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Published Online: 1 October 2014

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

Colleen L. Barry, Ph.D., M.P.P., Emma E. McGinty, Ph.D., M.S., Bernice A. Pescosolido, Ph.D., and Howard H. Goldman, M.D., Ph.D.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric Services
Volume 65, Number 10
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400140
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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.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
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Cover: Shamrock Ranch, by Peter Hurd, 1962. Watercolor, 12 × 16 inches. New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe. Gift of the family of Edythe C. Mattone, 2005.

Psychiatric Services
Volume 65 • Number 10 • October 2014
Pages: 1269 - 1272
PubMed: 25270497

History

Published online: 1 October 2014
Published in print: October 2014

Authors

Details

Colleen L. Barry, Ph.D., M.P.P.
Dr. Barry and Dr. McGinty are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Barry is also with the Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Pescosolido is with the Schuessler Institute for Social Research and the Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Goldman, who is editor of Psychiatric Services, is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
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Emma E. McGinty, Ph.D., M.S.
Dr. Barry and Dr. McGinty are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Barry is also with the Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Pescosolido is with the Schuessler Institute for Social Research and the Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Goldman, who is editor of Psychiatric Services, is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
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Bernice A. Pescosolido, Ph.D.
Dr. Barry and Dr. McGinty are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Barry is also with the Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Pescosolido is with the Schuessler Institute for Social Research and the Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Goldman, who is editor of Psychiatric Services, is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
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Howard H. Goldman, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Barry and Dr. McGinty are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: [email protected]). Dr. Barry is also with the Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Pescosolido is with the Schuessler Institute for Social Research and the Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Goldman, who is editor of Psychiatric Services, is with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.
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