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International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

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20-01-2022 | Addiction | Original Article

Opioid Use Stigma: An Examination of Student Attitudes on Harm Reduction Strategies

Authors: Gemma Reynolds, Brittany L. Lindsay, Stephanie Knaak, Andrew C. H. Szeto

Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction | Issue 6/2022

Abstract

Understanding how the public views harm reduction strategies may help inform researchers on how to reduce related stigma and barriers to help-seeking. The current study explored whether stigma towards those who use opioids was affected by gender and type of harm reduction strategy used. Undergraduate students (N = 328) were randomly assigned to read one of six vignettes varying by gender and the type of harm reduction strategy: no harm reduction, opioid agonist therapy (OAT), or safe consumption sites (SCSs). Results demonstrated that participants were less stigmatizing towards the character who engaged in OAT compared to the character with no harm reduction. There was also a pattern demonstrating that SCSs may be perceived more negatively than OAT, although these differences only met conventional significance, not adjusted/corrected alphas. There were no significant effects for gender. Qualitative results revealed that participants held misconceptions about harm reduction. Implications and future directions are discussed.

The Opening Minds Provider Attitudes Towards Opioid Use Scale (OM-PATOS; Knaak & Stuart, 2021) was originally included in the survey as a potential covariate, but it was realized post-hoc that the measure was too similar in construct to the dependent measures (but measured before the experimental manipulation) and was not used in the study.

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Title: Opioid Use Stigma: An Examination of Student Attitudes on Harm Reduction Strategies
Authors: Gemma Reynolds
Brittany L. Lindsay
Stephanie Knaak
Andrew C. H. Szeto
Publication date: 20-01-2022
Publisher: Springer US
Keywords: Addiction
Opioids
Opioids
Addiction
Published in: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction / Issue 6/2022
Print ISSN: 1557-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1882
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-022-00756-7

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Opioid Use Stigma: An Examination of Student Attitudes on Harm Reduction Strategies

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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