Effect of national cultural dimensions and consumption rates on stigma toward alcohol and substance use disorders

Despite the notion of stigma as a socio-cultural process with the concept rooted in social space rather than in individual space, global studies examining impact of cultural differences on stigma toward substance use disorders are lacking.

In this study, we aim to study the influence of national culture differences on stigma toward alcohol and substance use disorders.

We analyzed individual-level data from 68,041 respondents from 49 countries on stigma toward alcohol and substance use disorders. We examined the effect of the national culture dimensions and national alcohol and substance consumption rates on stigma toward alcohol and substance use disorders using hierarchical linear modeling.

Our hierarchical linear modeling results indicate that cultural dimensions and consumption rates significantly influence stigma. We found significant positive associations between stigma toward AUD and institutional collectivism and assertiveness, but a negative association with future orientation dimension. Like AUD, stigma toward SUD was also positively associated with institutional collectivism and assertiveness, but negatively associated with power distance.

The study findings have immense implications for national interventions to decrease stigma and influence policy making.