Conservatives and progressives both less likely to change their minds about drug stigma

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-02-13 03:00

Australia; NSW

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People with moderate politics and values are more likely to change their minds when it comes to stigmatising views on people who inject drugs, according to Australian research. The team surveyed about 250 people about their social/political values and their views about people who inject drugs. They then showed the participants a short video aimed at reducing the stigma associated with drug use. The researchers say those with more moderate views were more likely to change those views after watching the video. Conservatives were most likely to have stigmatising views going into the study and progressives were least likely to have stigmatising views, the researchers say, so there was less room for improvement for the progressives compared to the moderates. The researchers say this shows values need to be taken into account when looking at ways to change minds about drug stigma.