TY - JOUR
T1 - Contextual Factors’ Impact on the Reception of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Language
T2 - An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
AU - Lucero Jones, Rebecca
AU - Fife, Stephen T.
AU - Cravens, Jason T.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by funding from the Texas Tech Center for Family Systems Research and Intervention.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Social stigma related to substance use can be a significant barrier to accessing treatment. Despite government institutions, psychological associations, and public advocacy groups promoting person-first language to decrease stigmatization, no prior study has investigated how those with a substance use disorder (SUD) respond to language used by mental health clinicians. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of treatment language for persons seeking recovery from an SUD. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze semi-structured interviews conducted with individuals who had recently received SUD treatment. The results indicated that language reception was highly dependent on five contextual factors: expertise of treatment professionals, relatability, readiness to change, awareness of the problem, and body language. Findings suggested that as participants identified peers or clinicians they could trust, language that had previously felt stigmatizing became informed with new and supportive meaning. In addition, the results indicated that participants responded to dichotomous language differently at various stages of recovery. The authors recommend that treatment professionals not only reflect on word choice to eliminate stigma and shame in treatment settings but also examine the contextual factors that may impact language reception.
AB - Social stigma related to substance use can be a significant barrier to accessing treatment. Despite government institutions, psychological associations, and public advocacy groups promoting person-first language to decrease stigmatization, no prior study has investigated how those with a substance use disorder (SUD) respond to language used by mental health clinicians. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of treatment language for persons seeking recovery from an SUD. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyze semi-structured interviews conducted with individuals who had recently received SUD treatment. The results indicated that language reception was highly dependent on five contextual factors: expertise of treatment professionals, relatability, readiness to change, awareness of the problem, and body language. Findings suggested that as participants identified peers or clinicians they could trust, language that had previously felt stigmatizing became informed with new and supportive meaning. In addition, the results indicated that participants responded to dichotomous language differently at various stages of recovery. The authors recommend that treatment professionals not only reflect on word choice to eliminate stigma and shame in treatment settings but also examine the contextual factors that may impact language reception.
KW - Stigma
KW - language
KW - recovery
KW - substance use
KW - substance use disorder
KW - treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104814677&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/07347324.2021.1917323
DO - 10.1080/07347324.2021.1917323
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85104814677
VL - 40
SP - 44
EP - 64
JO - Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly
JF - Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly
SN - 0734-7324
IS - 1
ER -