I do not have stigma towards people with ADHD (but I do think they’re lazy): Using education and experience to reduce negative attitudes towards ADHD
Date
2021-02-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The current project examined the explicit, implicit, and social distance attitudes towards people with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the effect of education- or contact-based anti-stigma video on attitudes towards ADHD. In Study 1, 294 undergraduate students completed measures of explicit, implicit, and social distance attitudes towards ADHD. Results indicated significantly more negative explicit, implicit, and social distance attitudes towards people with ADHD compared to a comparison target of Asthma, and complex relationships between these variables. In Study 2, 299 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to watch a control, education, or contact video with a male or female actor with lived experience of ADHD. They then completed the same measures as in Study 1. Results indicated that negative explicit attitudes towards people with ADHD relative to Asthma were significantly lower after the education, and not contact, video. The intervention did not significantly affect the responses on the implicit or social distance measures. Additionally, only the male, and not the female, education video resulted in lower explicit scores. The results of the current project suggest that while there are negative attitudes towards people with ADHD, they can be improved with a short, video-based intervention. This project has significant implications for university students and their education about and treatment of people with ADHD. It also has significant implications for the development and utilization of anti-stigma interventions not only towards people with ADHD, but for mental illness as a whole.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Flanigan, L. K. (2021). I do not have stigma towards people with ADHD (but I do think they’re lazy): Using education and experience to reduce negative attitudes towards ADHD (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.