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The upcoming article examines the relationship between the political participation index and the responsiveness and efficiency of government institutions. The independent variable is both formal and informal political participation, and the dependent variable is the responsive-ness and efficiency of government institutions. Research Method: The method employed in the article is quantitative, using a questionnaire as the tool. The research population consists of individuals aged 18 to 65 residing in the city of Kermanshah. According to the latest census, there were 952,287 people in this population. Using Cochran's formula, a sample of 384 individuals was selected, and the relationship and ratio between the independent and dependent variables were assessed using multiple regression analysis. Research Findings: The results indicate that both formal and informal political participation have a significant impact on im-proving the performance of government institutions. With an increase in the level of participation, the responsiveness and efficiency of government institutions will also improve. The research findings suggest that the average level of formal and informal political participation in Kermanshah is not at a desirable level. The obtained average scores regarding the performance of government institutions (responsiveness and efficiency) also have a low level. Additionally, the formal political participation variable has a greater impact compared to informal political participation.

The discussion on the relationship between religion and politics has a long history in Christianity, spanning several centuries. With the onset of modernity, especially with the theories proposed by Thomas Hobbes, the claim of secularism or the separation of religion from politics was raised and remains a subject of much debate to this day. Thomas Hobbes, in the aftermath of the religious wars in England during the 16th and 17th centuries, attempted to transform worldly power into the ulti-mate arbiter in the public sphere by separating the foundations of politics from religion, introducing the concept of "state religion." In contrast to the West, Islamic thought has consistently understood politics based on religious foundations. In the 20th century, due to colonization, the debate on the separation of religion from politics entered the Islamic world. With the victory of the Islamic Revo-lution, this Western claim was challenged, and Imam Khomeini introduced the theory of the "Reli-gious state," presenting the religious nature of political foundations in Islam in a novel way. Based on these foundations, this article aims to explore the relationship between religion and politics in the political thoughts of Thomas Hobbes and Imam Khomeini, both of whom, as founders and initia-tors of political thought, have presented era-defining views. In doing so, we seek to demonstrate, through an examination of their arguments, the perspectives on the relationship between religion and politics put forth by Imam Khomeini and Hobbes. Through this comparative analysis, we can highlight important points in these two types of thinking. Consequently, by considering the discus-sions regarding the relationship between religion and politics in Western and Islamic thought, using a descriptive-analytical approach, we pose the following questions: What is the relationship be-tween religion and politics in the political thoughts of Thomas Hobbes and Imam Khomeini? What is the concept of "state religion" according to Thomas Hobbes? What is the concept of the "Reli-gious state" according to Imam Khomeini?

Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of mindfulness training on experiential avoidance, self-compassion, and certain physiological indices in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Method: This applied research was conducted as a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test, and control group design. The population included all women with stage 1 and 2 breast cancer who were under medical care after completing chemotherapy or radiotherapy at Shahid Tajrish Hospital in 2020-2021. A convenience sampling method was used to select 40 female breast cancer patients, who were equally divided into an experimental group (20 participants) and a control group (20 participants). Data were collected using the Neff's Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003), the Bond et al.'s Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (2011), and physiological indices. Mindfulness training, based on the protocol by Lengacher et al. (2019), consisted of 8 sessions of 90 minutes each for the experimental group, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis. Findings: The results indicated that mindfulness training significantly increased self-compassion (F = 6.35, p < .05) and decreased experiential avoidance (F = 4.75, p < .05) in women with breast cancer. Additionally, the training significantly reduced cortisol levels (F = 7.38, p < .05), but did not have a significant effect on the concentrations of IL-6 (F = 0.83, p > .05) and CRP (F = 0.04, p > .05). Conclusion: Considering the current findings, it can be said that mindfulness training is effective in improving the psychological condition and reducing stress in women with breast cancer.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy and resilience-based play therapy on anxiety, executive functioning behaviors, and emotional expression in children aged 6 to 8 years undergoing dental treatment. Methods: The current research was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test design, including a control group and a two-month follow-up period. All children aged 6 to 8 visiting specialty dental clinics in Isfahan during the first six months of 2021 constituted the research population. Forty-five children were selected using purposive sampling based on inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to three equal groups of fifteen. Data collection was carried out using the Revised Children's Anxiety Scale - Short Form (Ahlen et al., 2018), the Emotion Expression Questionnaire - Child Form (Penza-Clyve & Zeman, 2002), and the Executive Functioning Questionnaire (Gioia et al., 2000). Cognitive-behavioral play therapy sessions were conducted based on the protocol by Hall, Kaduson, and Schaefer (2002), and resilience-based play therapy sessions followed the protocol by Nikneshan et al. (2019), each lasting for eight weekly sessions of 60 minutes. However, the control group did not receive these interventions. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and mixed ANOVA with SPSS software, version 26. Findings: Results indicated that the mean scores of executive functioning behaviors and their dimensions significantly improved in the experimental groups at post-test compared to the control group, and these improvements remained stable at follow-up (p < 0.05). Moreover, therapeutic interventions (both cognitive-behavioral and resilience-based play therapy) significantly improved scores on anxiety and emotional expressiveness compared to the control group. Additionally, post hoc Bonferroni tests showed that cognitive-behavioral play therapy was more effective than resilience-based play therapy in reducing anxiety scores and increasing skills in emotional expression and executive functioning in children undergoing dental treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings further clarify the role of play therapy in children undergoing dental treatment and highlight the necessity of using therapeutic approaches derived from the cognitive-behavioral model to modulate symptoms in these children.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and emotion-focused therapy on attachment patterns, communication patterns, and lifestyle of incompatible couples who referred to counseling centers. Methods: This study is applied research in nature and quasi-experimental in execution, utilizing a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all couples with incompatible spouses who referred to counseling centers (Behesht Counseling Center) in Isfahan in 2022. From this population, 45 individuals were selected using convenience and purposive sampling and divided into three groups: two experimental groups (each with 15 participants) and one control group (15 participants). The first experimental group underwent Goodwin's positive psychotherapy (2018) in ten sessions, and the second experimental group underwent Johnson's emotion-focused therapy (2006) in eight sessions. The questionnaires used in this study were Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Questionnaire (1987), Christensen and Sullaway's Communication Patterns Questionnaire (1984), and Miller-Smith's Lifestyle Questionnaire (2003). Findings: Using covariance analysis, the results indicated that, after controlling for pre-test levels, there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups of incompatible couples in terms of attachment patterns (secure, avoidant-insecure, and ambivalent-insecure), communication patterns (constructive mutual), communication pattern (demand/withdraw), communication pattern (avoidant), and lifestyle. The effect size was 0.48 for emotion-focused therapy. Similarly, significant differences were observed for positive psychotherapy with an effect size of 0.41. There was a significant difference in the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and emotion-focused therapy on attachment patterns (secure, avoidant-insecure, and ambivalent-insecure). Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that emotion-focused therapy has a greater impact on attachment patterns (secure, avoidant-insecure, and ambivalent-insecure) compared to positive psychotherapy. Significant differences were also observed in the impact on communication patterns (constructive mutual, demand/withdraw, and avoidant) and lifestyle, with emotion-focused therapy showing a greater effect.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to test the structural model of relationships between personality pathology dimensions and cyberbullying mediated by contingent self-worth in adolescent girls. Methods: This study was tested using the structural equation modeling method. The statistical population of this research included all adolescent female students in District 2 of Tehran during the 2020-2021 academic year. According to the data obtained from the Tehran Department of Education, their total number was 145,398. Based on Michel’s criteria (1993) and using multi-stage cluster sampling, 300 participants were selected as the sample. They responded to the Contingent Self-Worth Questionnaire by Crocker et al. (2003), the Cyberbullying Questionnaire by Antoniadou et al. (2016), and the short form of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5-BF). SPSS.22 and AMOS.22 software were used for data analysis. Findings: The findings from testing the structural model showed that the direct effect of abnormal personality on contingent self-worth was (-0.33), on cyberbullying (0.26), and the direct effect of contingent self-worth on cyberbullying was (-0.40). Contingent self-worth mediated the relationship between abnormal personality and cyberbullying, with the indirect effect of this relationship being (0.13) (P<0.01). Overall, the results indicated that the tested model had a good fit with the conceptual model (RMSEA=0.06; GFI=0.91). Conclusion: It can be concluded that contingent self-worth mediates the relationship between dimensions of abnormal personality and cyberbullying.

Objective: The present study aimed to explain attitudes toward extramarital relationships based on personality dimensions and sexual schemas, with the mediating role of sexual novelty-seeking. Methods: This research employed a descriptive-correlational design. The statistical population included all couples who referred to psychological counseling centers and family courts in Tehran in 2021. The sample size was determined as 674 individuals based on Morgan's table and selected using a convenience sampling method considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Individuals with anxiety or mood disorders were excluded from the study. Research instruments included the Attitudes Toward Extramarital Relationships Questionnaire by Mark (2006), the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (2004), the Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Contexts (QCSASC), and the Glass and Wright Justification for Extramarital Relationships Questionnaire (1992). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and path analysis with LISREL software version 10.20. Findings: Results indicated that 30.7% of the variance in attitudes toward extramarital relationships was indirectly explained by personality dimensions and sexual schemas, with the mediating role of sexual novelty-seeking. Based on the findings, attitudes toward extramarital relationships were positively and significantly predicted by neuroticism (path coefficient = 0.25), openness to experience (path coefficient = 0.84), sexual schemas (path coefficient = 0.27), and sexual novelty-seeking (path coefficient = 0.16). Conclusion: The findings revealed that attitudes toward extramarital relationships were negatively and significantly predicted by agreeableness (path coefficient = -0.38) and conscientiousness (path coefficient = -0.33). Thus, personality traits and sexual schemas predict extramarital relationships and sexual novelty-seeking.