How intergroup contact and demographic factors influence attitudes toward and perceptions of addiction

Background: Drug addiction represents a serious problem in the United States. In recent years, concern over increasing rates of addiction and overdose, largely fueled by the opioid epidemic, has revived public discourse regarding attitudes toward and perceptions of addiction. However, few empirical studies have investigated laypersons' attitudes about addiction in the past 10 years. Method: The current research explores attitudes towards and perceptions of addiction among two samples of U.S. adults (n = 1128). Participants read a short news story about an individual suffering from addiction, then answered a series of questions about their perceptions of that specific individual and their attitudes toward addiction more broadly. Results: Intergroup contact with an individual suffering from addiction as well as age, gender, and political ideology emerged as significant predictors of both perceptions of a target individual and more broad attitudes toward addiction. Participants who were older, identified as a woman, had more liberal ideology and indicated having a close family member or friend who has suffered from addiction reported significantly less negative target character evaluations. Intergroup contact, older age, and liberal ideology significantly predicted more endorsement of the belief that addiction is a disease and significantly less endorsement of the belief that addiction is a moral failing. Conclusions: Implications for public policy, educational programing, and intervention development are discussed.