Attitudes about addiction: a national study of addiction educators

J Drug Educ. 2010;40(3):281-98. doi: 10.2190/DE.40.3.e.

Abstract

The following study, funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), utilized the Addiction Belief Inventory (ABI; Luke, Ribisl, Walton, & Davidson, 2002) to examine addiction attitudes in a national sample of U.S. college/university faculty teaching addiction-specific courses (n=215). Results suggest that addiction educators view substance abuse as a coping mechanism rather than a moral failure, and are ambivalent about calling substance abuse or addiction a disease. Most do not support individual efficacy toward recovery, the ability to control use, or social use after treatment. Modifiers of addiction educator attitudes include level of college education; teaching experience; licensure/certification, and whether the educator is an addiction researcher. Study implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attitude*
  • Faculty*
  • Female
  • Health Education*
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Morals
  • Motivation
  • Self Efficacy
  • Social Control, Informal
  • Substance-Related Disorders / prevention & control*
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
  • Substance-Related Disorders / rehabilitation
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Temperance / psychology
  • United States
  • Young Adult