A Structural Modeling Analysis of the Relationships among Psychological Factors Influencing Adolescent's Vulnerability to Substance Use with Mediating Role of Codependency

The aim of the current research was to explain the relationships among psychological factors influencing adolescents’ addiction potential with mediating role of codependency. This study had a descriptive, correlational design. The statistical population of the study comprised all high school girls and boys studying in public schools in district 16 of Tehran in academic year 2015-2016. The sample which included 400 students was selected via two-stage cluster sampling method. The instruments consisted of Addiction Potential Questionnaire, Codependency Inventory (CODI) (Stonebrink, 1988), as well as Risk and Protective Factors Inventory (RAPI). Regression and path analysis were used to analyze the obtained data. Sequential model building for prediction in regression analysis revealed that codependency can significantly have a mediating role between psychological factors and students’ addiction potential. The results were also indicative of the goodness of the structural equation modeling fit indexes. It could be concluded that the codependency as an acquired behavior, which includes self-negligence and losing individual identity, is formed under the effects of psychological factors and mediates the relation between psychological factors and addiction potential.