The Role of Educational Policy-Making in Changing Awareness and Attitude (Risk Perception) in Adolescents and the Youth in Preventing Substance Dependence

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of educational policy-making in changing awareness and attitude (risk perception) in adolescents and the youth in preventing substance dependence. Method: This research was applicable in terms of purpose and the research method was a mixed method with the exploratory approach. At first, 15 experts in the field of education and psychology were interviewed using a qualitative method. In the quantitative part, the target population was male and female adolescents and the youth aged 12 to 35 years old in selected cities of Isfahan province, among them 384 people were selected using multi-stage cluster random sampling and the research questionnaire was distributed among them. The data were analyzed by the Delphi technique. Results: The results of the Delphi technique identified eight indicators (sensitization, awareness in family education sessions, training of educators, new teaching methods, mass media, cleaning polluted environments, modeling, and rules and regulations). Conclusion: The results indicate that attention to cultural strategies in comparison with other strategies, by influencing the attitude of the target community, plays an important role in limiting and preventing substance dependence.