Students’ Relationships With Peers and Teachers in the Context of Substance Use

This article examines students’ relationships with their peers and teachers at school, exploring how these connections relate to adolescents’ use of psychoactive substances. The research was conducted using a diagnostic survey and an original questionnaire, involving 396 students aged 13 to 19 from primary, secondary, engineering, and vocational schools. The results revealed a significant relationship between adolescents’ connections with their peers and teachers and their substance use. Specifically, the greater the intensity of substance use among adolescents, the weaker their relationships with teachers and peers. Conversely, stronger relationships with school staff and peers were associated with fewer symptoms of alcohol and drug dependence. Academic performance, a mediating variable, played an important role in the study. The mean academic performance scores correlated significantly with adolescents’ relationships with teachers. The findings indicate that stronger relationships with school staff were associated with higher academic achievement, whereas lower academic performance correlated with higher levels of substance use among adolescents.