Stereotypes of Drug Addiction: What Do Laypeople Think?

Maloney, Doreen (2023) Stereotypes of Drug Addiction: What Do Laypeople Think? Master thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

“Drug addiction” is a serious and misunderstood worldwide problem. Contributing to this misunderstanding are stereotypes which have been found to affect the likelihood of drug addicts seeking care as well as receiving quality care. However, previous research has failed to focus on the stereotypes of laypeople and to examine the possibility that laypeople hold distinct stereotypes for drug addicts based on their drug of choice. Thereby, the aim of this thesis was to address this gap in the literature by asking: What is the content of drug addiction stereotypes? And to what extent do people endorse these stereotypes? Using qualitative and experimental methods across three studies with UK-based samples, this thesis focused on the categories of cocaine, heroin, weed, and general drug addiction. The first study (N=203) found that laypeople do hold distinct and differently valenced categories of stereotypes for drug addicts addicted to different drugs. The second study (N=303) found that laypeople endorse these stereotypes differently for each drug addiction category. Finally, the third study (N=300) was able to confirm in a vignette-based experimental design, that laypeople are able to use these distinct stereotypes to recognize their respective drug addictions. Future research should aim to replicate these findings across other settings, with different drug categories.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master)
Supervisor name:	Koc, Y.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	Applied Social Psychology (ASP) [Master Psychology]
Date Deposited:	15 Aug 2023 09:58
Last Modified:	15 Aug 2023 09:58
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2747

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