The causal model of family, environmental and individual factors on adolescent use of drugs in Karaj province villages

Drug abuse among adolescents is one of the main sanitary psychic- social challenges of societies. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship among parenting factors, peers, coping style, self-esteem, and aggression on drug abuse (Families, Environment and Individual Factors) among adolescents in Karaj villages. Participants of this study were 447 adolescents (239 female and 208 male) that were selected from the high school students of Karaj (Garmdarreh, Mohammadabad and Kamalabad) via multi-stage cluster sampling. The instruments for this study included scales of effective relation with parents and condition of peer groups, Risk and Protective Factor Inventory (RAPI) Questionnire, Risky Behavior Inventory Questionnire, Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), Rosenberg's self-esteem Index, Coping Inventory Stressful Situation (CISS). Path analysis was used in order to analyze and interpret the causal model that was adapted from adolescents’ social learning drug use model. According to indices of goodness of fit (meaningfulness of X2, low level of error, etc), the suggested model was completely suitable through controlling the hypothesis and making the variances constant. The results indicate that deviant peers and aggression have direct influence, and parental rejection has indirect influence on use of drugs. Also, the interaction of parental rejection, aggression, self-esteem, and deviant peers have a direct influence on use of drugs. Therefore, deviant peers, in addition to the direct influence, have a mediator role in the relationship between parental rejection and substance use. Familiar risky behaviors such as parental rejection, aggression and communication with deviant peers were the most predictive variables among adolescents. With this view in mind, the interventions that lead to improvement in the relationship of adolescents and peers and receiving attention from parents and reducing aggressive behaviors of adolescents, can reduce and prevent the use of drug among the adolescents.