The Relationship between Family-Social Factors and Substance Use: the Mediating Role of Individuals' Temperament, Character, Psychological Capital, and Beliefs

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between family-social factors and substance use through the mediating role of the components of temperament, character, psychological capital, and beliefs. A descriptive-correlational research method was employed for the conduct of this study. All the 18-35-year-old male substance users in Qom who had presented to addiction treatment camps and Qom addiction centers in 2017 and 2018 constituted the statistical population of the present study. From among this population, the number of 320 participants was selected via convenience sampling method. Mohammadkhani's High-Risk Behaviors Questionnaire for Adults, Scale of Effective Factors in Drug Abuse Tendency among Youth, Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and Luthans Psychosocial Capital Questionnaire were the measurement instruments used for data collection in this study. The proposed model was evaluated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in Amos software. The model was revealed to enjoy desired fitness indices. Family had indirect effects on substance use through positive attitudes towards substances, self-directiveness, and resiliency. Friends had indirect effects on substance use through positive attitudes toward substances, harm avoidance, and self-directiveness. The market of substances indirectly affected substance use through the mediation of positive attitudes towards substance use. Moreover, positive attitudes towards substance use and high levels of harm avoidance had a direct and positive impact on substance use; and low levels of self-directiveness and resiliency had a direct negative effect on substance sue. From among the exogenous variables, friends with the coefficient of 0.303 had the highest indirect effect on substance use; and from among the mediating variables, harm avoidance with the coefficient of 0.782 had the highest direct impact on substance use. The current findings were in line with those of similar prior studies and are considered an important step to explain the factors affecting substance use. The present findings can also be regarded as a model for the design of comprehensive prevention programs for high-risk behaviors.