Factors Influencing Nursing Students' Attitudes toward Substance Abuse

Purpose: To investigate effects of nursing students' stress level, stress coping, and SNS addiction tendency on their attitudes toward substance abuse.Methods: A self-report questionnaire was used for 124 nursing students. Collected data were analyzed through multiple regression analysis.Results: Participants’ attitudes towards substance abuse scored 0.23 out of 3. Their level of stress scored 2.01 out of 5. Their problem-solving oriented coping scored 2.30 out of 3. Their social support-oriented coping scored 2.16 out of 3. Their avoidance-oriented coping scored 1.80 out of 3 and their SNS addiction tendency scored 1.75 out of 4. Their stress levels (β=0.04, <i>p</i>=.021) and source of information (β=7.18, <i>p</i>=.005) influenced their attitudes towards substance abuse, showing an explanatory power of 11.3% (F=8.86, <i>p</i><.001).Conclusion: Effective stress management strategies and interventions might be crucial for shaping healthier attitudes towards substance use among nursing students. Additionally, as sources of information emerged as influential factors, mandatory educational curricula that can serve as official channels for shaping knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to substance abuse might be needed to ensure that nursing students are well-prepared to address these challenges both personally and professionally.