Role of Basic Psychological Needs in Relationship Between Interpersonal Dependency and Mental Health

The aim of the present study was to explore the role of basic psychological needs in the relation between interpersonal dependency and mental health. To do so, 251 male and female psychology students of University of Tehran participated in the study. The sampling method was non-random and available. Participants provided self-reports on Interpersonal Dependency Inventory, Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction, Satisfaction With Life Questionnaire, and Anxiety and Depression Questionnaire. To analyze the data, the statistical methods of computing mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficients and structural equation methods were used. The results showed that the need for autonomy, competency, and the relatedness play a medi-ating role between types of dependency with life satisfaction, anxiety, and depression. Satis-faction of relatedness and competency mode-rates the relationship between types of dependency and all health variables, and Satis-faction of competency moderates the relation-ship between types of dependency and all health variables except the relationship bet-ween exploitable dependency and depression. Therefore, the results imply that basic psycho-logical needs are important in improving psychological health of individuals; Moreover, targeting these mediating variables can reduce symptoms in individuals, because it is more feasible and achievable than changing the quality of dependency.