Social Psychology Research

Abstract Introduction: With the increasing participation of women in the labor market, the simultaneous fulfillment of occupational and family roles can create interpersonal conflicts and marital problems. In this context, marital burnout, as a significant consequence of work–family conflict and insecure attachment styles, can affect the quality of life of employed women. Despite previous studies examining bivariate relationships among these variables, the mediating role of covert relational aggression has received less attention. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of covert relational aggression in the relationship between work–family conflict and attachment styles with marital burnout among employed women Methods: This study employed a descriptive-correlational design using path analysis. The statistical population included married employed women attending counseling centers in District 5 of Tehran during 2021–2022. A total of 250 participants were selected through purposive sampling, and data from 225 participants were ultimately analyzed. Research instruments included the Work–Family Conflict Questionnaire (Netemeyer et al., 1996), the Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read, 1990), the Marital Burnout Scale (Pines, 1996), and the Covert Relational Aggression Scale (Nelson & Carroll, 2006). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and path analysis in SPSS 26 and AMOS 23. Results: The results showed that secure attachment style had a negative but non-significant direct effect on marital burnout (β = -0.152, p > 0.05). Insecure attachment style had a significant positive direct effect on covert relational aggression (β = 0.128, p < 0.05) and on marital burnout (β = 0.189, p < 0.01). Work–family conflict had a significant positive direct effect on covert relational aggression (β = 0.184, p < 0.01) and on marital burnout (β = 0.173, p < 0.01). Covert relational aggression had a significant positive direct effect on marital burnout (β = 0.173, p < 0.01). Bootstrap results further indicated that the indirect effects of attachment styles and work–family conflict on marital burnout through covert relational aggression were significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicate that employed women who experience conflict between occupational and family roles are more likely to experience emotional exhaustion and marital burnout if they possess insecure attachment styles and engage in aggressive and indirect relational patterns. Therefore, training in communication skills, emotion regulation, and conflict management may be effective in reducing marital burnout among employed women and improving the quality of couple relationships.

Abstract Introduction: Victims of bullying often exhibit deficits in self-efficacy and adaptive problem-solving styles. Short-term solution-focused group therapy may serve as an effective intervention for improving these psychological variables. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of short-term solution-focused group therapy on self-efficacy and problem-solving styles in adolescents who have experienced bullying victimization.
Method: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test and a control group. The statistical population comprised all male first-year high school students in District 1 of Rasht during the 2024–2025 academic year. Following a two-stage screening process, a convenience sample of 30 participants was selected and randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). The experimental group received seven 90-minute sessions of short-term solution-focused group therapy. Data were collected using the Illinois Bullying Scale (Espelage & Holt, 2001), the Bullying/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1996), the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Morris, 2001), and the Problem-Solving Styles Questionnaire (Cassidy & Long, 1996). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed for data analysis.
Results: The findings revealed that short-term solution-focused group therapy had a statistically significant effect on all components of self-efficacy, with the exception of social self-efficacy, and on all components of problem-solving styles, with the exception of the creative style (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: Short-term solution-focused group therapy, by fostering a positive group atmosphere, appears to enhance problem-solving skills and improve self-efficacy beliefs. These improvements, in turn, may increase the capacity of adolescent bullying victims to effectively cope with victimization experiences.

Abstract Introduction: Children with complex trauma frequently exhibit high levels of perceived stress and anger, which significantly impair their psychological and social functioning. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-based exposure narrative therapy in reducing these symptoms.
Methods: A quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest control group was employed. The population consisted of all 9- to 10-year-old children with complex trauma referred by the Ardabil Welfare Organization in 2024. Using convenience sampling, 30 children were selected and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=15) or a control group (n=15). The experimental group received ten 45-minute sessions of computer-based exposure narrative therapy, while the control group received no intervention. Measures included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein et al., 2003), the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1983), and the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1999). Data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS-26.
Results: The results demonstrated that computer-based exposure narrative therapy significantly reduced levels of perceived stress (p < 0.05) and anger (p < 0.05) in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that computer-based exposure narrative therapy is an effective intervention for reducing perceived stress and anger in children with complex trauma. This approach shows promise for improving social relationships, reducing negative thoughts, and enhancing emotional and behavioral regulation in this population.

Abstract Introduction: Antisocial behaviors—characterized by actions that violate social norms and laws, such as aggression, violence, and property damage—can have severe consequences for adolescents, including academic struggles, social difficulties, and legal repercussions. These behaviors also harm interpersonal relationships with family and peers. This study examined the mediating role of vengeful tendencies in the relationship between effortful control and antisocial behavior among adolescents in Shiraz, Iran.  Method: The study population included all high school students in Shiraz during the 2022-2023 academic year. A sample of 567 students was selected using multi-stage cluster random sampling. Participants completed validated measures of Effortful Control (Ellis & Rothbart, 2001), Vengeful Tendencies (Flores-Camacho et al., 2022), and Antisocial Behavior (Burt & Donnellan, 2009). Path analysis was conducted using SPSS-24 and AMOS-24 to test the proposed model.  Results: The model demonstrated good fit. Findings revealed significant direct effects of effortful control on vengeful tendencies (p = 0.000, β = -0.51), effortful control on antisocial behavior (p = 0.000, β = -0.11), and vengeful tendencies on antisocial behavior (p = 0.000, β = 0.13). Additionally, vengeful tendencies mediated the relationship between effortful control and antisocial behavior (p = 0.000, β = -0.29) at the 0.01 level.  Conclusion: The results suggest that improving effortful control may reduce vengeful tendencies and, consequently, antisocial behaviors in adolescents. 

Abstract Introduction: In the body of research that has been conducted with the aim of finding factors affecting the reactions of bystanders of
Introduction: Extensive research has explored the factors influencing bystander responses to cyberbullying, yet the relationship between the gender of the cyberbully, cybervictim, and bystander and its impact on bystander intervention remains inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the interactive effects of the gender of the cyberbully, cybervictim, and bystander on the bystander’s helping intention and tendency to blame the victim. 
Method: This study employed an experimental design, manipulating the gender of the cyberbully, cybervictim, and bystander within a simulated cyberbullying scenario. Participants were college students from Tehran and Hormozghan Universities during the second semester of 2003–2004. A sample of 601 students was recruited via an online advertisement on social media. Participants completed post-test measures, including scales for bystander helping intention and victim blaming, through an online survey platform. Data were analyzed using a three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS 27, with a significance level of 0.05. 
Results: The findings revealed a nuanced and dynamic relationship between gender and both victim blaming and bystander helping intention. Notably, female victims received higher blame attribution, while male victims were associated with lower bystander intentions to help (p < 0.05). 
Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of accounting for gender-related complexities when designing prevention and intervention strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of cyberbullying. 

Abstract Introduction: Identifying the factors implicated in adolescent bullying perpetration, particularly moral mechanisms, is important for driving research, policy, and practice to prevent and reduce adolescent bullying behavior. Therefore, based on the social-cognitive model of moral identity and the social-cognitive theory of moral agency, the present study examined the relationship between moral identity and bullying of Iranian adolescents with the mediating role of moral disengagement. Methods: The participants consisted of 392 adolescent (217 male and 175 female) high school students in Kuhdasht, aged 15-18 years (M = 16.44 and SD = 0.72). They were selected using a multistage random sampling method and completed the Parada Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument (2000), Aquino and Reed's Moral Identity Scale (2002), and Bandura’s Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (1996). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings: The findings showed that moral identity negatively and significantly predicted bullying (β = -0/37) and moral disengagement (β = -0/27). Also, moral disengagement played a positive and significant role in predicting bullying (β = 0/23). In addition, the results of structural equation modeling indicated that moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between moral identity and bullying (β = -0/051). Conclusion: In sum, these findings highlight the role of moral identity and moral disengagement in adolescent bullying behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Abstract Introduction: Cyber aggression is a new form of interpersonal violence among adolescents that can cause a lot of damage to their mental health, so it is necessary to address its underlying factors. Therefore, the present study was conducted to predict cyber aggression based on empathy, moral indifference, and rumination of anger in adolescents. Method: The research method was a correlational description. The statistical population of this research was all the students studying in the second-period boys' high schools in Tabriz in the academic year 2022-2023, and 395 people were selected by the multi-stage cluster sampling method based on Morgan's sampling table. Anger rumination questionnaires (ARS), basic empathy scale, cyber aggression questionnaire for adolescents (CYBA), and moral indifference questionnaire were used in this research. The data were analyzed using the simultaneous regression analysis test. Results: The results showed that there is a significant negative relationship between cyber aggression and emotional empathy (P<0.05) and a positive relationship between moral indifference and anger rumination with cyber aggression (P<0.01); Also, the results showed that 0.27 changes in cyber aggression are explained by emotional empathy, moral indifference, and anger rumination subcomponents. Also, cognitive empathy, memories of anger, and understanding the causes do not have a significant contribution to predicting cyber aggression (P<0.0001). Conclusion: The present study showed that to control behaviors such as cyber aggression, more attention should be paid to emotional and moral components such as empathy, moral indifference, and anger rumination.

Abstract Introduction: Aggressive behavior is one of the problems that negatively affects teenagers, especially their growth and academic performance. The aim of the present study was to modeling of aggression in school based on family functioning, neuroticism, and school climate with the mediating role of belief about aggression, empathy, and school attachment among students.
Method: The research method was correlation and structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all middle school male students (second period) in Harsin county in the academic year 2021-2022, number 1918, and 450 were randomly selected as a sample. Research data was collected with the McMaster family measurement questionnaires (Baldwin and Bishab, 1983), the school climate and identity questionnaire (Lee et al., 2017), the Neo personality questionnaire (McCree and Costa, 1985), the scale Revised Belief About Aggression (Campbell, Munser, McManius, & Woodhouse, 1999), Adolescent Empathy Questionnaire (Wozen et al., 2015), School Attachment Questionnaire (Moton, DeVaya, & Glazier, 1993), Aggression scale (Orpinas and Frankosky, 2001). Data were analyzed using the structural equation method in spss27 and amos27 software packages.
Findings: The structural equation model supported the hypotheses that family functioning, neuroticism, school climate, belief about aggression, empathy, and school attachment all have causal effects on students' aggression in school.
Conclusion: According to the research findings, family functioning, neuroticism, school climate, belief about aggression, empathy and school attachment play an essential role in students' aggression in school.