Risk and protective factors predicting substance use in Iranian adolescent boys

Substance abuse is one of the challenges facing adolescent boys. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk and protective factors associated with substance use in Iranian adolescent boys. The data were searched using the systematic review method in four databases of Civilica, Noormags, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Iranian Scientific Database, and 246 documents were found. Twenty Persian studies that examined individual, family, social and biological risk and protective factors related to the use of psychoactive substances in adolescent boys in Iranian society in the last twenty years met the criteria for inclusion in this study. 20 variables were identified and grouped as risk factors and 26 as protective factors. Among the identified variables, 4 variables had a strong correlation, 35 variables had a moderate correlation and 7 variables had a weak correlation with substance use. Among the risk factors of Academic alienation, emotionality, and negative emotions and among the protective factors of prosocial behavior, resilience and family functioning had the highest correlation with substance use. The analysis of the findings showed that the frequency and intensity of emotional experiences, significantly negative emotions such as sadness and anger, and their regulation strategies strongly correlate with the criterion of substance use in Iranian adolescent boys.