The relationship between the self-efficiencies for protection from substance/alcohol addiction and the meaning of life and family beings in adolescents

INTODUCTION AND AIM: It is stated that self-efficacy, meaning to life and family belonging, effectively protects the individual from substance use and addiction in adolescence, where risky behaviours are expected. The research aimed to investigate the relationship between the self-efficacy of individuals in adolescence to protect themselves from substance addiction and the meaning of life and family belonging. METHOD AND MATERIAL: The research was carried out with 798 adolescents studying in secondary education institutions in Düzce city center between December 2021 and June 2022. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form", "Self-Efficacy for Protecting Adolescences from Substance Abuse Scale", "Meaning in Life Questionnaire High School Form", and "Family Sense of Belonging Scale." Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 23 program. p<0.05 was accepted for Statistical Significance. FINDINGS: It was founded on age, income equal/less, father's living status, overly concerned/authoritarian, smoking status, alcohol experience, the existence of meaning in life, self-affirmation, and family belonging characteristics predicted avoiding drugs/stimulants while under pressure (F=16,352, p<0,001, R2=0,174; F=28,230, p<0,001, R2=0,153). It was found that the dimensions of students' spending time with their family, smoking cessation, sense of self belonging and existence of meaning in life predicted the sub-dimension of seeking help regarding drugs/stimulants (F=33,307, p<0.001, R2=0.146). Age, place of residence, alcohol experience, and self-affirmation sub-dimension statistically significantly predicted the sub-dimension of supporting a friend regarding drugs/stimulants (F=8.502, p<0.001, R2=0.0.042). CONCLUSION: Adolescents' self-efficacy for protection from substance use varies according to some sociodemographic characteristics. Making sense of life and family belonging effectively affects adolescents' self-efficacy to protect themselves from substance addiction. These results are significant for nurses working in adolescent mental health to protect adolescents from substance abuse and to know the risk factors. Keywords: Substance Abuse, Adolescent, Self-Efficacy, Meaning of Life, Family Belonging