Trends in Stigmatizing Language about Addiction: A Longitudinal Analysis of Multiple Public Communication Channels

Original research
by
McLaren, Nilay et al

Release Date

2023

Geography

USA

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

No

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

No

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

Although stigma reduction is a key goal of federal strategies to prevent overdose, there is limited data to assess progress made in reducing use of stigmatizing language about addiction.

Findings/Key points

Use of stigmatizing language about addiction appears to have decreased across more traditional, longer-format communication modalities such as news articles. Additional work is needed to reduce use of stigmatizing language on social media.

Design/methods

Using language guidelines published by the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), we examined trends in use of stigmatizing terms about addiction across four popular public communication modalities: news articles, blogs, Twitter, and Reddit.

Keywords

Stigma