The relationship between social influences and adolescents' substance use-related cognitions

Background: Increasing substance use among adolescents has prompted investigation in the emergence and evolution of substance use behaviors. Two basic elements which are influenced in person's behavior are self-efficacy and outcome expectancies. While the importance of these construct is high, their origin is less clear. In the present study we sought to elucidate influences of social influence on the development of cognition factors as predictors of substance use behavior.Methods: Structural equation modeling was used to assess the fit of a model that proposes that self-efficacy and outcome expectancies are mediators of the association between social influences and substance use behavior in 720 adolescents, aged between 14 and 18, in the cross-sectional survey in Isfahan, Iran.Results: Positive expectancies, in contrast to negative ones, form positive attitudes regarding drug use. The phenomenon combined with a sense of low resistance self-efficacy leaded to the substance use behavior. The model provided a good fit to the data and explained 53% of the variance in substance use behavior in adolescents.Conclusions: Results of the study shed light on the development of substance use-related cognitions and contribute to our understanding of the structural relationship between social influence, expectancies, and self-efficacy in substance use behavior in adolescents.