This study’s finding that perceived alcohol stigma is elevated among people with AUD who have internalizing psychiatric comorbidity may have clinical implications. Specifically, because research with treatment seeking populations has shown that perceptions of being stigmatized in regards to one’s addiction status (by the general public and/or by treatment providers) is associated with less transparency, more secrecy (Luoma et al. 2007), and treatment non-completion within substance abuse treatment programs (Brener et al. 2010), treatment providers should be aware that clients with comorbid AUD and internalizing psychiatric disorders may be particularly susceptible to alcohol-related stigma. It is notable that while the proportion of people who had received prior treatment was elevated in the classes with comorbidity, our sensitivity analyses showed that the results comparing stigma across the latent classes were unchanged when adjusting for prior alcohol treatment participation. As such, treatment providers may wish to assess whether their clients’ expectations of rejection and discrimination could potentially be limiting their active participation in treatment for their substance use and other psychiatric problems, particularly among those who have internalizing psychiatric comorbidity. Mindfulness interventions
