Stigmatising substance use terminology in grant abstracts following high-level language guidance

Introduction

Stigmatizing language related to substance use has negative consequences,1,2 and people with lived and living experience have long advocated for the use of humanizing, nonstigmatizing language.1,2 High-level efforts to recast substance-related language include the shift in formal diagnostic labels in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) (DSM-5) to “substance use disorders” in 2013 and the issuance of guidance on nonstigmatizing language by organizations such as the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in early 20173 and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in early 2021.4 To assess how high-level language guidance may have affected researchers’ use of stigmatizing substance use terminology, we examined its use in abstracts of NIDA-funded grants and tested whether observed changes accelerated in 2017 and 2021.