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Sumnall, H, Atkinson, AM, Gage, S, Hamilton, I and Montgomery, C (2021) Less than human: dehumanisation of people who use heroin. Health Education. ISSN 0965-4283
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Abstract
Purpose Stigma reduction is an important public health challenge because of the large morbidity and mortality associated with some forms of substance use. Extreme stigma can lead to dehumanisation of target groups, who are ascribed with lesser humanity. We examined whether there was blatant and subtle dehumanisation of people who use heroin, and if these were associated with levels of support for non-discriminatory drug policy. Methods A cross-sectional online study using a UK convenience sample (n = 307; 75.2% female, mean age 28.6 ± 12.2 years). Participants completed assessments of blatant (Ascent of Humans scale) and subtle (an emotion attribution task), dehumanisation, and a bespoke measure assessing support for non-discriminatory drug policies. Other measures controlled for stigma towards people who use drugs, and moral disgust. Findings There was greater blatant dehumanisation of people who used heroin compared to the general population and other potentially stigmatised reference groups, including people who use cannabis. We also found evidence of subtle dehumanisation, and people who used heroin were rated as being less likely to feel uniquely human emotions, less likely to feel positive emotions, and more likely to feel negative emotions. Blatant dehumanisation was associated with significantly lower probability of support for non-discriminatory drug policy. Originality This is the first study to investigate blatant and subtle dehumanisation of people who use heroin, and how this relates to public support for drug policy. Conclusions Dehumanisation may present significant challenges for stigma reduction initiatives and in fostering public support for drug policy and treatment. Denial of the humanity of this group could be used to justify discriminatory policies or relative deprioritisation of support services in funding decisions. Activities that seek to ‘rehumanise’ people who use drugs, including social inclusion, and encouraging compassionate media representations that portray the lived experiences of substance use may be useful areas of future work.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Sumnall, H., Atkinson, A., Gage, S., Hamilton, I. and Montgomery, C. (2021), "Less than human: dehumanisation of people who use heroin", Health Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-07-2021-0099 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1303 Specialist Studies in Education |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine > RA0440 Study and Teaching. Research |
| Divisions: | Psychology (from Sep 2019) Public Health Institute |
| Publisher: | Emerald |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Sep 2021 11:57 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Sep 2021 12:00 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1108/HE-07-2021-0099 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15382 |
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