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Background: Beliefs about drug cravings hold considerable sway in the realm of substance abuse and addiction. Delving into the contributing factors influencing these beliefs, including self-efficacy and psychological distress, offers valuable insights into the perpetuation and establishment of addiction among men engaged in methamphetamine abuse. Aims: The primary objective of this study was to forecast the correlation between self-efficacy, psychological distress, and drug craving beliefs among men abusing methamphetamine. The specific emphasis was placed on investigating the intermediary function of self-efficacy and psychological distress within this correlation. Methods: The research employed a descriptive-correlational approach utilizing structural equation modeling as the methodology. The statistical population encompassed men between the ages of 20 and 65 who engaged in methamphetamine abuse during the period of 2022 to 2023. Utilizing specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 262 individuals were chosen through convenience sampling. These participants completed questionnaires evaluating craving beliefs, depression, anxiety-stress, and general self-efficacy. Data analysis was conducted employing the structural equation method and SMARTPLS software. Results: The examination of fitness indicators against the proposed causal model validated the suitability of the established model. Findings from the direct standard regression coefficients indicated that psychological distress correlates with heightened drug use craving beliefs. Additionally, psychological distress exhibited a direct and adverse impact on self-efficacy, while self-efficacy demonstrated a direct and negative influence on craving beliefs. Furthermore, self-efficacy was identified as a mediator in the connection between psychological distress and craving beliefs. Conclusion: Psychological distress diminishes self-efficacy, contributing to persistent cravings for ongoing substance abuse over the long term.

Background and aims: This study aimed to compare the effect of the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) with cognitive approach, with that of the spiritual therapy with Islamic approach on quality of life among hypertensive cardiac patients. Methods: All cardiovascular patients referred to the cohort center in Shahrekord in 2019 were included in this semi-experimental (pretest-posttest design) study. Using convenience sampling method, 75 patients were selected and randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group in such a way that each group included 25 individuals. The McNew quality of life questionnaire was used to collect the required data. All groups received standard medical drugs under the supervision of a cardiologist. In addition to standard medical treatment, the experimental groups underwent MBSR with a cognitive approach (8 sessions lasting 90 minutes) and spiritual therapy based on Islam (8 sessions lasting 90 minutes); The control group received no non-medical intervention. Data were analyzed by using AVOVA and paired t test. Results: The overall score of quality of life in the MBSR and spiritual therapy groups increased significantly after the intervention (P

Background: Personality variables play an important and pivotal role in the multifaceted biopsychosocial model of chronic pain. The present study was performed with the aim to examine the mediating role of conscientiousness and openness to experience in the relationship of pain self-efficacy, pain management strategies, and resilience with pain perception in chronic pain patients. Methods: The research method used was correlational and the statistical population included all 2141 patients suffering from chronic pain referred to medical centers in Tehran, Iran, in 2018-2019. Using Cochran’s formula and convenience sampling method 410 patients were selected as the study participants. Data were obtained using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Nicholas, 1989), Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) (Rosenstiel & Keefe, 1983), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003), and the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (Kerns, Turk, & Rudy, 1985). The collected data were analyzed using structural equations with partial least squares method in SPSS and Amos software. Results: The findings of the present study showed that conscientiousness had no mediating role in the relationship between predictor variables of self-efficacy, pain management, and resilience and the criterion variable of pain perception, but openness to experience had a mediating role in the relationship between the above predictor and criterion variables (P < 0.001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that conscientiousness loses its mediating role in the presence of the variable of openness to experience, and clinically, the variable of openness to experience is effective on pain management.