The Impact of Solution-Focused Emotional Self-Efficacy Psychoeducation on Reducing Risk for Substance Use in Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Study

This study examines the effectiveness of a solution-focused emotional self-efficacy psychoeducation program in reducing the risk of substance use among adolescents with relatively low self-efficacy for resisting substance use. A total of 112 high school students participated in this single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Data were collected using the Student Information Form, the Solution-Building Inventory (SBI), the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES), and the Self-Efficacy for Protecting Adolescents from Substance Abuse Scale (SEPASAS). Prior to the psychoeducation program, no significant differences were observed between the groups for SEPASAS scores (p = 0.696), indicating comparable baseline levels of self-efficacy preventing substance use. Following the intervention, SEPASAS scores increased significantly in the intervention group (p < 0.001) and remained significantly higher than those of the control group at follow-up (p < 0.001). At baseline, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of ESES and SBI scores (p = 0.669 and p = 0.574, respectively). However, after implementation of the psychoeducation program, the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in both emotional self-efficacy and solution-focused skills (p<.001 for both measures). Although a slight decline in mean scores was observed at follow-up, the gains remained statistically significant (ESES: p<0.001; SBI: p < 0.001). These findings highlight the effectiveness of a school-based psychoeducational intervention grounded in emotional self-efficacy and solution-focused principles. The sustained improvements suggest that such programs may serve as a valuable component of comprehensive, school-based strategies aiming to reduce adolescent risk of substance use.