You Brought it on Yourself: The Joint Effects of Message Type, Stigma, and Responsibility Attribution on Attitudes Toward Medical Cannabis (original) (raw)
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Drug and Alcohol Dependence
Background: This experimental study tests effects of exposure to video narratives about successful symptom relief with Medical Cannabis (MC) on attitudes, beliefs, and intentions related to recreational cannabis use. Methods: Patient video testimonials were modeled after those found in extant media coverage. Israeli participants (N = 396) recruited through an online survey company were randomly assigned to view a narrative or a non-narrative video containing equivalent information about MC. Video content was further manipulated based on whether the protagonist had a stigmatized disease or not, and whether attribution of responsibility for his disease was internal or external. Results: Exposure to patient testimonials indirectly increased positive attitudes, beliefs and intentions related to recreational cannabis use through changing attitudes, beliefs and intentions related to MC. Furthermore, exposure to narratives in which the patient was presented as not to blame for contracting his illness (external attribution) was associated with more positive attitudes, beliefs and intentions toward MC, a factor that was significantly associated with more positive attitudes, beliefs and intentions related to recreational cannabis use. Conclusions: These results suggest that narrative news media coverage of MC may influence public attitudes toward recreational cannabis. Because such media stories continue to be commonplace, it is important to examine potential spillover effects of this coverage on public perceptions of recreational cannabis. Cannabis prevention programs should address the role of media coverage in shaping public opinion and address the distinction between medical and recreational cannabis use.
How Cannabis Use Status Affects Responses to Anti- Cannabis Messages
Cannabis, 2021
Background: The current study examined how cannabis use status impacts cognitive and emotional reactions to public health campaigns about cannabis, and the degree to which these reactions influence message likeability and attitudes about cannabis-related harms. Methods: In a between-subjects design, 252 subjects recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk viewed six real-world cannabis education messages: three message themes (cognitive ability, driving, and health harms) from each of two real-world public campaigns. Subjects answered questions measuring their cognitive and emotional reactions to each message as well as message likeability and harm perceptions of cannabis. Analyses examined the mediating effects of message responsiveness on the association between baseline cannabis use (user vs non-user) with indices of liking and harm. Results: For all three message themes, informativeness ratings mediated the effect of cannabis user status on the outcomes of perceived harmfulness and mes...
Fear appeals have long been one tool in the communication discipline's strategy to inform the public about health behaviors and conditions. More specifically, one fear appeal framework, the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), has received the lion's share of scholarly attention in the past few decades. However, this project posits that by increasing the public's perception of a health behavior's threat and efficacy (the two prominent components of the EPPM), that secondary audiences (those who do not participate in the specific health behavior) may create or maintain stigma and other negative attitudes toward primary audiences (those who do engage in the particular behavior). This research explores the relationships between threat, efficacy, stigma, perceived responsibility for one's behavior and health outcomes, and discrimination via messages on two similar topics: smoking and vaping (using electronic cigarettes).
2002
Illicit-drug use is a m�ior problem in our society. Policing, charging and incarcerating offenders incurs a significant strain on government resources, and results in criminal records for those found guilty. This study examined the attitudes and beliefs of young adults (18-24 years) toward social marketing messages about marijuana and other illicit-drug use. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect various levels of marijuana use have on young people's acceptance of anti-drug messages. That is, do source and message credibility change as a result of young people's experience of marijuana use? Three background studies investigated the issues surrounding the main study: o An expert interview study; o A content analysis of the speeches and policy documents of the Minister for Family and Children , s Services, The Hon. Ms. Rhonda Parker MLA; and o A small projective technique study. The researcher acknowledges the generous supp011 of Healthway (WA), who provided a one-year scholarship that allowed this thesis to be completed. By far, the most influential and significant person during this work has been my supervisor, Dr. Nadine Henley. On a regular basis, Dr. Henley has gone beyond the call of duty to encourage my efforts. Her intelligent advice has been a guiding light, I cannot thank her enough for her wisdom, faith and friendship. Many thanks to Mr Brent Stev.art and his staff at Market Equity Pty Ltd. Mr. Stewart was extremely generous, providing focus group rooms and recruitment services at cost. From the preliminary studies through to the main study, many people generously provided their time, and shared their experiences and knowledge. From the experts in the preliminary study through to the in-depth interviews, I was continually impressed and humbled by the generosity of people who were otherwise strangers. Family, fnends, and colleagues have supported and assisted me during this study. For observing the groups and being a supportive friend, thank-you to Ms. Amanda Miraudo. �irs. Debbie Mickle, a special friend, deserves hearty thanks for her patient reading of the drafts. Thank-you also to Ms. Deborah Brown for her support and advice. Finally, thank-you Robert, my patient husband, for your support throughout my seemingly endless years of study. To my beautiful boys, Michael and Nicholas, thank-you for being the wonderful little men that you are. Many family and friends have assisted \vith childcare and general support during this time. Thank-you to you all. Vl
Health Communication, 2021
Drug overdose is a leading cause of injury and death in the United States, and opioids are among the most significant of causes. For people with opioid use disorders (OUDs), opioid stigma can lead to devastating consequences, including anxiety and depression. Still, mass media may stigmatize people with OUDs by ascribing stigmatizing labels (e.g., "opioid addict") and other stigma features to those individuals. However, it is unclear how these stigmatizing messages influence public perceptions of people with OUDs and public support for rehabilitation and Naloxone administration policies. The model of stigma communication (MSC) provides a framework for understanding these relationships. This study used the MSC in two online factorial experiments, the first among college undergraduates (N = 231) and the second among Amazon Mechanical Turk workers (N = 245), to examine how stigmatizing messages about people with OUDs influence stigma-related outcomes. Results reveal that opioid stigma messages influence different outcomes depending on the content of those messages. Classification messages with a stigmatizing mark (e.g., "Alex appears unkempt") and label (e.g., "opioid addict") led to greater perceptions of dangerousness and threat in both studies. High stigma classification messages also led to an increased desire for behavioral regulation and social distance in Study 2. Structural equation modeling in Study 1 also supported the applicability of the MSC in the opioid context. Implications for health communication theory development and practice are discussed.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 2019
Marijuana useisassociatedwith negative cognitive and health outcomes and riskydriving. Giventhe rapidly changing policies regarding legalrecreational and medicinal marijuana use, it is important to examine what types of marijuana prevention messages may be effective in minimizing such outcomes. This study examined cognitive andaffective responses to anti-marijuana public health messagesin as ample of adult marijuana users and nonusers to determine the correlates of perceivedm essage effectiveness. Method: Participants (N = 203; mean age =3 7.7 years) were adult marijuana users and nonusers recruited via AmazonMechanicalTurk (August2017).After completing self-reportm easures of marijuana use, theyv ieweds ix anti-marijuana messages presentedinarandom order,addressing marijuana'seffects in each of three topic areas: cognitive performance, driving, and adverse health outcomes (e.g., twomessages per topic). Participants completed assessments of cognitive and affective perceptions after viewing each message. Foreach message topic, alinear regression model wasused to determine which cognitive and affective perceptions were most predictive of perceivedmessageeffectiveness. Results: Forall messagetopics, nonusers perceivedt he messages as more effective than did users (p < .001). In the majority of analyses, greater message effectivenessw as associated with increased perceivedh armo fm arijuana and increased liking of the message. Fordriving and health messages, greater message effectiveness wasalso significantlycorrelated with lowerpleasantaffect. Conclusions: Thefi ndings suggest that audience perceptions mayb e uniquelyp redictive of message effectiveness, depending on the topic.
JAMA Network Open, 2022
IMPORTANCE Stigma toward people with opioid use disorder (OUD) is pervasive in clinical settings, impeding delivery of high-quality care. To date, no study has evaluated the effect of different stigma-reduction messages or messengers among health care professionals. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of OUD-related messages delivered by different messengers on stigma and attitudes toward people with OUD among health care professionals. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This randomized clinical trial examined the effects of OUD-related messages delivered by a visual campaign alone or in combination with a written narrative vignette from the perspective of 1 of 3 messengers. Health care professionals in the US were recruited from 2 national online survey panels (Ipsos KnowledgePanel and SurveyHealthcareGlobus). A total of 1842 participants completed a web-based survey measuring stigma toward people with OUD from November 13 to 30, 2020. INTERVENTIONS Eight groups were exposed to 1 of 2 message frames. One frame (Words Matter) emphasized the harm of stigmatizing language, and the other (Medication Treatment Works) focused on the effectiveness of medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of OUD. Message frames were communicated through either a visual campaign alone or a visual campaign in combination with a written narrative vignette from the perspective of a simulated patient with OUD, a clinician, or a health care system administrator. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Dimensions of stigma toward people with OUD were measured on 5-point Likert scales that included items about desire for social distance from people with OUD, perception of individual blame for OUD, perspective of OUD as a medical condition, and support for increased governmental spending on OUD treatment. The level of warmth felt toward people with OUD was measured by a feeling thermometer (range, 0-100 points). RESULTS Among 1842 participants, the mean (SD) age was 47 (13) years; 1324 participants (71.9%) were female, 145 (7.9%) were Hispanic, 140 (7.6%) were non-Hispanic Black, 1344 (73.0%) were non-Hispanic White, and 213 (11.6%) were of other non-Hispanic race (ie, individuals who did not selfreport race as Black or White and did not self-report ethnicity as Hispanic). Compared with nonexposure, exposure to the combination of visual campaign and narrative vignette communicating the importance of nonstigmatizing language from the perspective of a patient with OUD was associated with a lower probability (difference, −16.8 percentage points, 95% CI, −26.1 to −7.4; P < .001) of unwillingness to have a person with OUD marry into the family (a measure of social distance preference) and a 7.2-point (95% CI, 3.2-11.1; P < .001) higher warmth rating. Participants exposed to the combined visual campaign and patient vignette about the value of medication (continued) Key Points Question Are specific communication strategies effective in reducing stigma toward people with opioid use disorder (OUD) among health care professionals? Findings In this randomized clinical trial involving a national sample of 1842 health care professionals, exposure to visual campaigns combined with short narrative vignettes told from the perspective of a patient with OUD that emphasized the harm of stigmatizing language or the effectiveness of medications for treating OUD was associated with reduced levels of stigma. Meaning The findings of this randomized clinical trial suggest that carefully designed communication campaigns may reduce OUD-related stigma among health care professionals.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Despite growing applications of social and healthcare marketing to enhance public well-being through anti-stigma campaigns, little research investigates how public stigma surrounding health conditions might limit the outcomes of these campaigns. By drawing on the theory of implicit worldviews, this study identifies reasons for public stigma as well as associated message frames to address these reasons. Study 1a provides evidence that implicit worldviews are relevant to campaign results. Study 1b and Study 2 demonstrate that fitting consumers' implicit worldview with suitable (i.e., biomedical or biopsychosocial) health frames reduces stigma endorsement. Study 3 identifies the perceived severity of a mental illness as a boundary condition; marketing communications have the greatest impact when they refer to an illness with lower perceived severity. Finally, Study 4 expands understanding of the phenomenon by extending the findings to physical health conditions (i.e., obesity). The article concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for policy and future applications. Keywords Social marketing. Mental illness. Stigma. Healthcare marketing. Message framing. Implicit worldviews. Biomedical model. Biopsychosocial model Marketers can develop solutions to challenging societal problems (Andreasen et al. 2005; Lee and Kotler 2011), including wellbeing. For example, social marketing campaigns can target attitudes and behaviors related to schizophrenia, depression, suicide, smoking, alcohol abuse, and obesity (Kotler 2011). Most prior efforts have focused on individual behavioral changes, such Jan-Hinrich Meyer was part of Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara, Mexico during the submission process of this paper. The first author collected and analyzed the data. Martin Mende served as Area Editor for this article.
The Persuasive Appeal of Stigma
2007
Stigmatized minorities may have an advantage in persuading majority group members during some face-to-face interactions due to the greater self-presentational demands such interactions elicit. In contrast to models which predict greater persuasive impact of members of ingroups, White participants were more convinced by persuasive appeals delivered by a Black interaction partner than by a White interaction partner. When interacting with a Black partner, Whites engaged in greater self-presentation, which in turn made them more susceptible to their partner's persuasive appeal (Studies 1 and 2). This persuasive benefit of stigma was eliminated when participants were exposed to the same partners making the same arguments on video, decreasing self-presentational demands (Study 2). We conclude by discussing when stigma is likely to facilitate versus impair persuasion.