and control groups by randomized block design. tDCS was administered 2 mA, 20 minutes per session, for 10 sessions, 3 days per week. Immediately after, and one month after the intervention, the scores of the two groups were assessed in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Beck Depression Inventory. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and using statistical methods of repeated analysis of variance and independent and dependent t-test. Results: The results of repeated analysis of variance for Hamilton (F = 43.5 and P = 0.017) and Beck (F = 125.12 and P = 0.022) depression scores showed the significance of the interaction effect of time (four stages of measurement) and group membership (experiment and control) (P < 0.05). In depression scores in both Hamilton and Beck scales in the experimental group in the intervention stages (Hamilton scale, P = 0.019, Beck scale = P = 0.017) and follow-up (Hamilton scale, P = 0.01, Beck scale = P = 0.03) was significantly reduced compared to the control group. Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed the effectiveness of tDCS in reducing symptoms of major depressive disorder. More clinical trials are needed to prove the effectiveness of tDCS compared to a variety of treatments.