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Maternal adjustment is a woman's response to the challenges she experiences from the moment pregnancy is discovered until the baby is born. This adjustment is achieved gradually during pregnancy and has considerable importance. Studies in the field of maternal adjustment have mainly focused on the importance of this factor in maternal postpartum experience, whereas less attention has been paid to the identification of predictors of this adjustment in pregnant women. The aim of this study was to explain the role of pregnant women's attachment relationships in predicting maternal adjustment during pregnancy. The methodology was correlational, and the statistical population consisted of pregnant women in the six-to-nine-month gestation period of their first pregnancy. 317 Iranian pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria were selected by convenient sampling. Before giving birth, these participants filled out the online Self-Evaluation Questionnaires (SEQ) and the form Experiencing Close Relationships (ECR-RS). The methods of the Pearson correlation analysis and linear regression were used for data analysis. The results show that higher anxiety and avoidance in attachment relationships are significant predictors of pregnant women's low maternal adjustment during pregnancy. Likewise, a strongest linear relationship was established between maternal adjustment and anxious and avoidant attachment to a partner. All in all, the findings reveal that in the situation of the stressful transition to parenthood and the presence of an insecure attachment schema (especially to a partner), participants experienced depression and anxiety, the formation of negative attitudes toward maternity, and the development of negative conditions for the fetuses. Keywords: Parenthood, Pregnancy, Maternal adjustment, Attachment relationships, Iranian women, Introduction Pregnancy, delivery, and the transition to parenthood encompass intricate physiological, social, and psychological variations. During the nine months of pregnancy, pregnant women must adjust to bodily, identity, relational, and [...]

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is the capacity to focus on experiences and feelings in one self as a parent and in the children, and treat the children as psychological agents. This paper reports psychometric properties of the Iranian/ Persian version of P-PRFQ which is a brief, multidimensional, self-report measure of parental reflective functioning during pregnancy. Participants were 282 mothers and 209 fathers who completed a Persian-translation of P-PRFQ questionnaire, a measure to assess socio-demographic characteristics, and parental-fetal attachment questionnaire. Factor structure, internal consistency, and associations between P-PRFQ and parental-fetal attachment are investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor model consisting of F1: 'Opacity of mental states,' F2: 'Reflecting on the fetus-child,' and F3: 'The dynamic nature of the mental states' among Iranian sample. However, CFA identified three items with low factor loadings. Additionally, Factor 1 was not correlated with two other factors in the Iranian context. Additional validity evidence included positive associations between Factor 2 and parent-fetus attachment; and positive associations between Factor 3 and parent-fetus attachment. Factor 1 was negatively associated with parent-fetus attachment. These findings suggest that Factor 1 may be interpreted differently within different sociocultural contexts, and calls for further examination of possible sociocultural influences on the interpretation of Factor 1. Differences between mothers and fathers on P-PRFQ among Iranian parents are discussed., Author(s): Elahe Vahidi [sup.1] , Saeed Ghanbari [sup.1] , Parisa Sadat Seyed Mousavi [sup.2] , Farzaneh Safari [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.412502.0, 0000 0001 0686 4748, Department of Psychology, Faculty [...]

This study aimed to assess and compare the attachment issues including mothers' perception of desirable and undesirable characteristics, mothers' attributions to child behavior in attachment situations, and Mothers' Expectations regarding 'Maternal Responsiveness' among Iranian, Iraqi and Afghan mothers. To do so, 30 mothers were selected from each culture and, the parent interview, adopted from Rothbaum, Kakinuma, Nagaoka, and Azuma (2007), was used to assess the issues mentioned above. The interviews were semi-structured ones, and each took about 60 min to complete. Four issues including desirable and undesirable characteristics, mothers' perceptions of child's behavior and her response in attachment situations, mothers' perceptions of child's behavior in strange situation and expectations regarding maternal responsiveness were selected due to the purpose of the study. The results showed some similarities in describing the desirable and undesirable child between cultures, especially regarding intelligence and academic achievement higher level of similarities were observed. Most of the mothers attributed the child behavior (in attachment situations) to seeking security/interdependence. Some differences were also observed e.g. Iraqi and Afghan mothers pointed to compliance from parents, respect to adults, and politeness more than Iranian mothers. Considering the child's behavior in attachment situations and the response of the mother to them, the findings showed some similarities and some differences.

Aim: The aim of the current study was to determine the moderating role of reflective functioning in the relationship between perceived parental acceptance-rejection and emotion regulation in adolescents. Method: This research was a correlational study. The statistical population included Iranian students aged 14-18 years. Data were collected through convenience sampling from 400 adolescents who completed a series of online questionnaires: Fonagy et al.'s Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (2016), the short form of Rohner's Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (2005), and Gratz and Roemer's (2004) Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results: There was a positive and significant relationship between perceived parental rejection and the uncertainty dimension of reflective functioning with difficulties in emotion regulation in adolescents. Conversely, the certainty dimension had a negative and significant relationship with difficulties in emotion regulation. The certainty dimension of reflective functioning moderated the relationship between perceived parental rejection and difficulties in emotion regulation, while the uncertainty dimension did not. Conclusion: Adolescents with a higher level of reflective functioning can better cope with the effects of parental rejection. Therefore, improving reflective functioning should be a focus for therapists working with children, adolescents, and in parentchild relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Viscerotropic leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania tropica poses a significant problem in the diagnosis and treatment management. Since differential gene expression is more important in outcome of the infection, we employed proteomic approach to identify potential proteins involved in visceralization of L. tropica. Methods: The proteomes profiling of L. tropica isolated from cutaneous and visceral tissues of one host were compared by 2-DE/MS proteomics study. Moreover, the transcript level of some identified proteins was confirmed using real-time RT-PCR. Results: Of the 700 protein spots that were detected reproducibly on each gel, 135 were found to be differentially expressed (P≤ 0.05). Most of responsive proteins in visceral isolate changed in less abundant compared to cutaneous isolate. Among differentially expressed proteins, 56 proteins were confidently identified and classified according to the biological process. The largest groups consist of proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism and protein synthesis. Most of the identified proteins, which implicated in energy metabolism, cell signaling and virulence were down-regulated, whereas some proteins that have a role in protein folding, antioxidant defense and proteolysis were up-regulated in visceral form. Moreover, the transcript level of some identified proteins such as co-chaperon was confirmed using real-time RT-PCR. Conclusion: L. tropica probably uses different mechanisms for survival and multiplication in viscera to establish viscerotropic leishmaniasis. The current study provides some clues into the mechanisms underlying the dissemination of L. tropica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We intended to elucidate the relationship between mentalizing capacity and affective states by investigating the mediatory role of emotion dysregulation., Methods: A sample of nonclinical Iranian adults ( N  = 445) completed a battery of online self-report measures comprising the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Mentalization Scale (MentS), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)., Results: Correlational analyses demonstrated that self- and other-related mentalizing were significantly and inversely associated with emotion dysregulation, which in turn was strongly linked with positive and negative affects. Using structural equation modeling, the results delineated emotion dysregulation as a mediator between self- and other-related mentalizing and affective states, predicting higher negative and lower positive affects. However, motivation to mentalize failed to predict positive affects and only contributed to lower negative affects directly., Conclusion: Mentalizing capacity was found to be indirectly linked with affective states through emotion dysregulation; hence, along with the previously substantiated association between emotion dysregulation and affective states and the partially established relationship between mentalizing capacity and affective states, we propose mentalizing incapacity to be at fault in the development of affective difficulties., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.)

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan with worldwide distribution. Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis is a very critical issue, especially in pregnant women and immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was rapid detection of T. gondii DNA in peripheral blood samples (PBS) employing HRM technique and using RE gene., Methods: Totally, 242 samples from pregnant women and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients were collected from different hospitals and medical centers of Tehran during Oct 2017 to Dec 2018. High resolution melting analysis (HRM) using partial sequences of repetitive element (RE) gene was done and compared with ELISA test., Results: Overall, 51 were positive for acute toxoplasmosis that among them, 12 and 20 reported as positive in pregnant women and HIV + patients, respectively using HRM technique. Among 70 patients in chronic phase of disease, 10 and 3 samples were reported as positive for pregnant women and HIV + patients respectively. From 121 negative control, 3 (4.62%) samples associated with HIV + patients, showed positive real-time PCR and HRM analysis results., Conclusion: For the first time, HRM technique via employing RE gene was used for detection of T. gondii infection in PBS. This method is suitable, helpful and in parallel with serological methods for early diagnosis of acute as well as active form of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women and HIV + patients. The use of techniques based on melt curve and through employing next-generation dyes for diagnosis of T. gondii would be accessible for patients in developing countries., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this work., (Copyright© Iranian Public Health Association & Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)