Stigma, Discrimination, Treatment Effectiveness, and Policy Support: Comparing Behavior Analysts' Views on Drug Addiction and Mental Illness.

Abstract

Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) often face discrimination. A recent study found that people in the general population hold significantly more negative views toward persons with drug addiction than those with other mental illnesses (Barry et al. in (10), 1269-1272, 2014). It is possible that these negative attitudes stem from the historical view of addiction as a moral shortcoming or lack of willpower. Behavior analysts' approach to behavior is guided by the underlying philosophy of behaviorism, which proposes that behavior is determined by genetic and environmental factors, as opposed to the free will of an individual. Because behavior analysts view behavior as determined and do not assign responsibility to an individual for his or her behavior, one would hypothesize that behavior analysts would not view individuals with SUDs more negatively than those with other mental disorders. This study surveyed 288 behavior analysts regarding their views on SUDs and mental disorders. Results showed that behavior analysts have significantly more negative attitudes toward people with SUDs than toward people with other mental disorders. Respondents reported a greater desire for social distance and greater acceptability of discrimination for people with SUDs than for people with mental disorders. They also reported less potential for recovery and lower support for policies to improve equity in insurance coverage and were less supportive of using government funding to improve treatment, housing, and job support for people with SUDs.