The Role of Ego–Strength and Parenting Styles in Predicting Vulnerability to Addiction with the Mediating Role of Emotional Repression in Male Adolescents

Objective: The present study was performed aiming to investigate the relationships of ego-strength and parenting styles to vulnerability to addiction with the mediating role of emotional repression in adolescents. Method: The present research was a correlational study. The statistical population of the study included all male high school students in the city of Osko who were studying in the academic year 2019-2020 (n=1100). Among them, a total of 200 male students and their mothers were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling method. Participants answered to the identifying people in risk of addiction questionnaire, the psychosocial inventory of ego-strength, the parenting styles questionnaire, and the adjustment inventory. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and structural equation modeling. Results: The proposed model had a good fit. Ego-strength and parenting styles had significant direct effects on vulnerability to addiction. Emotional repression also played a significant mediating role in the relationships of parenting styles and ego-strength to vulnerability to addiction. Conclusion: Dimensions of ego-strength and authoritative parenting style are able to explain the decreased adolescent addiction by reducing emotional repression. This can be useful as a suitable model for designing addiction prevention programs among adolescents and young people.