Influence of Personal Growth Initiative and Public Self- Consciousness on Perceived Stigmatization Among Drug Users
Chapter One
Aim and Objectives of the study
The major aim of this study is to study the influence of personal growth initiative and public self- consciousness on perceived stigmatization among drug users.
The specific objectives are to;
- Determine if Personal growth initiative exerts any influence on perceived stigmatization among drug users in Uyo metropolis
- Determine if public self-consciousness exerts a significant influence on perceived stigmatization among drug users in Uyo metropolis
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE
Stigma and Drugs
There is an extensive body of literature documenting the stigma associated with alcohol and other drug problems. No physical or psychiatric condition is more associated with social disapproval and discrimination than substance dependence.2
For people who use drugs, or are recovering from problematic drug use, stigma can be a barrier to a wide range of opportunities and rights. People who are stigmatized for their drug involvement can endure social rejection, labeling, stereotyping and discrimination, even in the absence of any negative consequences associated with their drug use. This manifests in a variety of ways, including denial of employment or housing. People with substance misuse issues are less likely to be offered help than are people with a mental illness or physical disability.3
According to research, the majority of healthcare professionals hold negative, stereotyped views of people who use illicit drugs.4 Stigma is a major factor preventing individuals from seeking and completing addiction treatment5 and from utilizing harm reduction services such as syringe access programs. In a vicious cycle, the social exclusion created by stigma can increase the need for a variety of services.
Even among people who use drugs, stigma toward other people who use drugs can be common. People who use a socially acceptable, legal drug, such as alcohol, may have negative prejudices against people who use illegal drugs, such as marijuana. People who use illegal so-called ‘soft drugs’ such as marijuana may have negative prejudices against people who use illegal powdered or ‘hard’ drugs, such as cocaine. And people who inhale or snort their drug of choice may have prejudice against people who inject a drug.
Types of Stigma
Self-stigma can be defined as the “shame, evaluative thoughts, and fear of enacted stigma [i.e., experiencing prejudice/discrimination] that results from individual’s identification with a stigmatized group that serves as a barrier to the pursuit of valued life goals” (Luoma, Kohlenberg, Hayes, Bunting, & Rye, 2008, p. 150). Social stigma, or public stigma, can be defined as “the prejudice and discrimination endorsed by the general population that affects a person” (Corrigan, Morris, Michaels, Rafacz, & Rusch, 2012, p. 963), in this case, with a substance use problem. Structural stigma, or institutional discrimination, “includes the policies of private and governmental institutions that intentionally restrict the opportunities of people” (Corrigan, Markowitz, & Watson, 2004, p. 481). Structural stigma tends to be inferred from the existence of disparities or specific examples are found in laws or media reports (Corrigan & Fong, 2014; Corrigan et al., 2004). Given that structural stigma tends not to be measured directly, the present review is focused on the assessment of self-stigma and social stigma, which have been assessed directly in the social sciences.
Self-Stigma
In the domain of substance use and substance use disorders, self-stigma is purported to be a major factor that prevents treatment seeking (Kushner & Sher, 1991). There are several measures of self-stigma that can be found in the literature (see Table 1); however, few have been used in multiple studies. Importantly, many of these measures of self-stigma appear to be tapping into distinct aspects of self-stigma, suggesting that the use of multiple assessments is preferable to the assessment of only one. The most commonly used measures have been used by Luoma and colleagues across several studies examining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999) as a method of reducing self-stigma among substance users (Luoma et al., 2007, 2008; Luoma, Kohlenberg, Hayes, & Fletcher, 2012; Luoma, O’Hair, Kohlenberg, Hayes, & Fletcher, 2010). For example, the Internalized Shame Scale (Cook, 1996) is a 30-item measure that broadly assesses level of internalized shame, and demonstrates higher internal consistency and test-retest reliability across studies (Cook, 1987). The Internalized Stigma of Substance Abuse (ISSA) scale was adapted from the 29-item Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (Ritsher, Otilingam, & Grajales, 2003), which assesses alienation, stereotype endorsement, perceived discrimination, social withdrawal, and stigma resistance. Alienation (i.e., degree to which individuals feel alienated given their membership in the stigmatized group), stereotype endorsement.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
In this chapter, we would describe how the study was carried out.
Research design
The study is a descriptive research designed to find the influence of personal growth initiative and public self-consciousness on perceived stigmatization among drug users.
According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), a survey is an attempt to collect data from members of a population in order to determine the current status of that population with respect to one or more variables. Survey research is considered as the best method available to social scientists and other educators who are interested in collecting original data for purposes of descriptive survey research design can be used to collect information about people‘s attitude, opinions, habits or a variety of education or social issues (Kombo, 2006).
Sources of Data
The data for this study were generated from two main sources; Primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary sources include journals, bulletins, textbooks and the internet.
Population of the study
A study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description (Udoyen, 2019). Two hundred and thirty-four (234) participants were selected from major streets in Uyo Metropolis.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Demographic Analysis
Table 1: Gender distribution of respondents
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
In this study, our focus has been to examine the influence of personal growth initiative and public self- consciousness on perceived stigmatization among drug users. The study was divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, we stated the problem of the study, its objectives and formulated for testing research hypotheses. In the second chapter, we reviewed literatures related to the topic. In the third chapter, we described the methodology employed or adopted to arrive at the study’s findings. In the fourth chapter, we tested the formulated hypotheses using Anova regression
Conclusion and Recommendation
In this work we found out that the following;
Results revealed that personal growth initiative exerted an influence on perceived stigmatization among drug users in Uyo metropolis, results also revealed that public self-consciousness also exerted a significant influence on perceived stigmatization among drug users in Uyo metropolis.
Based on the findings of the study we make the following recommendations;
- The Government should provide support institutes that would be able to handle rehabilitation of youths in Uyo.
- Orientation and re orientation should be carried out so as to educate the youths on the dangers of drug abuse, and how it could affect a persons self image and confidence.
References
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