The effect of stigma on paternalistic and direct aid to people with SUD

Last registered on May 14, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The effect of stigma on paternalistic and direct aid to people with SUD
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015966
Initial registration date
May 06, 2025

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
May 14, 2025, 10:21 AM EDT

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
Linda Thunstrom
Affiliation
University of Wyoming
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Madison Ashworth
PI Affiliation
Fletcher group
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Klaas Van 't Veld
PI Affiliation
University of Wyoming
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-05-06
End date
2025-05-27
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
substance use disorder, SUD, stigma, paternalism, donations
JEL code(s)
D64
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We will examine how stigma (the perceived agency) of people with substance use disorder, SUD, affects financial support for recovery houses (paternalistic aid) and direct aid to recovery house residents. The results from the study will inform how information about recovery houses and
recovery house residents may be communicated to ensure adequate public support for funding recovery housing -- an SUD treatment option that has been particularly successful at helping people with SUD in their recovery.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ashworth, Madison, Linda Thunstrom and Klaas Van 't Veld. 2025. "The effect of stigma on paternalistic and direct aid to people with SUD." AEA RCT Registry. May 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15966-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will randomize participants into one of five information conditions:
1. Control (only receives brief info on recovery housing, which is provided to all participants, i.e., in all conditions)
2. High agency/low stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having high agency)
3. Low agency/high stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having low agency)
4. Neutral agency (describes people with SUD without words that indicate agency level)
5. No personal info (uses wording from conditions 2-4, but strips the information of any wording about people with SUD)
Intervention (Hidden)
We will randomize participants into one of five information conditions:
1. Control (only receives brief info on recovery housing, which is provided to all participants, i.e., in all conditions)
2. High agency/low stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having high agency)
3. Low agency/high stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having low agency)
4. Neutral agency (describes people with SUD without words that indicate agency level)
5. No personal info (uses wording from conditions 2-4, but strips the information of any wording about people with SUD)
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-06
Intervention End Date
2025-05-27

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Total level of donations to support people with SUD
Share of donations to paternalistic aid (recovery house) versus non-paternalistic aid (direct donations) in support of those with SUD
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1. Agency of people with SUD
2. Effectiveness of recovery houses in treating SUD
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Agency of people with SUD will be measured to examine whether the treatments succeeded in affecting perceived agency in expected ways. It will be constructed as an index = the sum of 1-5 point Likert responses for 5 questions measuring how people with SUD are expected to use money they receive directly.
2. Effectiveness of recovery huses in treating SUD will be measured to examine whether treatments affect perceived effectiveness. It is measured as a statement, with which participants can agree, disagree, or be neutral.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will randomize participants into one of five information conditions:
1. Control (only receives brief info on recovery housing, which is provided to all participants, i.e., in all conditions)
2. High agency/low stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having high agency)
3. Low agency/high stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having low agency)
4. Neutral agency (describes people with SUD without words that indicate agency level)
5. No personal info (uses wording from conditions 2-4, but strips the information of any wording about people with SUD)

We will examine how overall and types of donations (paternalistic vs non-paternalistic) are affected by the treatments, as well as (secondary) whether the treatments affect perceived effectiveness of recovery houses in treating SUD. We will also examine whether the treatments succeeded in varying the level of agency/stigma of participants.
Experimental Design Details
We will randomize participants into one of five information conditions:
1. Control (only receives brief info on recovery housing, which is provided to all participants, i.e., in all conditions)
2. High agency/low stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having high agency)
3. Low agency/high stigma treatment (describes people with SUD as having low agency)
4. Neutral agency (describes people with SUD without words that indicate agency level)
5. No personal info (uses wording from conditions 2-4, but strips the information of any wording about people with SUD)

We will examine how overall and types of donations (paternalistic vs non-paternalistic) are affected by the treatments, as well as (secondary) whether the treatments affect perceived effectiveness of recovery houses in treating SUD. We will also examine whether the treatments succeeded in varying the level of stigma of participants.
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000 Prolific participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
200 Prolific participants
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
2025-04-29
IRB Approval Number
IRB-2025-123
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