Mediatory Roles of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in the Relationship between Religious Orientation and Addiction Potential among Adolescents

ue to cultural reasons, misbeliefs, and specific geographical location, Iran is a proper condition for the addiction of adolescents (1). Drug abuse put these individuals at high academic risk. In addition, poor adaptability and performance of schools raise the risk of school drop-out and decreases future opportunities to achieve a proper social status among adolescents. Furthermore, drugusing adolescents have a higher tendency to suicidal and criminal acts, compared to normal individuals (2). One of the factors that can effectively prevent and reduce mental disorders and their associated problems, such as suicide, drug addiction, depression, and anxiety, is religious beliefs. Religion is one of the factors affecting behaviors and cognition (3). Religious factors, through accentuating human values and creating a sense of safety, calmness, and trust, making life purposeful, and increasing tolerance in the face of problems, are regarded as protective factors against addiction, especially among juveniles. Various studies have evaluated the relationship between religion and addiction. In a review by Alterman, Casillo, Ivy, and Donna, religion, spirituality, and optimism were introduced as the main protective factors against drug abuse (4). Results obtained by Hajjarian and Ghanbari indicated a significant inverse relationship between religious orientation and D Abstract