Psychological Reports, 1975, 37, 1239-1242. @ Psychological Reports 1975

CREDIBILITY OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT DRUGS TO HEROIN ADDICTS E. ROBERT SINNETT, KENNETH HAGEN Kansas State University

AND WILLIAM M . HARVEY Nascotic~Service Council, Inc., S!. Louis Summary.-A small sample of black heroin addicts ( N = 23) was studied to determine their views of the credibility of a variery of sources of information about drugs. Addicts' own experience and that of ex-addicts and other users were the most trusted sources; and mental health professionals were significantly less credible than sources with personal drug experience. The findings support the use of paraprofessionals in drug education and drug counseling.

In a previous study (Sinnett, Press, Bates, & Harvey, 1975) the credibility of sources of information about drugs seemed to have clear implications for drug education and drug counseling. In the earlier study only users of nonaddictive drugs were included as subjects. The present study is a pilot investigation using the same instrument, slightly modified. Subjects were instructed to rate on a scale from 0 to 100% how trustworthy each of 46 sources were with respect to information about street drugs. The insuument was administered to a small sample ( N = 23) of blacks who were heroin addicts being treated at the Narcotics Service Council program. All but two were male. The mean age was 30.5 yr. and the mean level of education was 12.0 yr. Almost half of the subjects indicated they were unemployed and the actual rate may have been higher since merely listing an occupation does not reflect recent employment. There were, however, some with managerial, sales, business, and skilled trades represented among them as well as unskilled laborers. A two-way, subjects X sources, random, complete-block design analysis of variance was computed on the mean credibility ratings for the sources of information. There was a significant main effect for the sources of information (P = 11.39, df = 45/989, p < ,001). Duncan's new multiple-range test was employed for post hoc multiple comparisons of individual means (see Table 1 ) . Sources not connected by the same line are significantly different at the .05 level. Although the small number of subjects makes the value of a factor analysis questionable, since this study was exploratory and the results could be compared with those obtained previously, i t seemed justified. The credibility ratings for the sample were factor analyzed using the principal axes method with unity in the diagonals and Varimax rotations. The first factor, Friendship, accounted for 31% of the common variance. Factor 11, Legal and Medical Authority,

E. R. SINNETT, ET AL.

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TABLE 1 MEANC R E D I B I L RATINGS I~ OF SOURCES AND DUNCAN'S TEST* Source

Own Experience Ex-addict Experienced User Ex-user Addict Doctor Drug Educator Pharmacist Chemical Analyses Pusher Male Friend User FDA BNDD Nurse NIMH Guidance Counselor Lab Technician Underground News Scientific Journals NIH Female Friend User FBI Psychologist HEW Psychiatrist Justice Department Seeing Others on Drugs Narcotics Agent Female Friend Social Worker Male Friend Mother Adult Male Friend College Professor Office of Education Police Officer Father Minister Adult Female Friend Judge

M

P

90.22 88.70 81.52 88.22 71.30 69.57 68.61 68.22 66.09 65.00 61.74 60.87

60.52

59.78 59.57 58.04 56.30 56.09 55.65 53.70 51.74 5 1.61 49.13 48.70 47.39 45.09 45.00 44.57 41.74 41.30 41.30 37.61 36.30 35 .OO 34.78 34.78 33.26 32.83 32.17 32.17 TV 30.00 Newspaper 28.48 Principal 27.61 High School Teacher 27.48 Radio 26.30 Sheriff 25.00 "Sources not connected by the same line are significantly different at the .05 level.

accounted for 16% of the common variance. Factors 111 and IV, Benign Authority and Drug Experienced Persons, accounted for 10% and 996, respectively, of the common variance. The results of the factor analysis are summarized in Table 2 and include only those variables loading highly ( > .60) on a factor.

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TABLE 2 SUMMARYOF FACTORANALYSIS Source

Loading

Highest Rotated Loadings, Factor I (Friendship) Adult Female Friend .85 Adult Male Friend .79 High School Teacher .79 .7 8 Minister Male Friend .78 Judge .76 Female Friend .7 5 Office of Education .G2 Highest Rotated Loadings, Factor III (Benign Authority) FDA .88 Scientific Journals .88 NIMH .82 .G9 Mother Chemical Analyses .62 Father .62 Drug Educator .GI Pharmacist .G 1

Source

Loading

Highest Rotated Loadings, Factor 11 (Legal & Medical Authority) .8 1 FBI Police Officer .80 Justice Department .73 Doctor .7 1 BNDD .67 Sheriff .66 Narcotics Agent .62 Highest Rotated Loadings. Factor IV (Drug Experienced Persons) Experienced User .90 Male Friend User .80 Ex-user .78 .7 8 Female Friend User Addict .71

These results demonstrate clear differences in the credibility attributed to various sources of information about drugs by heroin users. Variables reflecting experience with drugs were regarded as the most trusted source of information (Own Experience, 90.22 %; Ex-addict, 88.70% ) . They differed significantly ( p < .05) from all other sources, with the exceptions of the sources Experienced User and Ex-user. These results are in accord with the previous study in which a "soft" drug using sample raced Own Experience as the most trusted source, followed by Experienced User and Ex-addict. Credibility ratings of sources in the mental health professions (Psychologist, Psychiatrist and Social Worker ) were signif ican tly lower than those associated with drug experience. Findings such as these should be challenging to educational or counseling programs which rely on direct input to clients from experts in these fields. The findings do, however, lend support to existing drug treatment programs which employ ex-addicts as a resource (Glasscote, Sussex, Jaffe, Ball, & Brill, 1972). In contrast to the previous study it seems that heroin users find physicians a more credible source of information than youthful users of non-addictive drugs. Pharmacist and Chemical Analyses are highly credible to both user groups. The media, with the exceptions of Underground News and Scientific Journals, were raced as among the most untrustworthy sources of drug information. It seems that general media releases, in contrast

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to those identified with scientific sources or individuals experienced with drugs, will not influence this population. The factor analyses indicate that sources are categorized along dimensions of Friendship, Legal and Medical Authority, Benign Authority and Drug Experienced Persons. Much the same dimensional pattern can be seen in the previous study where factors of Authority, Drug Experience and Friendship emerged. For the present sample, the Authority sources divided into two dimensions, legal-medical and benign authority. Because of the small number of cases involved, this finding may not be reliable and should be confirmed on a larger sample. Even though the subjects of the two studies differ remarkably in age, ethnic group, and type of drug abuse, in general they yield similar findings. People with drug experience trust their own experience first, followed by a belief in the credibility of experienced others. Because of the low credibility of mental health professionals, the use of ex-addicts as resources and peer counseling with consultation from professionals might be a model superior to that of direct service by professionals. Both studies indicate that many sources of information are seen as suspect, and some authoritative sources, such as chemical analyses, are viewed as unbiased. REFERENCES GLASSCOTE, R., SUSSEX, J. N., JAFPE,J. H., BALL,J., & BRILL,L. T h e treatment o f drug abuse. Washington, D.C.: Joint Information Service, 1972. S~NNETT,E. R., PRESS,A., BATES, R. A., & HARVEY, W. M. Credibility of sources of information about drugs. Psychological Reports, 1975, 36, 299-309. Accepted October 7 , 1975.

Credibility of sources of information about drugs to heroin addicts.

Psychological Reports, 1975, 37, 1239-1242. @ Psychological Reports 1975 CREDIBILITY OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT DRUGS TO HEROIN ADDICTS E. ROBER...
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