Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T00:33:43.495Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 12 - The Role of Media Reporting for Substance Use Stigma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2022

By
Eva Baumann ,
Philip Horsfield ,
Anna Freytag  and
Georg Schomerus
Edited by
Georg Schomerus  and
Patrick William Corrigan
Georg Schomerus
Affiliation:
Universität Leipzig
Patrick William Corrigan
Affiliation:
Illinois Institute of Technology
Get access

Summary

What people know and how they think about drug use, consumption practices, and addiction is considerably influenced by the way the topic is talked about and framed in the media. Problems associated with the stigma of substance use disorders (SUDs) point to the need to identify factors that contribute to stigmatization and the urgency to outline courses of action to combat the stigma of addiction and other SUDs. The chapter first lays out the role the media take regarding the stigmatization of people with SUDs and refers to theoretical approaches in communication science. Findings on the coverage of people with SUDs in the media and mechanisms that lead to stigmatizing portrayals are delineated. In a second step, media guidelines as a possible means to strengthen the destigmatizing role of the media are described and discussed. Against this background, the media’s role in reporting for substance use stigma is discussed.

Keywords

stigmacommunicationframingmediajournalismpublic opinionmedia guidelines
Type
Chapter
Information
The Stigma of Substance Use Disorders , pp. 213 - 231
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Afzali, R., Dero, Q. Y., & Nosrati, R. (2020). Representation of addiction and drugs victims through TV media. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2020.1793863CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aragonès, E., López-Muntaner, J., Ceruelo, S., & Basora, J. (2014). Reinforcing stigmatization: Coverage of mental illness in Spanish newspapers. Journal of Health Communication, 19(11), 1248–1258. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2013.872726Google Scholar
Atayde, A. M. P., Hauc, S. C., Bessette, L. G., Danckers, H., & Saitz, R. (2021). Changing the narrative: A call to end stigmatizing terminology related to substance use disorders. Addiction Research & Theory, 29(5), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.1875215Google Scholar
Avery, J. D., & Avery, J. J. (Eds.). (2019). The stigma of addiction: An essential guide. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02580-9Google Scholar
Ayers, B., & Myers, L. B. (2012). Do media messages change people’s risk perceptions for binge drinking? Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 47(1), 52–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agr052Google Scholar
Bergström, A., & Jervelycke Belfrage, M. (2018). News in social media. Digital Journalism, 6(5), 583–598. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1423625Google Scholar
Blair, N. A., Yue, S. K., Singh, R., & Bernhardt, J. M. (2005). Depictions of substance use in reality television: A content analysis of The Osbournes. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 331(7531), 1517–1519. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1517Google Scholar
Borinstein, A. B. (1992). Public attitudes toward persons with mental illness. Health Affairs, 11(3), 186–196. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.11.3.186CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Botticelli, M. P., & Koh, H. K. (2016). Changing the language of addiction. JAMA, 316(13), 1361–1362. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.11874Google Scholar
Chapman, S., & Lupton, D. (1994). The fight for public health: Principles and practice of media advocacy. BMJ Books.Google Scholar
Coverdale, J., Nairn, R., & Claasen, D. (2002). Depictions of mental illness in print media: A prospective national sample. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36(5), 697–700. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1614.2002.00998.xGoogle Scholar
Dorfman, L., Wallack, L., & Woodruff, K. (2005). More than a message: Framing public health advocacy to change corporate practices. Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 32(3), 320–336; discussion 355–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198105275046Google Scholar
Eichenberg, C., Wolters, C., & Brähler, E. (2013). The internet as a mental health advisor in Germany: Results of a national survey. PLoS ONE, 8(11), e79206. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079206CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Towards clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58.Google Scholar
Entman, R. M., Matthes, J., & Pellicano, L. (2009). Nature, sources, and effects of news framing. In Wahl-Jorgensen, K. & Hanitzsch, T. (Eds.), The handbook of journalism studies (pp. 175–190). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203877685.ch13Google Scholar
Fan, D. P. (1996). News media framing sets public opinion that drugs is the country’s most important problem. Substance Use & Misuse, 31(10), 1413–1421. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826089609063984Google Scholar
Fraser, S., Pienaar, K., Dilkes-Frayne, E., et al. (2017). Addiction stigma and the biopolitics of liberal modernity: A qualitative analysis. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 44, 192–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.02.005Google Scholar
Frosh, P., & Pinchevski, A. (Eds.). (2009). Media witnessing: Testimony in the age of mass communication. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Galtung, J., & Ruge, M. H. (1965). The structure of foreign news. Journal of Peace Research, 2(1), 64–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234336500200104Google Scholar
Gamson, W. A., & Modigliani, A. (1987). The changing culture of affirmative action. In Braungart, R. G. & Braungart, M. M. (Eds.), Research in political sociology (pp. 137–177). JAI Press.Google Scholar
Goodyear, K., Haass-Koffler, C. L., & Chavanne, D. (2018). Opioid use and stigma: The role of gender, language and precipitating events. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 185, 339–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.12.037Google Scholar
Gowen, L. K. (2013). Online mental health information seeking in young adults with mental health challenges. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 31(2), 97–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2013.765533Google Scholar
Henson, C., Chapman, S., McLeod, L., Johnson, N., McGeechan, K., & Hickie, I. (2009). More us than them: Positive depictions of mental illness on Australian television news. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 554–560. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048670902873623CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holland, K. (2018). Making mental health news. Journalism Studies, 19(12), 1767–1785. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1304826Google Scholar
Hughes, C. E., Lancaster, K., & Spicer, B. (2011). How do Australian news media depict illicit drug issues? An analysis of print media reporting across and between illicit drugs, 2003–2008. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 22(4), 285–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.05.008Google Scholar
Hughes, C. E., Spicer, B., Lancaster, K., Matthew-Simons, F., & Dillon, P. (2010). Monograph No. 19: Media reporting on illicit drugs in Australia: Trends and impacts on youth attitudes to illicit drug use. DPMP Monograph Series. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.Google Scholar
Iyengar, S. (1996). Framing responsibility for political issues. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 546(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716296546001006Google Scholar
Jernigan, D., & Dorfman, L. (1996). Visualizing America’s drug problems: An ethnographic content analysis of illegal drug stories on the nightly news. Contemporary Drug Problems, 23(2), 169–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. D., & Case, D. O. (2013). Health information seeking. Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Kay-Lambkin, F., Hunt, S., Geddes, J. M. M., & Gilbert, J. (2019). Evidence check: Media reporting of alcohol and other drug use. https://mindframemedia.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/Evidence-Check-Media-Reporting-of-Alcohol-and-other-Drug-Use-7.3.19_Final.pdfGoogle Scholar
Kelly, J. F., Saitz, R., & Wakeman, S. (2016). Language, substance use disorders, and policy: The need to reach consensus on an “addiction-ary.” Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 34(1), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/07347324.2016.1113103Google Scholar
Kelly, J. F., Wakeman, S. E., & Saitz, R. (2015). Stop talking ‘dirty’: Clinicians, language, and quality of care for the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The American Journal of Medicine, 128(1), 8–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.07.043CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelly, J. F., & Westerhoff, C. M. (2010). Does it matter how we refer to individuals with substance-related conditions? A randomized study of two commonly used terms. The International Journal on Drug Policy, 21(3), 202–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2009.10.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klin, A., & Lemish, D. (2008). Mental disorders stigma in the media: Review of studies on production, content, and influences. Journal of Health Communication, 13(5), 434–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730802198813Google Scholar
Lancaster, K., Hughes, C. E., & Spicer, B. (2012). News media consumption among young Australians: Patterns of use and attitudes towards media reporting. Media International Australia, 143(1), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X1214300104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundahl, O. (2020). Media framing of social media addiction in the UK and the US. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(5), 1103–1116. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12636Google Scholar
McGinty, E. E., Goldman, H. H., Pescosolido, B., & Barry, C. L. (2015). Portraying mental illness and drug addiction as treatable health conditions: Effects of a randomized experiment on stigma and discrimination. Social Science & Medicine, 126, 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.12.010Google Scholar
McGinty, E. E., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Baller, J., Niederdeppe, J., Gollust, S., & Barry, C. L. (2016). Criminal activity or treatable health condition? News media framing of opioid analgesic abuse in the United States, 1998–2012. Psychiatric Services, 67(4), 405–411. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201500065CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGinty, E. E., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., & Barry, C. L. (2019). Stigma of addiction in the media. In Avery, J. D. & Avery, J. J. (Eds.), The stigma of addiction: An essential guide (pp. 201–214). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02580-9_11Google Scholar
McGinty, E. E., Pescosolido, B., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., & Barry, C. L. (2018). Communication strategies to counter stigma and improve mental illness and substance use disorder policy. Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), 69(2), 136–146. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700076Google Scholar
McGinty, E. E., Stone, E. M., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., & Barry, C. L. (2019). Stigmatizing language in news media coverage of the opioid epidemic: Implications for public health. Preventive Medicine, 124, 110–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.018Google Scholar
McGinty, E. E., Webster, D. W., Jarlenski, M., & Barry, C. L. (2014). News media framing of serious mental illness and gun violence in the United States 1997–2012. American Journal of Public Health, 104(3), 406–413. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301557.Google Scholar
McKeever, R. (2015). Vicarious experience: Experimentally testing the effects of empathy for media characters with severe depression and the intervening role of perceived similarity. Health Communication, 30(11), 1122–1134. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.921969Google Scholar
Nelson, D. E., Pederson, L. L., Mowery, P., et al. (2015). Trends in US newspaper and television coverage of tobacco. Tobacco Control, 24(1), 94–99. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-050963Google Scholar
Netherland, J., & Hansen, H. B. (2016). The war on drugs that wasn’t: Wasted whiteness, “dirty doctors,” and race in media coverage of prescription opioid misuse. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 40(4), 664–686. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-016-9496-5Google Scholar
Nielsen, A. L., & Bonn, S. (2008). Media exposure and attitudes toward drug addiction spending, 1975–2004. Deviant Behavior, 29(8), 726–752. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639620701839492Google Scholar
Nunez-Smith, M., Wolf, E., Huang, H. M., et al. (2010). Media exposure and tobacco, illicit drugs, and alcohol use among children and adolescents: A systematic review. Substance Abuse, 31(3), 174–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2010.495648Google Scholar
Orsini, M. M. (2017). Frame analysis of drug narratives in network news coverage. Contemporary Drug Problems, 44(3), 189–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091450917722817CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pivovarova, E., & Stein, M. D. (2019). In their own words: Language preferences of individuals who use heroin. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 114(10), 1785–1790. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14699Google Scholar
Powell, J., & Clarke, A. (2006). Internet information-seeking in mental health: Population survey. British Journal of Psychiatry, 189(3), 273–277. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.105.017319Google Scholar
Richter, L., & Foster, S. E. (2014). Effectively addressing addiction requires changing the language of addiction. Journal of Public Health Policy, 35(1), 60–64. https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2013.44Google Scholar
Russell, D., Thames, K. M., Spence, N. J., & Koeval, C. M. (2020). Where the fault lies: Representations of addiction in audience reactions to media coverage of the opioid epidemic. Contemporary Drug Problems, 47(2), 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091450920929102CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00326.xGoogle Scholar
Schiappa, E., Gregg, P. B., & Hewes, D. E. (2005). The parasocial contact hypothesis. Communication Monographs, 72(1), 92–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/0363775052000342544Google Scholar
Schomerus, G., Lucht, M., Holzinger, A., Matschinger, H., Carta, M. G., & Angermeyer, M. C. (2011). The stigma of alcohol dependence compared with other mental disorders: A review of population studies. Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 46(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agq089Google Scholar
Seale, C. (2002). Media and health. Sage.Google Scholar
Seidel, M., Cashaw-Davis, L., Connolly-Leach, V., et al. (2017). Using person-first language across the continuum of care for substance use disorders & other addictions: Words matter to reduce stigma. https://preventionactionalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Language-across-the-Continuum-for-People-with-Addictive-Disorders-1-18.pdfGoogle Scholar
Slopen, N. B., Watson, A. C., Gracia, G., & Corrigan, P. W. (2007). Age analysis of newspaper coverage of mental illness. Journal of Health Communication, 12(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730601091292Google Scholar
Taylor, S. (2008). Outside the outsiders: Media representations of drug use. Probation Journal, 55(4), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264550508096493Google Scholar
Wakeman, S. E. (2013). Language and addiction: Choosing words wisely. American Journal of Public Health, 103(4), e1–e2. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301191Google Scholar
Wakeman, S. E. (2017). Medications for addiction treatment: Changing language to improve care. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 11(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0000000000000275Google Scholar
Webster, F., Rice, K., & Sud, A. (2020). A critical content analysis of media reporting on opioids: The social construction of an epidemic. Social Science & Medicine, 244, 112642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112642Google Scholar
Wong, N. C. H., Lookadoo, K. L, & Nisbett, G. S. (2017). “I’m Demi and I have bipolar disorder”: Effect of parasocial contact on reducing stigma toward people with bipolar disorder. Communication Studies, 68(3), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2017.1331928Google Scholar
Zhang, Y., Jin, Y., Stewart, S., & Porter, J. (2016). Framing responsibility for depression: How U.S. news media attribute causal and problem-solving responsibilities when covering a major public health problem. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 44(2), 118–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2016.1155728Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×