Background: Marijuana use is increasing among adolescents and young adults. Long-term marijuana use magnifies the risk of a wide variety of behavioral, cognitive-emotional, and neurological problems, and can be a gateway to use of other drugs. In the present study, we investigated the cognitive-emotional and behavioral predictors of marijuana use. To this end, young Iranian adults answered questions based on an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and related it to marijuana use. We hypothesized that cognitive-emotional and behavioral factors would predict intention to use marijuana, and that this, in turn, would predict actual consumption. Methods: A total of 166 young Iranian adults (mean age: 20.51 years; 15.7% females) attending a walk-in center for drug use took part in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, frequency of marijuana use per week, along with questionnaires assessing the following dimensions of the TPB: attitude towards marijuana use, subjective norms, self-efficacy to resist marijuana use, environmental constraints, problem-solving skills, and behavioral intention for marijuana use. Results: Mean marijuana use was found to be 4.6 times/week. Attitude towards marijuana use, subjective norms, environmental constraints, and behavioral intention to use marijuana were positively correlated to each other and with marijuana use/week. In contrast, higher self-efficacy and problem-solving skills were associated with lower marijuana use/week. The multiple regression analysis showed that a positive attitude to marijuana use, lower self-efficacy in resisting its use, higher behavioral intention, and poorer problem-solving skills predicted actual use. Conclusion: The pattern of results suggests that dimensions of TPB can explain marijuana use among young Iranian adults self-admitted to a walk-in center for drug use. Specifically, poor problem-solving skills, low self-efficacy in resisting marijuana use, and positive labelling of its use appeared to be the best predictors of actual use. It follows that prevention programs aimed at improving problem-solving skills and raising self-efficacy, along with educational interventions aimed at highlighting the negative effects of marijuana might decrease the risk of its use among young adults in Iran.

No abstract

Background Air pollution is an environmental health issue that has received much attention due to its harmful effects on public health. The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the self-care behaviors related to air pollution protection. To this mean, questionnaire responses provided by Iranian college students were analyzed and a Health Belief Model (HBM) determined. Methods The self-care behavior related to air pollution protection was determined from responses from 301 university students using test item characteristics, face validity, reliability (internal consistency) and construct validity. Moreover, we carried out an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine the factorial structure and explained variance. Results Based on Eigenvalues of ≥1.00 and factor loadings of ≥0.40, seven factors were extracted. The calculated Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value was 0.804. Overall, the seven factors explain 66.39% of the variance in the hypothesized model. Cronbach’s alpha for the measured factors: the perceived susceptibility, severity, barriers, benefits, self-efficacy, cues to action and behavior were 0.85, 0.79, 0.86, 0.66, 0.74, 0.83, and 0.75, respectively. Conclusion The analysis of the questionnaire’s reliability and validity properties resulted in good values. The questionnaire is a promising instrument to assess self-care behavior related to air pollution protection from the perspective of college students.

Background Preparing for aging is investing resources in preparing to cope with the challenges that are expected to happen in older age. This will lead to an increase in the quality and well-being in aging. The present study was conducted to elucidate the preparation of the middle-aged people for healthy older age in Tehran, Iran. Methods The present study was performed with a qualitative approach and using semi-structured interviews with 23 Iranian middle-aged people (45 to 59 years old), selected by purposive sampling, and the interviews continued until theoretical saturation. Data were analyzed using the content analysis technique with MAXQDA 10 software. Results The preparation of the middle-aged people was examined in four main categories including staying healthy, financial perspective for the future, outlook on aging, and planning for use time productively. The middle-aged people paid more attention to Staying healthy than other dimensions and the saw their future financially as very dark. Outlook on aging and planning for use time productively dimensions were less considered by the subjects. Discussion Preparing for healthy aging is a multidimensional concept. The results of the study showed that the middle-aged studied in Iranian society rarely had the necessary preparation and planning to have healthy aging, also preparation is outside the individual behavioral factors and is more affected by the economic situation of the society. So, interventions and the country’s macro-policy are needed to plan for healthy aging these people.

Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is an acute febrile disease. It is one of the most common diseases among humans and animals. Objectives: Due to the presence of the disease in Iran, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of farmers about Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF). Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 300 farmers in north and south villages of Khorramabad city selected using stratified sampling. The instrument used in the study was a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure the knowledge, attitude, and practice of people in contact with the livestock. After completing the questionnaire, the data were analyzed by SPSS using nonparametric tests (Mann-Whitney-U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation coefficient). Results: The mean age of the participants was 38.94 ± 14.28 years. The mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice of the participants regarding CCHF were 18.46 ± 5.05, 40.7 ± 2.18, and 6.42 ± 3.40, respectively. There was a significant relationship between knowledge (P < 0.001), attitude (P < 0.001), and practice (P < 0.001) scores and the education level and marital status (P < 0.001). The results showed a significant inverse correlation between age and attitude (P < 0.001. r = -0.33), knowledge (P < 0.001. r = -0.42), and practice (P < 0.001. r = -0.39). There was a significant positive relationship between practice and knowledge (P = 0.001. r = -0.39) and attitude (P < 0.001. r = -0.39). Conclusions: Due to the insufficient performance of farmers concerning disease prevention and health protection behaviors. implementation of an educational program to increase the level of knowledge could promote their prevention behavior Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever.