The Mediating Role of Creative Thinking in the Relationship between Self-Differentiation and Self-Actualization of Couples in Mashhad

The aim of this study was to explore the role of self-differentiation in predicting couples' self-actualization with the mediation of creative thinking. This study was conducted using the descriptive correlational method, and the statistical population included all the couples in Mashhad. From among this population, 75 couples (150 people) were selected through the one-stage cluster sampling method, and they completed the Ahwaz Self-Actualization Inventory (ASAI), the Creative Thinking Questionnaire and the Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI). The data were analyzed using SPSS 24 software and the statistical tests matching the types of variables including Pearson correlation coefficient and path analysis. The results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between self-differentiation and self-actualization (P = 0.001), and creative thinking can play a mediating role in the relationship between these two variables such that self-differentiation in a direct path (b= 0.21) and creative thinking in an indirect path (b= 0.31) predict couples' self-actualization.