Predicting Drug Use Tendency among University Students Based on Family's Emotional Atmosphere and Self-Concept

Abstract

Background and Objective: Students entering a new place for studying will be exposed to psychosocial stresses such as the risk of addiction. Therefore, the present study aimed to predict drug abuse tendency among students based on family’s emotional atmosphere and self-concept in at Mohaghegh Ardabili University. Materials and Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted with participation of 200 Bachelor students who resided in the dormitory of the University of Mohaghegh Ardebil in 2016-2017. Participants were selected through convenience sampling method. Family affective strain (Bern), Self-concept Scale (Beck) and Readiness for Addiction Scale (Reed & Boucher) were used for data collection. Data were entered into SPSS-23 software and analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results: The mean (SD) age of participants was 20.1 (1.9). Positive emotional atmosphere score of the family with a mean (SD) of 40.7 (9.4) as well as positive self-concept with a mean (SD) of 28.4 (8.2) negative correlated with the score of tendency to abuse drugs with a mean (SD) of 48.0 (14.2). In addition, 21% of the total variance of substance abuse tendency among students was predicted by family emotional atmosphere and self-concept (P<0.01). Conclusion: The study indicated that the tendency to abuse drugs among students increased with decreased score of emotional atmosphere in the family and positive self-concept. The results of this study could counsel centers within the universities and families to further understand the role of the family's emotional atmosphere and students' self-concept in reducing or increasing the tendency to abuse drugs and be able to implement appropriate interventions by taking these variables into account. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22037/ch.v5i4.19569

Keywords

• Family's emotional atmosphere, Self-concept
• Drug use, University Students