Gender identity, stimulant drug use, and criminal justice history on internalized stigma among a nationally representative sample of adults who misuse opioids

• Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2024-02, Vol.59 (2), p.305-313
• Main Authors: Bailey, Amelia, Taylor, Bruce G., Pollack, Harold A., Schneider, John A., Evans, Elizabeth A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Criminal Law; Epidemiology; Female; Gender aspects; Gender Identity; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Men; Narcotics; Psychiatry; Public health; Social Stigma; Statistical analysis; Stigma; Stimulants; Substance-Related Disorders; United States - epidemiology; Women
• ISSN: 0933-7954; 1433-9285; 1433-9285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00127-023-02500-5

Purpose The rise of fatal stimulant use among adults who use opioids is a public health problem. Internalized stigma is a barrier to substance use treatment, which is greater for women and populations with criminal justice involvement. Methods Using a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States from a probability-based survey on household opinions in 2021, we examined characteristics of women ( n  = 289) and men ( n  = 416) who misuse opioids. In gender-stratified multivariable linear regression, we investigated factors associated with internalized stigma, and tested for the interaction of stimulant use and criminal justice involvement. Results Compared to men, women reported greater mental health symptom severity (3.2 vs. 2.7 on a 1 to 6 scale, p