Attitudes Toward Drug Abuse Among Residents*in a Therapeutic Community

Abstract

In recent years there has been a considerable amount of literature reported about drug abuse and the drug abuser. Generally, the reported evidence pertaining to attitudes toward drug abuse has been concerned with nonusers. Among those, Baker and Isaacs (1970) in a study of visiting nurses, law students, and policemen suggest that these individuals see drug abuse as a physical and mental illness. Pattison (1968) in a study of public attitudes toward narcotic addiction suggests the public sees the addict as less responsible for his behavior. Ferneau and Gertler (in press) studied the first-year psychiatric residents' attitudes toward drug abuse and the drug user and concluded that “this is how we rate these beginners in psychiatry—as more negative than not in the area of drug abuse.” Levitt and his colleagues (1963), in a study of hospital employee attitudes toward the treatment of drug addiction, noted that addicts were perceived as less undesirable among those employees whom they had direct contact with than those with whom they did not have direct contact. Several investigators have reported on the attitudes of drug users. Recently, Soverow and his coworkers (in press) compared the attitudes of methadone patients ward drug abuse with those of the clinic staff. The report concluded that there was considerable agreement in attitude among the two groups. Grupp (1970) investigated the drug users' attitudes toward the Nalline test and noted that drug users with positive attitudes and expectations are likely to benefit by the test. However, it appears that other than these reports little attention has been given concerning the drug users' attitudes. Grupp (1970) further notes that in the literature there is little consideration given to the attitudes of addicts. Additionally, the New York Academy of Medicine's Committee on Public Health (1963) has eloquently noted the importance of attitudes of drug users: Among addicts, attitudes toward addiction differ, and individual attitudes may change in time. … It is necessary to recognize these different andvarying attitudes of addicts toward their addiction in order to understand their attitude toward treatment: to seek it or resist it. In short, attitude affects the utilization of treatment and its outcome. The study reported here was undertaken because of the importance of drug users' attitudes and because of the lack of available literature in this area. This report is an attempt to remedy this deficiency.