Q&A: Short animation changes how people see addiction
Social stigma—judgment from employers, neighbors, clinicians and family—is one of the main reasons why only one in 10 of the roughly 400 million people worldwide with alcohol or drug use disorders receive adequate care, according to recent WHO statistics.
A short, 2-minute animated video featuring a young fish and its experiences with addiction was shown to participants in the UK, United States, and South Africa as part of a study aiming to reduce stigma surrounding drug and alcohol use disorders. The video, which has no dialogue, follows the young fish as it is warned by an older fish to leave a strange blobby substance alone and then becomes addicted, with the older fish later revealing their own history of addiction and recovery.
The study, published in eClinicalMedicine, found that watching the animation, either with or without its soundtrack, led to a 9% reduction in addiction stigma scores compared to a group that read an informational text about substance use disorders. The silent version of the video also had a modest effect, reducing stigma scores by 6% immediately after exposure and 2% at follow-up.
Participants who watched the video reported feeling warmer toward people with addiction and had a more optimistic outlook, with these feelings lasting for two weeks. The researchers, led by Maya Adam, MD, PhD, believe that this form of micro-intervention, which is short, wordless, and designed for social media and digital pathways, can effectively shift attitudes in the short term and encourage people to question their existing attitudes.
The silent soundtrack was found to be more effective in eliciting emotional responses compared to narration, highlighting the power of storytelling and art in public health messaging.
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