Examining General Self-Efficacy as a Mediator on the Relationship Between Smoking Urge and Religiosity: A Quantitative Study on High School Students

Numerous factors have an impact on the adolescents' desire to smoke. Self-efficacy and religiosity are generally related to attitudes toward smoking and have a reducing effect on smoking behavior. In this context, this article's main aim is to examine the predictive roles of self-efficacy and religiosity on smoking urges of adolescents and to determine whether self-efficacy has a mediating role in the effect of religiosity on smoking urge. The study was carried out with the participation of 308 boys and 352 girls attending an Anatolian Imam Hatip High School in Anatolian side of Istanbul in March 2020-2021 academic year. The research data were collected by the survey technique, and in the survey form Smoking Urge Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Religiosity Scale were used. Findings of the research indicated that self-efficacy and religiosity are significant predictors of adolescent's smoking urge. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that self-efficacy is ascertained as a partial mediator in the effect of religiosity on smoking urge. The findings obtained as a result of the research were discussed in the light of the literature, and some suggestions were made.