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Background: Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. Stigma can be attached to health-related problems or illnesses. That is, people with a certain disease might be stigmatized or devalued due to their illness. Most stigma studies focus on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), leprosy, and mental illnesses. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the Cancer Stigma Scale (CSS). Methods: The present study is a validation study based on correlation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The 25-item CSS was translated into Arabic by psychologists competent in both Arabic and English. Back translation was used to ensure transliteral equivalency. The scale was given to 262 Iraqi university students in Mosul University, Iraq, through convenience sampling. Item-total correlations, internal consistency reliability, and construct validity were examined. SPSS and AMOS software were used for data analysis. Results: All the items had acceptable item-total correlations. They ranged from 0.49 to 0.72 (mean = 0.63) and all were significant at P < 0.01. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability was 0.88. CFA was used to examine the fit of the 6-factor solution arrived by the scale developers. Goodness of fit indicators [comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.923, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.919, chi-square/degree of freedom (χ2/df) = 1.98, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.064] showed that the original 6-factor model had a good fit for the data. Conclusion: The Arabic version of the CSS was valid and reliable and can be used for measuring cancer stigma in the Arab-speaking general populations.

Background: Recognizing and strengthening emotional intelligence is useful in all members of society, especially students. By recognizing emotional intelligence and applying it, students can achieve more success in their career. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement among students. Methods: A correlational study was performed on 100 students studying in clinical psychology at the School of Medicine, Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2021. Bar-On test was used to evaluate the student’s emotional intelligence. Pearson correlation coefficient and independent t-test were used to analyze the research data with SPSS software. Results: There was a significant difference between the age variable with emotional intelligence (P < 0.05) and emotional intelligence with academic achievement (P < 0.01). In addition, the components of problem solving (r = 0.310, P = 0.002), stress tolerance (r = 0.291, P = 0.002), reality testing (r = 0.280, P = 0.004), interpersonal relationships (r = 0.217, P = 0.03), and optimism (r = 0.326, P = 0.005) had a significant relationship with the variable of age and the components of emotional Intelligence (r = 0.271, P = 0.005), independence of action (r = 0.187, P = 0.024), self-awareness (r = 0.283, P = 0.031), responsibility (r = 0.757, P = 0.042), and sympathy (r = 0.953, P = 0.034) with the academic achievement. Conclusion: In order to achieve high levels of academic achievement, students must be able to control emotions and affects in many ways; however, students cannot achieve their academic potential without reaching the components that make up emotional intelligence.

Background: Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause respiratory infections. A factor that has recently caused a great deal of anxiety is anxiety associated with the coronavirus. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of anxiety among medical personnel exposed to the new coronavirus pandemic. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional research was conducted on 210 medical personnel working in hospitals and health centers in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia. Medical personnel, who were exposed to or not exposed to this disease, were included in the study through census sampling in 2021. The data collection tools used include a demographic information questionnaire and the Corona disease anxiety scale (CDAS). Data analysis was performed using ANCOVA in Excel software. Results: The mean score of anxiety of the medical personnel during the new coronavirus pandemic in Tasikmalaya was 30.02%. Furthermore, in the medical personnel, the mean score of mental symptoms (47.22%) was higher than physical symptoms (13.15%). The anxiety, and psychological, and physical symptoms scores for women was higher than for men personnel, and there was a significant difference between them (P ˂ 0.05). The demographic variables of gender (P = 0.001), work experience (P = 0.023), and number of family members (P = 0.004) had a statistically significant relationship with anxiety (P < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the level of anxiety among female personnel was higher than male personnel. As a result, holding training classes and stress management courses among all personnel, especially female personnel, should be considered. Keywords: COVID-19; Medical Staff; Anxiety

Background: The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) is one of the most widely used measures of emotional and cognitive representations of illness. The B-IPQ has been translated and adapted into many languages. However, the scale has not been translated into Iraqi Arabic in patients with type II diabetes. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate psychometric properties of the B-IPQ among Iraqi patients with type II diabetes. Methods: In this quantitative study, the Arabic Version of the B-IPQ was given to 192 Iraqi patients with type II diabetes. The participants were randomly selected from 5 hospitals and a diabetes society in Baghdad, Iraq. The participants included individuals diagnosed at least 1 year before this research. Using WINSTEPS computer program, the Rating Scale Model ‎(RSM) was employed as a polytomous extension of the Rasch model (RM) to evaluate the scale in terms of unidimensionality, local independence, item statistics, and rating structures. Results: The results indicated that the values of infit and oufit mean square (MNSQ) are within the ideal range of 0.60 and 1.40, suggesting that the items of the scale fit to the RM. The data was found to be unidimensional because the first factor explains 5.5% of the unexplained variance with an eigenvalue of 1.5 (< 2). The results also showed that items are locally independent, and both persons and items have high Rasch separation reliability indices. More importantly, the response options or categories of the scale work optimally because with the increase in category values, observed averages also increased. Conclusion: The overall findings showed that the Arabic version of the B-IPQ is a valid and reliable instrument and can be employed to assess illness perceptions among Iraqi patients with type II diabetes.

Background: Emotional intelligence is a collection of emotions and skills that increase a person's capacity to cope with and exert control in adversity, and lead to optimal performance in various domains, including academic achievement. The present study was conducted with the aim to investigate the impact of teaching different components of emotional intelligence on the emotional intelligence of medical and nursing students of Basra University, Iraq. Methods: The current quasi-experimental study was performed with a pretest-posttest design. With the help of a quota system, 247 students were selected at random and divided into two groups (intervention and control group). The data collection tools used included the Bar-On Emotional Intelligence Questionnaires in the academic year 2020-21. Each group took part in the posttest after 10 training sessions on emotional intelligence components. Analysis of covariance was used in SPSS software to examine the effect of group, discipline, and intervention on various components of emotional intelligence. Results: The results indicated that teaching emotional intelligence components was effective on the emotional intelligence of medical and nursing students (F = 99.422; P < 0.01). Conclusion: It can be concluded that emotional intelligence training is effective on the emotional intelligence and can be used as an effective method to improve students’ psychological status.