Jessica Burn, third year dissertation student

Alcohol health campaigns aim to reduce alcohol-related harm by raising awareness of health risks, promoting lower-risk drinking guidelines, and supporting behaviour changes to reduce alcohol consumption. However, there is the potential for health campaigns to inadvertently reinforce negative stereotypes associated with drinking, thereby perpetuating alcohol-related stigma. Alcohol-related stigma is an established barrier to help-seeking and treatment. This study aimed to explore the impact of health alcohol health campaigns on alcohol-related stigma.

Using an online randomised controlled trial, 118 participants were randomised to view either a negative or neutral alcohol health campaign. Participants were equally randomised across the two conditions (n = 59 per condition). Results indicated that there were moderate to high levels of alcohol-related stigma across the sample. After controlling for personal connection and alcohol intake, no significant differences were found in alcohol-related stigma across the two conditions.

These findings suggest that, within the context of a single brief exposure, negative alcohol health imagery may not exacerbate alcohol‑related stigma relative to neutral messaging. However, the overall prevalence of stigma observed underscores the importance of carefully considering how alcohol health campaigns are designed and framed.