Little is known about the stigma of anabolic steroid use despite clear implications for treatment-seekers and for public policy development. We investigated the predictors of steroid stigma and contextualized the results by comparing steroids with marijuana. Undergraduates (N = 304) completed measures of drug stigma, exposure to drug users, and history of drug use. Participants stigmatized steroid use more than marijuana use—a very large effect. Participants reported less exposure to steroid users. Nevertheless, 15% of participants reported having a steroid-using friend. History of drug use, but not exposure to steroid users, predicted lower steroid stigma. Drug use and exposure both predicted lower marijuana use stigma. The amount of stigma expressed toward steroids is commensurate with that of "hard" drugs, such as heroin, likely constituting a formidable barrier to treatment. The public’s difficulty empathizing with male body image insecurities may partially explain why exposure to steroid users did not predict lower stigmatization.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	steroids, anabolic steroids, steroid stigma, marijuana, marijuana stigma, illicit drugs, illicit drug stigma, substances stigma
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Health services and systems
Research Field:	Mental health services
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Mental health
UTAS Author:	Mond, JM (Dr Jon Mond)
ID Code:	117556
Year Published:	2016
Web of Science® Times Cited:	12
Deposited By:	UTAS Centre for Rural Health
Deposited On:	2017-06-20
Last Modified:	2017-11-07
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