مطالب

Pragmatic competence, a fundamental component of language ability, involves understanding a speaker’s intended meaning through various communicative functions. Among these functions, speech acts such as refusals and complaints play a crucial role in everyday interactions, allowing interlocutors to convey information and perform social actions. This study examines the production of refusal and complaint speech acts by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, addressing a gap in previous research that has often overlooked the potential influence of learners’ language proficiency, social status, gender, and mother tongue. Through purposive sampling, 120 participants were selected to respond to 10 role-play scenarios designed to elicit refusals and complaints. The data were analyzed qualitatively to identify patterns in speech act production. The findings reveal that most participants favored indirect strategies when expressing refusals and complaints. Moreover, the study found no significant effects of language proficiency, sociocultural background, mother tongue, or gender on how EFL learners produce these speech acts. These results contribute to a better understanding of pragmatic competence in EFL contexts and suggest that these sociolinguistic factors may have less impact on refusal and complaint strategies than previously assumed.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental overcontrol and adolescent social withdrawal, with fear of negative and positive evaluation as potential mediating variables. Methods: The research employed a descriptive correlational design and included a sample of 551 Nigerian adolescents selected based on the Morgan and Krejcie table. Data were collected using standardized self-report instruments: the Psychological Control Scale–Youth Self-Report (PCS-YSR) for parental overcontrol, the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES), and the Withdrawn/Depressed subscale of the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated using SPSS-27, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted via AMOS-21 to examine direct and indirect pathways among the variables. Findings: Pearson correlation analysis showed that parental overcontrol was significantly associated with fear of negative evaluation (r = .51, p < .001), fear of positive evaluation (r = .47, p < .001), and social withdrawal (r = .42, p < .001). SEM results confirmed that the structural model had good fit indices (χ² = 146.23, df = 84, χ²/df = 1.74, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.041). Parental overcontrol had significant direct effects on fear of negative evaluation (β = .51, p < .001), fear of positive evaluation (β = .48, p < .001), and social withdrawal (β = .27, p < .001). Both fears significantly predicted social withdrawal (FNE: β = .45, p < .001; FPE: β = .38, p < .001). Indirect effects of parental overcontrol on social withdrawal via FNE (B = 0.19, p < .001) and FPE (B = 0.14, p < .001) were also significant. Conclusion: These findings highlight that fear of evaluation—both negative and positive—serves as a psychological mechanism linking parental overcontrol to social withdrawal in adolescents, emphasizing the importance of addressing cognitive-affective vulnerabilities in preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the predictive roles of co-parenting quality and parenting stress in relation to child behavioral adjustment among parents in Morocco. Methods: A correlational descriptive design was employed involving a sample of 396 parents selected based on Krejcie and Morgan’s sampling table. Participants completed three standardized instruments: the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to assess child behavioral problems, the Parenting Stress Index–Short Form (PSI-SF) to measure perceived parenting stress, and the Co-parenting Relationship Scale (CRS) to evaluate co-parenting quality. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to examine the bivariate associations between the dependent variable and each independent variable. Multiple linear regression was then conducted to evaluate the joint predictive power of parenting stress and co-parenting quality on child behavioral adjustment, with all assumptions for regression analysis thoroughly checked and confirmed. Findings: Results showed a significant positive correlation between parenting stress and child behavioral problems (r = .56, p < .01), and a significant negative correlation between co-parenting quality and child behavioral problems (r = –.42, p < .01). Multiple regression analysis revealed that parenting stress (β = .48, t = 8.60, p < .01) and co-parenting quality (β = –.31, t = –6.75, p < .01) were both significant predictors of child behavioral adjustment. The overall model was significant (F(2, 393) = 129.72, p < .01), explaining 40% of the variance in child behavioral outcomes (R² = .40, Adjusted R² = .39). Conclusion: The findings highlight the critical roles of both relational and psychological parenting factors in child development. Interventions aiming to reduce parenting stress and enhance co-parenting quality may be effective in improving behavioral outcomes in children, especially in non-Western cultural contexts like Morocco.

This study compares the effectiveness of schema therapy and compassion-focused therapy on emotional self-awareness, hostile attribution, and critical thinking in adolescents with binge eating disorder. The aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of these two therapies on improving the cognitive and emotional aspects of individuals. The research method was a semi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest and control group. The statistical population consists of adolescents with binge eating disorder in Azarshahr. The samples that were selected as available were randomly divided into two therapy groups (n=15). The first group received schema therapy, while the second group received compassion-focused therapy. To collect data, the Hostile Attribution Questionnaire (Arntz et al., 2003), the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (Grant et al., 2002), and the Critical Thinking Questionnaire (Ricketts, 2003) were used. The results indicated that both therapies had a significant effect on increasing emotional self-awareness and reducing hostile attribution and critical thinking. However, compassion-focused therapy demonstrated a greater impact on reducing hostile attribution and improving critical thinking. The findings suggested that both approaches can be effective interventions for treating binge eating disorder in adolescents, with compassion-focused therapy being more effective in some aspects.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of narcissistic tendencies on marital relationship stability and examine the mediating role of emotional maturity in couples. Methods and Materials: This study employed a descriptive-correlational design and was conducted among married couples residing in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran. A total of 384 couples were selected using multistage cluster sampling. Inclusion criteria included at least two years of marital experience and no history of severe psychological disorders. Data were collected using three standardized instruments: the Marital Instability Index (MII), the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and the Emotional Maturity Scale (EMS). The psychometric properties of these tools were confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha and split-half reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and structural equation modeling (SEM) via SPSS and AMOS software. Bootstrapping was also employed to test the mediating effect. Findings: The results revealed that narcissistic tendencies were significantly and negatively associated with marital relationship stability (β = -0.32, p < .001). Emotional maturity was found to have a significant positive effect on marital stability (β = 0.43, p < .001) and a significant negative relationship with narcissistic tendencies (β = -0.38, p < .001). Importantly, emotional maturity partially mediated the relationship between narcissistic tendencies and marital stability (indirect effect β = -0.16, p < .01), and the total effect of narcissism on marital instability was substantial (β = -0.48, p < .001). The proposed model demonstrated a good fit to the data with acceptable fit indices. Conclusion: The findings suggest that narcissistic traits undermine marital stability directly and indirectly by reducing emotional maturity. Emotional maturity serves as a protective factor that enhances relational resilience. These results highlight the importance of addressing emotional development and personality traits in marital counseling and relationship education.

Speaking proficiency is a crucial skill for Iranian EFL learners, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects of language acquisition due to traditional, teacher-centered instruction and a lack of communicative practice. This study examines the effects of Differentiated Instruction (DI) and Gamification (G) on the Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) of Iranian EFL learners’ speaking skills. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 108 B2-level learners from Safir Language Institute, Iran. Participants were divided into three groups: one receiving DI-based instruction, another engaging in Gamification-based tasks, and a control group following conventional teaching methods. The study utilized pre- and post-tests of speaking performance, evaluated through CAF metrics, alongside qualitative interviews to explore learners’ perceptions. Statistical analyses revealed significant improvements in all three dimensions of speaking in the experimental groups, with DI showing greater gains in accuracy and complexity, while G was more effective in enhancing fluency. Qualitative findings indicated that both approaches increased learner engagement, motivation, and confidence. These results suggest that DI and Gamification are effective pedagogical strategies for improving speaking proficiency and should be integrated into EFL curricula to optimize learning outcomes.