Research project:

Prejudice against substance users

Sophie Capo-Bianco, Abby Watkins, Leanne Crowley, Gordon Hodson and David Clark

We have previously demonstrated strong prejudice against heroin users and ex-users amongst a population of University students. In contrast, this population positively discriminated in favour of disabled people. In this study, we have considered whether the prejudice towards heroin users can be generalised to other drug users. A summary of the research is presented here.

Students read a short scenario describing Jim and his life. In some questionnaires, Jim was described as a "heavy cannabis user" showing a number of negative outcomes (e.g. depressed mood, lost job, financial difficulties) as a result of his heavy use. In other questionnaires, Jim was a heavy user of alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine, crack or heroin, experiencing identical negative outcomes.

Participants (n = 24 to 31 per group) were asked to indicate their attitude towards Jim using a thermometer measure ranging from 100 (extremely favourable) to 50 (neither favourable or unfavourable) to 0 (extremely unfavourable). The mean scores for each group were: heroin 35.2; cocaine 37.2; crack 41.7; ecstasy 34.2; cannabis 40.7; alcohol 32.6. All scores were significantly different to the scale midpoint, indicating negative attitudes overall, with the various drug types not differing from one another.

Participants were asked their emotions and feelings towards Jim. The most common response was anger, with 54-63% of subjects expressing this emotion towards Jim as a heavy user of any of the five drugs, with 35% reporting anger when Jim was presented as a heavy alcohol user.

All drug groups were seen to threaten a number of values in British society -family values, economic prosperity, personal safety, law and order, health, and national security (!). Any differences between the various drug conditions were insubstantial

Respondents viewed that Jim (using each of the drugs and alcohol) was responsible for his unemployment and for solving his unemployment problem himself. They also considered it unlikely that Jim (in each scenario) would get a new job in the next six months, and if he did, would be unlikely to keep it. There were no differences between the drug conditions.

These findings demonstrate, in University students, a general prejudice towards heavy users of not just heroin, but also crack, cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and alcohol. Despite differences in legal status, health effects and links to criminal activity, the drugs in this study were perceived as similar when participants were asked their attitudes towards someone who had experienced negative outcomes from their long-term use.