mediating role of differentiation of self in the direct relation between parental bonding and risky behaviors among adolescents and youths in shiraz

Background: prevalence of risky behaviors among various classes of society, especially adolescents and youths, is a major social problem, which inevitably slows down the societal progress. objectives: we aimed to investigate the mediating role of differentiation of self between parental bonding and risky behavior among adolescents and youths in shiraz. methods: this study included 560 adolescents and youths (aged from 15 to 35 years, average = 25.7, sd = 7.1; 67.7% males) with risky behaviors who were attending drop in center and voluntary counselling and testing centers, those incarcerated, and those kept in the correctional and rehabilitation facilities 2013 - 2014. questionnaires about parental bonding, self-differentiation, and risky behaviors were completed by the participants on a voluntary and confidential basis. results: nosignificant correlation was found between parental bonding and risky behaviors in the adolescents and youths (t = 1.87). there was also no significant correlation between parental bonding and ds (t = 0.68). moreover, there was no significant correlation between the differentiation of self and risky behaviors (t = 0.77). conclusions: differentiation of self hadn’t a mediating role between parental bonding and risky behaviors among the adolescents and youths in our study.