A final way in which substance use disorders are uniquely related to stigma is that people with this condition are more likely to be perceived as having personal control over their illness and, therefore, are more likely to be held responsible and blamed [20,35,36]. This system of beliefs (i.e. causal attributions) affects the social response to substance use disorders (e.g. anger, avoidance, coercion, punishment) and can influence how people with substance use disorders view themselves [37,38]. Interventions that aim to reduce stigma are likely to be affected adversely by the fact that substance use problems are often perceived as a moral deficit for which a person has corrective control.
