The impact of news photographs on drug-related stigma: A randomized message testing experiment in a National Sample of US Adults

IF 4.3 2区医学 Q1 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

Preventive medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-29 DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108293

Jeffrey K. Hom , Kathryn Heley , Sachini Bandara , Alene Kennedy-Hendricks

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

To measure the impact of drug-related news photographs on public attitudes toward people who use drugs.

Methods

In this survey-embedded randomized experiment, conducted among a national sample of US adults between March and April 2024, participants were randomized to one of eight experimental groups and exposed to a drug-related photo (featuring a person injecting drugs, being revived from an overdose, receiving treatment or in recovery, or a family member of an overdose decedent) or a no-exposure control group. Logistic regression models assessed differences in stigma, emotions, and support for substance use disorder (SUD) services between each experimental group and the control group.

Results

Among 3461 participants, the mean age was 49 years and 51.3 % were female. Most participants (63.8 %) were non-Hispanic white, 11.3 % were non-Hispanic Black, 17.1 % were Hispanic, and 7.7 % reported another race/ethnicity. Compared to the control group, participants exposed to a photo of a person in recovery from SUD had an 8.9 percentage point (95 % CI 2.9, 14.9) greater probability of being willing to work closely with a person with SUD, with similar estimates for other stigma measures. Participants exposed to a photo of a person injecting drugs had a 14.1 percentage point (95 % CI 7.7, 20.5) greater probability of expressing disgust, with a similar estimate for pity. No photo was associated with significantly greater support for services.

Conclusions

Photos published by news media shape public attitudes; images of individuals recovery have the potential to counteract negative stereotypes about people with SUD.

Trial Registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT06743178

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新闻照片对毒品相关污名的影响：美国成年人全国样本的随机信息测试实验

目的探讨毒品新闻图片对公众对吸毒者态度的影响。方法：在2024年3月至4月期间，在美国全国范围内的成年人样本中进行了一项基于调查的随机实验，参与者被随机分为八个实验组之一，并暴露于与毒品相关的照片（包括注射毒品的人，从过量吸毒中苏醒的人，接受治疗或康复的人，或过量吸毒死者的家庭成员）或无暴露对照组。Logistic回归模型评估了实验组和对照组在污名、情绪和对物质使用障碍（SUD）服务的支持方面的差异。结果3461例患者平均年龄49岁，女性占51.3%。大多数参与者（63.8%）为非西班牙裔白人，11.3%为非西班牙裔黑人，17.1%为西班牙裔，7.7%为其他种族/民族。与对照组相比，接触过从SUD中恢复的人的照片的参与者愿意与SUD患者密切合作的可能性高出8.9个百分点（95% CI 2.9, 14.9），其他污名措施的估计也相似。看到吸毒者照片的参与者有14.1个百分点（95%可信区间7.7,20.5）更可能表达厌恶，对同情的估计也相似。没有照片与更大的服务支持相关。结论新闻媒体发布的照片塑造了公众的态度；个人康复的图像有可能抵消对患有SUD的人的负面刻板印象。试验注册：本研究注册于www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT06743178

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来源期刊

Preventive medicine 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

7.70

自引率

3.90%

发文量

审稿时长

42 days

期刊介绍： Founded in 1972 by Ernst Wynder, Preventive Medicine is an international scholarly journal that provides prompt publication of original articles on the science and practice of disease prevention, health promotion, and public health policymaking. Preventive Medicine aims to reward innovation. It will favor insightful observational studies, thoughtful explorations of health data, unsuspected new angles for existing hypotheses, robust randomized controlled trials, and impartial systematic reviews. Preventive Medicine''s ultimate goal is to publish research that will have an impact on the work of practitioners of disease prevention and health promotion, as well as of related disciplines.