Stigma toward alcohol use disorder: How biogenetic explanations and drinking contexts impact attributions and attitudes.

Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly stigmatized, often because it is perceived as a highly controllable condition. A variety of factors can influence how stigma is ascribed to individuals with AUD, including biogenetic etiology and different drinking contexts. The present study aimed to better understand how factors surrounding AUD interact to impact stigma. Participants (N = 449) recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk read one of eight vignettes that described a character with AUD who was (a) either drinking to cope with stress or drinking socially, (b) either a college student or a nonstudent young adult, and (c) either had or did not have a genetic predisposition to AUD. Participants rated the perceived controllability of the alcohol problem as well as blame, pity, desired social distance, and likelihood of helping. Participants who were told the vignette target had a genetic predisposition reported lower perceptions of control of drinking onset, lower blame, and reduced desire for social distance. Moreover, they reported less of a perception that social drinking is a personal choice and more controllable. While social drinking and drinking to cope were blamed similarly, when a genetic predisposition was present, an individual who drank for social facilitation received higher levels of pity and intention to help than an individual who drank to cope. Both drinking context and genetic predisposition matter when it comes to the stigmatization of AUD. Genetic predispositions may be particularly impactful in affecting stigma in the context of social drinking.