Massachusetts General Hospital
Words used to describe substance-use patients can alter attitudes, contribute to stigma
Published in Mental Health Law Weekly, January 30th, 2010
Changing the words used to describe someone struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction may significantly alter the attitudes of health care professionals, even those who specialize in addiction treatment. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have found that health professionals' answers to survey questions about a hypothetical patient varied depending on whether he was described as a "substance abuser" or as "having a substance use disorder." Their study will appear in the International Journal of Drug Policy and has been released online.
"We found that referring to someone with the 'abuser' terminology evokes more punitive attitudes than does describing...
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