Prediction of Attitude toward Substance Use on the Basis of Positive Youth Development and Life Satisfaction among Adolescents

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of positive youth development and life satisfaction with attitude toward substance use in high school students of Qom city.
This study was a descriptive research, which falls within the category of correlational studies. The senior high school students of Qom city constituted the statistical population of this study, among whom the number of 385 students (198 girls and 187 boys) was selected through multistage cluster sampling. The participants completed Geldhof et al.'s Positive Youth Development Scale, Diener et al.'s Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Rezaee et al.'s Attitude toward Substance Use Questionnaire.
Pearson correlation results indicated that the components of positive youth development has a significant negative relationship with attitude toward substance use. In addition, a significant negative relationship was observed between the components of attitude toward substance use and life satisfaction. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that the components of positive youth development (connection, character, and caring) and life satisfaction respectively make the highest contribution to the prediction of attitude toward substance use.
The current research findings emphasized the need for attention to the assets and resources of positive youth development and life satisfaction as the effective factors in reducing addiction and substance use among students.