Investigation of variables related to willpower in high school students

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between willpower and demographic variables and various psychosocial factors among high school students, and to identify the variables predicting willpower. The study was conducted as a quantitative research based on the relational survey model. The study group consisted of 1,087 volunteer high school students (599 females, 488 males) enrolled in public high schools in Erzincan during the 2024–2025 academic year. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Social Problem Solving Inventory, the Digital Addiction Scale, the Perceived Self-Regulation Scale, the Short Form of the Perceived Parental Attitudes – Child Form, and the Willpower Septet Scale. Descriptive and advanced statistical analyses were employed in the data analysis process. The results indicated that willpower levels differed significantly according to certain demographic variables and that willpower was positively associated with social problem-solving skills, perceived self-regulation, perceived social support, and positive parental attitudes, while being negatively associated with digital addiction and rejecting parental attitudes. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that individual and social variables were significant predictors of willpower, explaining 42% of the variance. The findings highlight the importance of considering both individual skills and social environmental factors in the development of willpower during adolescence.