Treatments, Perceived Stigma, and Employment Outcomes among Substance Abusers in China

Abstract

Employment is a vital component of a substance abuser’s recovery, but little is known about how stigma affects employment for substance abusers receiving treatment. The current study investigates the effects of stigma and treatment on employment in the Chinese context. Using a sample of substance abusers (N = 3, 978), multiple logistics regressions with moderation effects were employed. The findings show that treatments positively reduce confirmative experiences of anticipated stigma, and promote employment only when respondents do not perceive stigma. The findings highlight the impact of perceived stigma on limiting substance abusers’ chances of being employed, implying that eliminating stigma is the foundation for recovery. Possible strategies that can be explored for reducing stigma are discussed.

How Anti-Substance Abuse Campaigns Influence Substance Abusers’ Psychological Health in Chinese Communities: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stigma

“…As anti-substance abuse campaigns are usually launched in community settings, abusers are exposed to more anti-substance abuse messages than other types of treatment. Previous findings also suggested the benefits of no perceived stigma in the CDCR treatment as compared to other types of treatment [ 26 ]. Possible interventions reducing the risks of stigma, such as acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, should be seriously considered in CDCR treatment [ 74 , 75 ].…”

“…Perceived stigma. As mentioned above, stigma impacts people at various social levels [ 26 , 50 ]. The survey focused on the most influential levels of family, society, and official propaganda, and asked about the degree to which respondents perceive stigmatizing attitudes and actions from these three sources.…”

“…Perceived stigma is significantly influenced by policy [ 11 ], public discourse [ 10 ], enacted stigma [ 16 ], treatment [ 17 ], types of stereotyped behaviors or symptoms [ 18 , 19 ], social supports [ 20 ], demographic characteristics, and other factors. It further enhances internalized stigma [ 15 ], generates a lower self-concept [ 6 ], decreases psychological functioning such as empathy [ 21 ] and shame [ 22 ], increases mental disorders such as depression [ 6 , 15 , 23 ], and reduces treatment-seeking behaviors [ 24 ] and treatment outcomes [ 25 , 26 ].…”

“…CDCR substance abusers, who are residentially treated in their communities, are exposed to anti-substance abuse campaigns there, and experience stigma from their families, friends, professional groups, and society, all of whom also have been exposed to anti-substance abuse messages [ 34 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Thus, CDCR substance abusers might be particularly vulnerable to stigma depending on their treatment setting [ 26 ]. Consequently, such stigma is associated with dropping out of treatment programs [ 52 ] and a higher risk of unemployment [ 43 ], as well as possible psychological symptoms [ 53 ].…”

The problem with stigma: identifying its impact on drug users and recommendation for interventions

“…Pengguna narkoba yang menstigma dirinya mengalami pikiran dan perasaan negatif tentang dirinya sendiri, seperti rasa malu, menilai diri negatif, dan merasa takut mendapat perlakuan yang berbeda (Luoma, 2011). Dampaknya, pengguna narkoba cenderung menghindari mengakses layanan kesehatan (Ardani & Handayani, 2017;Luoma, 2010;Yang dkk., 2017), kesulitan mencari pekerjaan (Han & Jia, 2022), maupun membina hubungan dengan orang lain (Livingston & Boyd, 2010). Stigma diri ini berkorelasi terhadap efikasi diri, self-esteem, harapan, dan dukungan sosial yang rendah (Livingston & Boyd, 2010;Yang dkk., 2017).…”