Investigating the Role of Attitude towards Substance use in the Relationship between Students' Self-Efficacy and Preparedness for Addiction

Introduction: Drug use in adolescents and its implications are an important public health issue that can lead to long-term costs. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the role of attitude towards substance in the relationship between students’ self-efficacy and preparedness for addiction. Method: The present descriptive-correlational study was performed on 228 high school students (116 girls, 112 boys) in Lorestan province, Iran who were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Data collection tools included Rahmati Attitude towards Substance Questionnaire (ASQ), Muris Self-efficacy Questionnaire-Children (SEQ-C), and Zargar Iranian Addiction Potential Scale (IAPS). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis in SPSS software version 22. Results: The results show that there are significant correlations between attitude towards substance, self-efficacy and addiction preparedness (P < 0.05). Also, the results of hierarchical regression analysis indicate that attitude towards substance can moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and addiction preparedness (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the attitude towards substance plays a moderating role in the relationship between self-efficacy and addiction preparedness. Therefore, changing the attitude of individuals to substance can reduce the tendency of adolescents to consume drugs. Keywords: