Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Psychoeducational module to promote knowledge and reduce stigma towards recreational marijuana users
Award Winner
Recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Master's Thesis Award - Second Place.
To go to the Graduate Student Award Recipients collection page, click here.
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Cannabis--Public opinion; College students--Attitudes; Stigma (Social psychology);
Abstract
Stigma can affect many aspects of life for those who are subject to stigmatization. As contact with stigmatized groups increases, less stigmatization occurs. Marijuana is one of the most commonly used illegal substances and is growing in popularity. Relatively few studies have examined the relations between stigma and specific substance use or particular characteristics of non-users that may influence stigma. Additionally, current anti-stigma interventions targeted at the general population have been largely unsuccessful in the reduction of stigma. The current study assesses a 25- minute online psychoeducational module designed to increase knowledge and reduce the stigma of recreational marijuana users in a more efficient, practical, engaging, and costeffective way which can be easily applied to any anti-stigma intervention program. The module surveyed 201 college students from a public Midwestern university where participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; a module group (N = 104) and a control group (N = 97). Specifically, the module was shown to increase knowledge regarding marijuana, however, there was little to no impact on stigma (i.e., preferred social distance, perceived dangerousness, negative emotions regarding marijuana use). Additionally, findings indicate strong associations between the level of familiarity, the level of contact, and stigma. Specifically, as the level of familiarity or level of contact increases, less stigmatization occurs. In addition, limited support was found for the moderating role of gender, past marijuana use, and age on the established association between the level of familiarity and level of contact on stigma levels. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between the level of familiarity, the level of contact, and the likelihood of future use. After establishing this strong relationship, we examined whether sex, any past marijuana use, and age would moderate this potential relationship. Results indicate that when familiarity is high, individuals will have a higher likelihood of future use if they already have a prior history of marijuana use. However, there were little to no differences in the likelihood of future use when familiarity was low, even with a prior history of marijuana use. No other characteristics seemed to impact this relationship. Findings have implications for anti-stigma interventions.
Year of Submission
2017
Year of Award
2018 Award
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Psychology
Department
McNair Scholars Program at UNI
First Advisor
Dilbur D. Arsiwalla, Chair, Thesis Committee
Date Original
2017
Object Description
1 PDF file (xiii, 203 pages)
Copyright
©2017 Stephanie J. Strong
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Strong, Stephanie J., "Psychoeducational module to promote knowledge and reduce stigma towards recreational marijuana users" (2017). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 410.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/410
