Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are one of the most stigmatized health conditions
that impact drug user’s treatment engagement. However, to date, little is known about perceived
stigma and its correlates with psychological factors among high‑risk groups such as people with
SUDs in the criminal justice system. This study aimed to determine the association of psychological
factors and perceived stigma of addiction among women with SUDs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional design was conducted on 652 women with SUDs
who were treated in all 7 compulsory drug detention centers in Thailand with consecutive sampling
technique. The data were collected by standardized interviewers with interviewing questionnaire.
Multiple logistic regression was applied to examine the effect of psychological factors and perceived
stigma.
RESULTS: More than half of SUD patients (57.2%) were methamphetamine abuse or dependence,
approximately 69.9% reported high level of perceived stigma, 56.7% had mild depression, 34.8% had
low level of perceived social support, and the average perceived stress score was 19.2 (standard
deviation, 7.5). The perceived stigma was positively related to depressive symptom and perceived
stress while was inversely related to perceived social support.
CONCLUSION: The psychological factors were strongly associated with perceived stigma of addiction.
Thus, the detection of psychological problems among SUD patients may be benefit clinicians for
identifying which patients are most at risk of perceived stigma and are the potential targets of
intervention to reduce stigma in clinical practice.
Keywords
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