Stigmatization of opioid addiction based on prescription, sex and age

With opioid abuse becoming a nationwide epidemic, it is important to understand what is contributing to societal views of opioid dependence. Difference in stigmatization of drug users may exist between sexes, ages and type of drugs being used. Social perceptions may impact drug use and recovery. To assess which opioid users are stigmatized most, we administered an experimenter-created vignette that experimentally manipulated the type of opioid (Prescribed Vicodin vs. Non-prescribed Vicodin vs. heroin) as well as the sex of the opioid user (Male vs. Female) and the age of the user (23 years-old vs. 53 years-old) to 4300 people on Amazon's Mechanical Turk (a survey hosting website). Participants were told in a vignette that the target person they were reviewing was "addicted". Results confirmed that the stigmatization of drug use is dependent on a series of items, including type of opioid, as well as the age and sex of the participant. Specifically, prescribed opioids were least stigmatized, while heroin was most stigmatized. Also, there was a significant difference between heroin, non-prescribed Vicodin and prescribed Vicodin use and whether or not participants stigmatized the opioid user as an "addict". More specifically, participants were more likely to identify heroin and non-prescribed Vicodin users as having an opioid addiction. Lastly, young male opioid users were stigmatized more than any other group. Results are discussed.