The Impact of Indigenous Identity and Treatment Seeking Intention on the Stigmatization of Substance Use
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The Impact of Indigenous Identity and Treatment Seeking Intention on the Stigmatization of Substance Use Emily Winters 1 & Nick Harris 1 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract
Substance use disorders (SUDs) are one of the most stigmatized mental health issues. There is a disproportionate burden of SUDs and related harms on Indigenous peoples in Canada. This study examined public stigma toward SUDs and if the degree of stigma would change as a result of Indigenous identity and treatment seeking intention. Participants (N = 711) were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes depicting a person living with a SUD and then completed an online survey. Vignettes differed on the character’s ethnicity (Caucasian vs. First Nations) and their treatment seeking intention (seeking treatment vs. not seeking treatment). Participants then completed a series of questionnaires to assess stigma. Significant main effects of both ethnicity and treatment seeking were found on all three outcome measures of stigma. Specifically, participants assigned a vignette depicting a First Nations person responded with more stigmatizing attitudes and participants assigned a vignette of a person not seeking treatment responded with more stigmatizing attitudes. Implications for these findings are discussed. Keywords Substance use . Indigenous . Treatment seeking . Stigma Substance use disorders (SUDs) have been reported as the most highly stigmatized group of mental disorders (Corrigan et al. 2009; Lang and Rosenberg 2017; Mannarini and Boffo 2015; McGinty et al. 2015; van Boekel et al. 2013). For example, individuals with SUDs elicit more
The first author was supported in part by a scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
* Nick Harris [email protected]
1
Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
social rejection and are often viewed as both dangerous and responsible or at fault for their disorder (Crisp et al. 2000; Schomerus et al. 2010). Indigenous peoples in Canada1 are at an increased risk for developing SUDs and are a marginalized group (Firestone et al. 2015). Furthermore, individuals with a SUD who have not sought treatment may also be at increased risk of being stigmatized (McGinty et al. 2015). The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the stigma surrounding SUDs and how that stigma changes based on the ethnicity (Caucasian vs. First Nations) and treatment seeking intention (seeking treatment vs. not seeking treatment) of the individual. Stigma refers to the co-occurrence of labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss and discrimination towards a group of individuals, coming from a position of power (Link and Phelan 2001). Stigma can have a number of negative consequences for stigmatized group members, particularly those suffering from a SUD (Louden 2009; van Boekel et al. 2013). For instance, it has been suggested that health care
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