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To Blame or Not to Blame: the Role of Belief in Free Will in Substance Use and Suicide Stigma

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Abstract

Belief in free will reflects the view that behaviors can be controlled via willpower. If a condition is thought to result from a lack of willpower, individuals with that condition may be subject to higher levels of stigma due to greater attribution of blame. In a study conducted online, we manipulated belief in free will experimentally by giving 200 Turkish participants a list of sentences about free will and asking them to explain why these statements are either true or false (depending on their randomly assigned condition). The manipulation did change significantly belief in free will and substance use stigma, but not suicide stigma. Furthermore, belief in free will mediated the effect of the manipulation on stigma related to both substance use and suicide. Efforts to reduce stigma related to substance use and suicide may include strategies to change beliefs about the role of free will in these conditions.

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Funding

Hazal Ozkok was funded by the National Scholarship Programme for Master’s Students by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (no grant number). This study was also supported by the UAB Sparkman Center for Global Health. Funders did not influence the research and manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Koc University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, 34450, Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey

    Hazal Ozkok, Burcu H. Tatar, Tugba Naz Ayyıldız, Mehmet Eskin, Gizem Erdem & Bulent Turan

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Burcu H. Tatar

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  1. Hazal Ozkok
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  2. Burcu H. Tatar
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  3. Tugba Naz Ayyıldız
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  4. Mehmet Eskin
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  5. Gizem Erdem
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  6. Bulent Turan
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Contributions

All authors were involved in conceptualizing this study. HO, BHT, TNA, and BT designed the study and collected data. BHT and BT analyzed data. HO, BHT, and TNA wrote the first draft of the manuscript. ME and GE reviewed, edited, revised the manuscript, and wrote sections of the introduction and discussion. All authors contributed to and approved the final draft of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hazal Ozkok.

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Ethics Approval

The questionnaire and methodology for this study was approved by the Committee on Human Research at Koç University (2020.202.IRB3.082).

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Hazal Ozkok and Burcu H. Tatar have contributed equally.

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Ozkok, H., Tatar, B.H., Ayyıldız, T.N. et al. To Blame or Not to Blame: the Role of Belief in Free Will in Substance Use and Suicide Stigma. Int J Ment Health Addiction 20, 3301–3314 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00755-8

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