Does the perceived agency of those in recovery housing reduce stigma and paternalistic donations?

Last registered on January 03, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does the perceived agency of those in recovery housing reduce stigma and paternalistic donations?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010572
Initial registration date
December 26, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 03, 2023, 5:26 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Madison Ashworth
Affiliation
Fletcher Group, Inc.
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Linda Thunstrom
PI Affiliation
University of Wyoming
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PI Name
Robin Thompson
PI Affiliation
Fletcher Group, Inc
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PI Name
David Johnson
PI Affiliation
Fletcher Group, Inc
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PI Name
Grace Clancy
PI Affiliation
Fletcher Group, Inc
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-01-01
End date
2023-05-13
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
substance use disorder, recovery housing, stigma
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Substance use disorder (SUD) is a considerable public health threat in the United States. The availability of effective treatment options, like recovery housing, have the potential to generate substantial public health benefits. However, a barrier to the establishment of services and successful utilization of services is social stigma towards those with SUD and SUD services. We will test whether the perceived agency of those in recovery housing reduces social SUD stigma and paternalistic donations. To vary the perceived agency of those in recovery housing, we will randomly expose participants to a control treatment containing no additional information or a description of recovery housing residents that varies the level of control residents have over their recovery. We will test these descriptions in a nationally representative sample (N = 1,200).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ashworth, Madison et al. 2023. "Does the perceived agency of those in recovery housing reduce stigma and paternalistic donations?." AEA RCT Registry. January 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10572-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will design a survey experiment testing the effect of two different messages that vary the level of agency those in recovery housing have. One message will describe those in recovery housing with high agency and one message will describe those in recovery housing with low agency. In the high agency message, we will describe those in recovery housing as being there by choice, having ambitions, choosing which recovery pathways to use, and what employment opportunities to pursue after leaving the house. In the low agency message, we will describe those in recovery housing as having no other choice than to be in recovery housing, and being directed by others in treatment pathways and employment opportunities.
Intervention Start Date
2023-01-02
Intervention End Date
2023-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will have 3 primary outcomes of interest: social substance use disorder stigma, donation source and amount, and hypothetical recovery housing support. We will measure social stigma using 2 validated scales: the Affect scale and the Community Attitudes scale. To measure of financial support, we will ask participants to split $100 between a recovery house, the recovery house residents, and themselves. To measure hypothetical support for recovery housing at varying levels participants will be asked how likely they would be to support recovery housing in general, in their state, in their city, in their zip code, in their neighborhood, and right next door to them.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants will be randomized into one of three treatments: the control group, the high agency description of recovery housing residents, or the low agency description of recovery housing residents. After treatment randomization, participants will be asked to split $100 between themselves, a recovery house, or recovery house residents. Then participants will be asked about their hypothetical recovery housing support and questions to assess social stigma. After the treatment and outcome questions, we will ask a series of questions to determine the participant’s perception of recovery housing residents' agency and competence, house effectiveness at helping residents, and how responsibly the person in recovery would use the money donated to them. Finally, we will ask about the participants characteristics that might influence their perceptions about SUD including employment history, if they or a close family member are/have been criminal justice involved, and if they or a close family member have experienced SUDs.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
By a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
1200 nationally representative
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
400 nationally representative
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Wyoming Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-12-15
IRB Approval Number
20221201MA03452
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials