Rowe Emily C, Coles Ashlee R L, Harris-Lane Laura M, Harris Nick, Bishop Lisa, Howells Rachel, Donnan Jennifer
School of Pharmacy, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
Addict Behav Rep. 2025 Apr 13;21:100608. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100608. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Despite cannabis legalization in Canada, stigma towards cannabis consumers remains evident, particularly toward younger cannabis consumers. Our study examined how stigma towards a young cannabis consumer differed by age and gender. Additionally, we explored the impacts of the participants' cannabis consumption, age, and gender identity on their perceptions of stigma.
Canadian citizens, ages 18 years and older completed an online cross-sectional survey using an experimental vignette design ( = 1,114). Participants were randomly assigned to read one of six vignettes depicting a cannabis consumer that varied by age (14, 21, and 28 years) and gender (man, woman). Participants completed the Social Distance Survey as the dependent measure of stigma. Two factorial ANOVAs were conducted to assess the impacts of the vignette character's age and gender, as well as the participant's age and gender identity, on stigma.
Participants ( = 48.42, = 16.64) displayed more stigmatizing attitudes towards adolescent consumers (14-years-old) compared to 21-years-old or 28-years-old consumers. Additionally, older participants (70 + years) displayed more stigmatizing attitudes than younger participants (18-29 and 30-39 years old). Finally, participants who had not consumed cannabis within the past 6-months displayed more stigmatizing attitudes than those who reported any cannabis use frequency.
Stigma remains a concern, particularly toward younger cannabis consumers. These findings highlight the importance of developing targeted, early interventions, and education strategies aimed at reducing stigma, especially among those who hold more stigmatizing attitudes, such as non-cannabis consumers and older individuals, which could help mitigate negative outcomes like decreased help-seeking behavior and social isolation.
Stigma toward cannabis consumers was greatest for younger consumers (14-years-old), followed by 21 and 28-year-olds. Specifically, older generations (70 + year old's) endorsed more stigma compared to younger generations. There were no main effects on stigma toward cannabis consumers based on the vignette character's gender or research participants' gender identity.
尽管加拿大已将大麻合法化，但对大麻消费者的污名化仍然明显，尤其是对年轻的大麻消费者。我们的研究调查了对年轻大麻消费者的污名化如何因年龄和性别而有所不同。此外，我们还探讨了参与者的大麻消费情况、年龄和性别认同对他们污名化认知的影响。
18岁及以上的加拿大公民使用实验性 vignette 设计完成了一项在线横断面调查（n = 1114）。参与者被随机分配阅读六个 vignette 中的一个，这些 vignette 描绘了年龄（14岁、21岁和28岁）和性别（男性、女性）各不相同的大麻消费者。参与者完成社会距离调查，作为污名化的因变量测量。进行了两项析因方差分析，以评估 vignette 角色的年龄和性别以及参与者的年龄和性别认同对污名化的影响。
与21岁或28岁的消费者相比，参与者（M = 48.42，SD = 16.64）对青少年消费者（14岁）表现出更多的污名化态度。此外，年长的参与者（70岁以上）比年轻的参与者（18 - 29岁和30 - 39岁）表现出更多的污名化态度。最后，在过去6个月内未消费过大麻的参与者比报告有任何大麻使用频率的参与者表现出更多的污名化态度。
污名化仍然是一个问题，尤其是对年轻的大麻消费者。这些发现凸显了制定有针对性的早期干预措施和教育策略以减少污名化的重要性，特别是在那些持有更多污名化态度的人群中，如非大麻消费者和年长者，这有助于减轻诸如求助行为减少和社会隔离等负面后果。
对大麻消费者的污名化在年轻消费者（14岁）中最为严重，其次是21岁和28岁的消费者。具体而言，与年轻一代相比，年长一代（70岁以上）认可更多的污名化。基于 vignette 角色的性别或研究参与者的性别认同，对大麻消费者的污名化没有主效应。
