Anne Ferrari, associate professor of Psychology at Mount Saint Mary College, and Mount alumna Mikaela Burch ’22, recently published their research, “Internalized Stigma and Substance Use: Does Race Matter?” in the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research.
Focusing on the self-stigma felt by adolescents and young adults diagnosed with a substance-use disorder and how racial identity may exacerbate this, their study analyzed the self-stigma of 133 adolescents and young adults using the Substance Abuse Self-Stigma Scale.
The article can be found at the following link: www.psichi.org/page/293JNFall2024-Internalized-Stigma-And-Substance-Use
Ferrari and Burch began their research through an independent study project when Burch was still a student. Having interned at a substance-use facility for adolescents, Burch contacted Ferrari to discuss how often she witnessed shame and guilt among her clients, especially those who were from marginalized groups.
Ferrari explained, “The more we talked, the more we knew we needed to do something to raise awareness of how stigma might impact young people diagnosed with a substance-use disorder, especially those of color.”
Their analysis found that adolescents and young people of color who were diagnosed with a substance-use disorder experienced significantly more internalized stigma than white adolescents and young adults also diagnosed with a substance-use disorder.
They went on to explain that awareness of how multiple stigmas might influence young people with substance use disorders can help in the creation of educational tools designed to assist in psychological wellness.
“For decades, psychological research was remiss in focusing on the attitudes and behaviors of white middle-class Americans, neglecting to recognize that we are not all the same,” Ferrari noted. “It’s only recently that psychology has sought to correct this omission. Mikaela and I are proud to be a part of the change.”
The Psi Chi Journal editor also awarded the article a Diversity Badge, one of several badges created by members of the Open Science Collaboration to reward authors for enhancing the transparency, replicability, and overall quality of psychological research. The Diversity Badge is given to authors that examine factors related to discrimination or groups that have been historically marginalized.