Social Stigma Towards People With Addiction
Conditions
Brief summary
Stigma towards people with addiction is a well-documented problem that negatively impacts help-seeking, treatment and recovery. Social contact with people recovering from addiction can promote empathy and reduce stigma, but social contact is difficult to scale. Short, animated storytelling (SAS) is a novel health communication approach that scales easily because it can leapfrog barriers associated with language, culture, literacy and education levels. This study will investigate if a SAS video intervention can be used to reduce stigma, boost optimism and hope, and increasing empathy towards people with addiction. The study will also explore mechanisms of action of SAS interventions, by measuring the contribution of sound design to the effect of the intervention.
Interventions
OTHERSAS video
The intervention is a short, animated storytelling video, with soundtrack, aimed at reducing addiction stigma.
Sponsors
Alexander von Humboldt Association
Stanford Center for Digital Health
Stanford University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 49 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adults with basic English proficiency between the ages of 18-49
Exclusion criteria
* None
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Addiction Stigma Scale Score as measured by the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ) | Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks | Participants complete an 18-item shortened version of the validated AQ. The AQ-18 will be scored along a 9-point Likert scale indicating the extent to which participants agree with the item ranging from not at all to very much with a maximum score of 27 for each 3-item construct. Higher scores indicate greater stigma. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Optimism Scale Score | Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks | Participants complete the Brief García's Interactive Optimism Scale (BIOS-G). The BIOS-G is an instrument designed to assess an individual's level of general optimism towards their life and other people. The scale includes 4 statements for which respondents indicate their level of agreement from 1 (Of course not) to 4 (Yes, of course). Higher scores indicate a greater level of optimism. |
| Change in Attitude Thermometer Score | Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks | Participants will indicate their warmth towards subject using a self-report stigma thermometer. Using a scale scores from zero to 100, with higher scores indicating more empathy or more favorable attitudes. |
| Change in Levels of Hope using a visual analogue scale (VAS) | Immediately post-intervention on Day 1 and after two weeks | Participants self-report levels of hope using a VAS, a longstanding, validated tool for assessing related constructs of stress and subjective well-being. The scale goes from zero to 100 and higher scores indicate higher levels of hope. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed