Abstract
Stigma facilitates negative outcomes for those with substance use disorders (SUDs), such as restricted healthcare access, job loss, and social ostracization. Many professionals advocate for reducing stigmatizing language in their conduct. However, there remains a notable degree of stigmatizing language in self-report measures. Thus, I aimed to examine psychometric changes from replacing stigmatizing language in self-report measures and test if these changes affect the respondents’ stigmatizing beliefs. I conducted a randomly assigned double-masked experiment with undergraduates (n = 125; Mage = 19.18, SD = 1.05; 62% female; 58% White), Reddit users (n = 224; Mage = 31.28, SD = 9.21; 58% male; 82% White), and Buddhist Recovery Network members (n = 136; Mage = 50.48, SD = 11.50; 61% male; 94% White). The participants completed either the original version of the Addictions Belief Inventory consisting of stigmatizing terms (e.g., drug abuser) or a modified version consisting of non-stigmatizing terms (e.g., those with SUDs). I found no changes to the psychometric properties when I compared the factor structures, distributions, and construct validities. There was a minor reduction in one subscale’s internal consistency and a large change in the mean scores, which varied by sample type. Removing stigmatizing language did not change the measure’s psychometric properties notably. However, I found that removing stigmatizing language reduces stigmatizing beliefs and that this reduction was substantial, especially for those who have no history of SUDs, such as some undergraduates or Reddit users. These findings support an ongoing effort to reduce stigmatizing language among professionals and academics.
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Data Availability
All data, syntax, and materials are available on an OSF (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KJ5SE).
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Vanessa Wang, MA, who helped with recruiting Recovery Dharma and the Buddhist Recovery Network members and facilitated communication with their boards and myself. I thank David Gilbert, PhD, who reviewed and provided feedback on the study content and institutional review board application. I am grateful to the Recovery Dharma and the Buddhist Recovery Network board for promoting this study in their newsletters and to their members for participating. I am grateful of the Reddit users and subreddit moderators in the following communities who participated in and approved this study: r/meth, r/DXMabusehelp, r/Drugs, r/shroomers, r/harmreduction, r/cocaine, r/MDMA, r/askdrugs, r/DextroDoomers, r/gabapentin, r/benzodiazepines, r/quittingkratom, r/researchchemicals, r/cannabisextracts, r/shrooms, r/marijuana, r/opiatesrecovery, r/sober, r/opiates, r/psychonaut, and r/LSD. I thank the Southern Illinois University Department of Psychology for their support and the undergraduates who participated in this study.
Funding
The National Institute of Drug Abuse supported the author while writing this manuscript through their postdoctoral fellowship training grant (T32DA007292) awarded to Brion Maher, Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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Stone, B.M. Removing Stigmatizing Language in Self-Reports: Effects on Psychometric Properties and Respondent Beliefs. Int J Ment Health Addiction (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-024-01298-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-024-01298-w