When “Substance Use” is Language Abuse: Distinguishing Between Stigmatizing and Non-stigmatizing Labels in Substance Use Communities
Groundwork: Increasingly, scholars claim that certain terms negatively impact the treatment of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and now recommend alternative language. Research has not yet, however, examined how these “stigmatizing” or “preferred” terms are perceived by those with lived and vicarious substance use experiences.
Research Question: How do those with lived and vicarious SUD experience perceive the terminology used in SUD treatment communities?
Approach: Conducted an online survey of those who have lived and vicarious substance use experience.
Details: Madison Adamiak and Dawson Coventry. (2025). “How Do Those with Lived Experience Perceive Language Used in the Substance Use Treatment Community?” Extensions of this project were presented at the Annual Meeting for the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Justice Educators (PACJE), Penn State Altoona Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Fair (URCAF), and Penn State Behrend-Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishments Conference (2nd Psychology).
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| Work Title | When “Substance Use” is Language Abuse: Distinguishing Between Stigmatizing and Non-stigmatizing Labels in Substance Use Communities |
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| License | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives) |
| Work Type | Poster |
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| Publication Date | April 2025 |
| DOI | doi:10.26207/1f4q-q906 |
| Deposited | May 08, 2025 |
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