International Journal of Education and Cognitive Sciences

Purpose: The present study aimed to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework for nature-based art therapy grounded in neurological mechanisms to enhance emotional, sensory, cognitive, and social functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Methods and Materials: This study was designed as a theoretical–applied research using a descriptive–analytical approach. Data were collected through a systematic review of Persian and international scientific literature in the domains of art therapy, autism spectrum disorder, nature-based interventions, and neuroscience. Relevant sources were identified using databases including SID, MagIran, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Inclusion criteria consisted of direct relevance to the study topic, scientific credibility, peer-reviewed status, and conceptual or empirical contribution. After screening and selection, the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Key themes were extracted and categorized into three primary domains: art therapy processes, nature as an enriched therapeutic environment, and neurological mechanisms underlying intervention effects. Finally, conceptual inference was employed to integrate these domains into a coherent framework.

Findings: The analysis revealed that nature-based art therapy operates through a dynamic interaction between expressive artistic processes, enriched natural environments, and neurobiological mechanisms. The findings suggest that engagement in structured art activities within natural settings facilitates sensory–motor integration, emotional regulation, and attention restoration, which are mediated by processes such as neuroplasticity, modulation of limbic activity, and enhancement of executive functioning. The integration of these components is inferred to produce synergistic effects, leading to improvements in adaptive behavior, cognitive flexibility, emotional stability, and social interaction in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Conclusion: By emphasizing the interplay between experiential, environmental, and neurological factors, the model highlights the potential of nature-based art therapy as a holistic and developmentally responsive strategy for enhancing functional outcomes in affected children.

Purpose: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of short-term object relations therapy in reducing the severity of cognitive fatigue among patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Methods and Materials: This study employed an applied, quantitative design using a randomized quasi-experimental pretest–posttest structure with a control group and a three-month follow-up phase. The statistical population included patients diagnosed with MS who were referred to healthcare centers in Isfahan during 2025–2026. A total of 36 participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 18) and a control group (n = 18). The experimental group received short-term object relations group therapy based on a structured 14-session protocol delivered over seven weeks, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Fatigue Severity Scale at three time points: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 29, including descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Levene’s tests for assumptions, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA) where necessary.

Findings: The results of repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant main effect of group (F = 34.55, p < 0.001, η² = 0.504), a significant main effect of time (F = 41.69, p < 0.001, η² = 0.551), and a significant interaction effect between time and group (F = 73.93, p < 0.001, η² = 0.685) on cognitive fatigue severity. Bonferroni post hoc comparisons revealed significant reductions in cognitive fatigue from pretest to posttest (p < 0.001) and from pretest to follow-up (p < 0.001), as well as a smaller but significant difference between posttest and follow-up (p = 0.037) in the experimental group.

Conclusion: Short-term object relations therapy is an effective intervention for reducing cognitive fatigue in patients with MS, producing significant and sustained improvements that highlight the importance of addressing emotional and relational processes in the management of fatigue-related symptoms.

Purpose: The present study aimed to develop a structural model of fear of missing out (FoMO) based on identity styles, attachment styles, and parenting styles with the mediating role of behavioral brain systems among female university students using virtual social networks.

Methods and Materials: The present study employed a correlational design using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of female undergraduate students at Islamic Azad University during the 2025–2026 academic year. Based on the recommendation of Rex B. Kline (2023), 224 participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Fear of Missing Out Scale developed by Andrew Przybylski et al. (2013), the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory developed by Rosenthal et al. (1981), the Adult Attachment Style Questionnaire developed by Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver (1987), the Baumrind Parenting Styles Questionnaire (1971), the Behavioral Brain Systems Questionnaire developed by Charles Carver and White (1994), and the Internet Addiction Questionnaire developed by Kimberly Young (1999). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27 and LISREL version 8.8.

Findings: The results indicated that the proposed structural model demonstrated acceptable fit indices (RMSEA = .074, CFI = .92, IFI = .92, GFI = .91, χ²/df = 2.21). Identity coherence had a significant negative relationship with behavioral inhibition and FoMO and a positive relationship with behavioral activation. Identity confusion showed a positive and significant relationship with behavioral inhibition. Secure attachment negatively predicted behavioral inhibition and FoMO, whereas avoidant and anxious attachment styles positively predicted behavioral inhibition and FoMO. Authoritative parenting style negatively predicted FoMO and behavioral inhibition and positively predicted behavioral activation, whereas authoritarian and permissive parenting styles positively predicted FoMO and behavioral inhibition. Behavioral brain systems significantly mediated the relationships between identity styles, attachment styles, parenting styles, and FoMO.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that FoMO among female university students is influenced by a combination of identity-related, attachment-related, familial, and neuropsychological factors. Identity coherence, secure attachment, and authoritative parenting functioned as protective factors against FoMO, whereas identity confusion, insecure attachment styles, and maladaptive parenting styles increased vulnerability to FoMO. Furthermore, behavioral brain systems played a significant mediating role in explaining these relationships. The results highlight the importance of considering psychological, familial, and neurobiological mechanisms in understanding and preventing problematic social media engagement and FoMO among university students.

Purpose: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Young’s Schema Therapy and Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy on alexithymia in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Methods and Materials: The study employed an experimental design with pretest–posttest and a three-month follow-up, including a control group. The statistical population consisted of patients with chronic kidney disease in the city of Mashhad in 2023. A total of 45 participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups of 15 participants each (two experimental groups and one control group). The first experimental group received Young’s Schema Therapy over eight sessions, while the second experimental group underwent Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy over fifteen sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. The research instrument was the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) (Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994). The data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance.

Findings: The results indicated that both therapeutic approaches were significantly more effective than the control group in reducing alexithymia among patients with chronic kidney disease, and these effects remained stable at the three-month follow-up. However, comparison of the two interventions showed that Schema Therapy demonstrated significantly greater effectiveness than Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy at the follow-up stage (p < .001).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that both therapeutic approaches are beneficial and durable for patients with chronic kidney disease, with Schema Therapy exhibiting a statistically significant superiority.

Purpose: The present study aimed to design and test a causal model of fear of missing out (FoMO) based on identity styles with the mediating role of behavioral brain systems among female university students.

Methods and Materials: This study employed a descriptive-correlational design within the framework of structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of undergraduate female students at Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, during the 2025–2026 academic year. A sample of 224 participants was selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using three standardized instruments: the Identity Style Inventory, the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales, and the FoMO scale. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 27 and AMOS version 24. Assumptions of normality, linearity, independence of errors, and absence of multicollinearity were confirmed prior to model testing.

Findings: The results indicated that the proposed model demonstrated an acceptable fit (χ²/df < 3, CFI > 0.90, IFI > 0.90, RMSEA < 0.08). Identity cohesion showed a significant negative direct relationship with FoMO (β = -0.21, p < 0.01) and a significant relationship with both behavioral inhibition (β = -0.20, p < 0.01) and behavioral activation (β = 0.31, p < 0.01). Identity confusion showed a significant positive relationship with FoMO (β = 0.29, p < 0.01) and behavioral inhibition (β = 0.42, p < 0.01), and a significant negative relationship with behavioral activation (β = -0.22, p < 0.01). Indirect effects analysis revealed that behavioral brain systems significantly mediated the relationship between identity styles and FoMO, with all mediating paths significant at the 95% confidence level.

Conclusion: The findings confirm the significant role of identity styles and behavioral brain systems in explaining FoMO, highlighting that cohesive identity acts as a protective factor while identity confusion increases vulnerability, with behavioral inhibition and activation systems functioning as key mediating mechanisms.

Purpose: The present study aimed to explore and explain the structure and components of the spiritual education curriculum in lower secondary education based on a dynamic lifestyle approach from the perspective of experts and specialists.

Methods and Materials: This study was conducted using a qualitative approach with a phenomenological design. The participants consisted of eight experts and specialists in the field of spiritual education curriculum, who were selected through purposive and sequential sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews lasting between 45 and 90 minutes. To ensure rigor, criteria such as credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability were applied through strategies including member checking and expert review. Data analysis was carried out using Colaizzi’s seven-step method (1978), involving extraction of significant statements, formulation of meanings, clustering of themes, and validation of findings.

Findings: The analysis revealed that the spiritual education curriculum in lower secondary education is a multidimensional and integrated construct comprising eleven main themes and fifty-eight sub-themes. These themes include rationale, general principles, objectives, content, teaching strategies, evaluation, teacher role, learner role, family, environment, and time. The findings indicate that effective spiritual education is grounded in nurturing innate tendencies, value internalization, and meaning-making processes, while requiring coherence among curricular components, learner-centered approaches, contextual alignment, and continuous, dynamic implementation across educational settings.

Conclusion: The study concludes that the spiritual education curriculum, when framed within a dynamic lifestyle approach, functions as a holistic and context-sensitive system that integrates philosophical, pedagogical, and environmental dimensions to support adolescents’ identity formation, moral development, and existential understanding. The proposed framework highlights the necessity of aligning curriculum design with learners’ lived experiences and developmental needs, emphasizing flexibility, interaction, and sustained engagement to enhance the effectiveness of spiritual education in contemporary educational systems.

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of meaning-centered group therapy on the dimensions of illness attitude in women with amputation-related grief syndrome due to cancer.

Methods and Materials: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest and follow-up structure including an experimental and a control group. The statistical population consisted of women with breast cancer experiencing death anxiety and amputation-related grief who were referred to Seyed al-Shohada Hospital (AS) and the Alaa Cancer Prevention and Control Center in Isfahan. A total of 36 participants were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 18) and a control group (n = 18). The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of meaning-centered group therapy based on logotherapy principles, while the control group received no psychological intervention. Data were collected using the Illness Attitude Scale, Death Anxiety Scale, and Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale at three stages: pretest, posttest, and follow-up. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS-26.

Findings: The results indicated a significant effect of time (F = 36.82, p = 0.001), group (F = 28.17, p = 0.001), and the interaction of time and group (F = 39.74, p = 0.001) on illness attitude dimensions. The experimental group showed significant reductions in maladaptive illness attitudes from pretest to posttest (p = 0.001) and from pretest to follow-up (p = 0.001), while no significant change was observed between posttest and follow-up (p > 0.05), indicating stability of the intervention effects over time. No significant changes were observed in the control group across measurement stages.

Conclusion: Meaning-centered group therapy is an effective intervention for improving illness attitudes and reducing maladaptive cognitive-emotional responses in women with cancer-related amputation and grief, with sustained effects over time.

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of self-efficacy training on academic self-handicapping and hope among probation students at Yasouj University.

Methods and Materials: The present study employed a semi-experimental design with a pre-test–post-test control group structure. The statistical population consisted of all probation students at Yasouj University during the second academic semester of the 2023–2024 academic year. Forty probation students were selected using simple random sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Due to attrition, the final analysis was conducted on 36 participants. The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of self-efficacy training based on Bandura’s theory, while the control group received no intervention. Data were collected using the Self-Handicapping Scale developed by Jones and Rhodewalt and Snyder’s Hope Scale. Data analysis was conducted using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-24.

Findings: The findings indicated that self-efficacy training had a statistically significant effect on reducing academic self-handicapping among probation students in the experimental group compared to the control group (F = 21.59, p < 0.001, η² = 0.54). In addition, the intervention significantly increased hope among students in the experimental group compared to the control group (F = 48.12, p < 0.003, η² = 0.59). The multivariate analysis also demonstrated significant overall differences between the experimental and control groups across the dependent variables. These findings suggest that self-efficacy training effectively improved adaptive psychological functioning among probation students.

Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated that self-efficacy training is an effective psychological and educational intervention for reducing academic self-handicapping and increasing hope among probation students. Strengthening students’ efficacy beliefs may help improve academic adjustment, enhance motivation, reduce maladaptive coping strategies, and promote psychological resilience in academically vulnerable students. Therefore, incorporating self-efficacy-based interventions into university counseling and student support programs may contribute to improving students’ academic performance and psychological wellbeing.