Statistics from the World Health Organization show that millions of people around the world are living with Substance Use Disorders. While this is such a large proportion of the global population, there is still a constellation of stigmas surrounding the disorder. This results in discriminatory actions and attitudes towards people with Substance Use Disorders, which manifest at the self, social, and structural levels. Mental health stigma presents a number of harmful impacts, such as reduced hope, lower self-esteem, poorer psychological outcomes, increased psychiatric symptoms, difficulty with social relationships and social participation , and reduced likelihood of getting or staying in treatment.
This Research Topic aims to showcase evidence on why the stigma surrounding Substance Use Disorders is detrimental to people living with, or in treatment for, Substance Use Disorders. It hopes to provide insights through theoretical, basic, or applied research on how substance use-related stigma unfolds among specific population groups and context, and how it can be tackled, in the hope that the research presented will translate to best practice applications in clinical, public health, and policy settings.
We invite researchers to submit a range of articles including but not limited to original research articles, reviews, meta-analyses, opinions, perspectives, and case reports to provide new evidence on the following:
- Associations between stigma and substance use-related outcomes for specific population group and context.
- Psycho-socio-cultural frameworks (i.e., stereotyping; emotional reactions; status loss and discrimination) on how societal forces exclude people with Substance Use Disorders from everyday life.
- Harmful impacts of stigma among people with Substance Use Disorders.
- Interventions that clarify the experiences and impacts of stigma among people with Substance Use Disorders and/or to reduce stigma related to Substance Use Disorders.
- Health promotion in Substance Use Disorders.
- Interventions to promote resilience to stigma to, and raise awareness on, Substance Use Disorders.
- Basic and applied research that advocate for changes in structural stigma, such as policies that criminalize people with Substance Use Disorders.
- Policy impacts on how to reduce stigma among people with Substance Use Disorders.
Statistics from the World Health Organization show that millions of people around the world are living with Substance Use Disorders. While this is such a large proportion of the global population, there is still a constellation of stigmas surrounding the disorder. This results in discriminatory actions and attitudes towards people with Substance Use Disorders, which manifest at the self, social, and structural levels. Mental health stigma presents a number of harmful impacts, such as reduced hope, lower self-esteem, poorer psychological outcomes, increased psychiatric symptoms, difficulty with social relationships and social participation , and reduced likelihood of getting or staying in treatment.
This Research Topic aims to showcase evidence on why the stigma surrounding Substance Use Disorders is detrimental to people living with, or in treatment for, Substance Use Disorders. It hopes to provide insights through theoretical, basic, or applied research on how substance use-related stigma unfolds among specific population groups and context, and how it can be tackled, in the hope that the research presented will translate to best practice applications in clinical, public health, and policy settings.
We invite researchers to submit a range of articles including but not limited to original research articles, reviews, meta-analyses, opinions, perspectives, and case reports to provide new evidence on the following:
- Associations between stigma and substance use-related outcomes for specific population group and context.
- Psycho-socio-cultural frameworks (i.e., stereotyping; emotional reactions; status loss and discrimination) on how societal forces exclude people with Substance Use Disorders from everyday life.
- Harmful impacts of stigma among people with Substance Use Disorders.
- Interventions that clarify the experiences and impacts of stigma among people with Substance Use Disorders and/or to reduce stigma related to Substance Use Disorders.
- Health promotion in Substance Use Disorders.
- Interventions to promote resilience to stigma to, and raise awareness on, Substance Use Disorders.
- Basic and applied research that advocate for changes in structural stigma, such as policies that criminalize people with Substance Use Disorders.
- Policy impacts on how to reduce stigma among people with Substance Use Disorders.
