Work

Stigma, Discrimination, Treatment Effectiveness, and Policy: Public Views About Drug Addiction and Mental Illness

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Public attitudes about drug addiction and mental illness were compared. METHODS: A Web-based national survey (N=709) was conducted to compare attitudes about stigma, discrimination, treatment effectiveness, and policy support in regard to drug addiction and mental illness. RESULTS: Respondents held significantly more negative views toward persons with drug addiction. More respondents were unwilling to have a person with drug addiction marry into their family or work closely with them. Respondents were more willing to accept discriminatory practices against persons with drug addiction, more skeptical about the effectiveness of treatments, and more likely to oppose policies aimed at helping them. CONCLUSIONS: Drug addiction is often treated as a subcategory of mental illness, and insurance plans group them together under the rubric of "behavioral health." Given starkly different public views about drug addiction and mental illness, advocates may need to adopt differing approaches to reducing stigma and advancing public policy.

Source: Psychiatric Services

DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201400140

Authors: Colleen L. Barry, Emma E. McGinty, Bernice A. Pescosolido, Howard H. Goldman

Institutions: University of Maryland, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, Indiana University Bloomington

Language: English

Topic: Mental Health Treatment and Access

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse