Assertiveness skill and use of Ecstasy among Iranian adolescents

Studies indicate that drug abuse is affected by assertiveness skill. This study was carried out to determine assertiveness skill and use of Ecstasy among adolescents who resided in the western part of Tehran.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, eight hundred adolescents, 16-18 years old, who resided in the western part of Tehran, participated in this study. The study setting was public regions of municipality in western area of Tehran. Data was gathered by "Rathus" assertiveness assessment˝ and self-structured questionnaire in use of Ecstasy. To analyze data, SPSS software and descriptive statistics and independent t test and χ ² test were used.
Results: Findings revealed that the mean score of assertiveness skill among most of adolescents was 13.05 ±20.75. About 7.6% of adolescents reported using Ecstasy at least once. The comparison of performance of males and females on χ ² test was significant (P≤0.0001). Among Ecstasy users, 71.8% used it non-continuously and 80% used 1-2 tablets in every term. Rate of boy Ecstasy users (11.2%) was significantly more than girl users (2.9%) (P≤0.000).
Conclusion: This study indicated no relationship between assertiveness skill and use of Ecstasy; however, regarding adolescents’ vulnerability, implementation of drug abuse prevention programs seems necessary.