The stigma of alcohol use during pregnancy: Exploring the impact of alcohol strength and social context on public perceptions

The stigma of alcohol use during pregnancy: Exploring the impact of alcohol strength and social context on public perceptions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The stigma of alcohol use during pregnancy: Exploring the impact of alcohol strength and social context on public perceptions Sam Burton, Shannon Cummings, Charlotte Connides-Smith, Elizabeth Fairweather, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6315356/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: To examine stigma and discrimination attributed to pregnant women consuming alcohol of varying strength and the social context in which it occurred, within hypothetical social scenarios. Specifically, we explored whether greater stigma was attributed to consuming alcohol in social settings vs. alone, and whether consumption of low and alcohol-free drinks are less stigmatised than standard strength alcohol drinks. Methods: The research employed a vignette-based experimental design across three studies, involving hypothetical social scenarios depicting alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Participants were randomly assigned to alcohol (3 levels: no, low and standard alcohol) and social context (2 levels: alone or with friends) conditions. A total of 1,054 participants were recruited across three studies. Measures of stigma were assessed using the Stigma and Attribution Assessment (SSA) and Personal and Perceived Public Stigma Measure (PPSM). Discriminatory behaviour was measured in two studies using a novel discrimination task. Results: Pregnant women consuming standard and low-alcohol drinks were more stigmatised than those consuming alcohol free beverages across multiple aspects of stigma. Stigma attribution also varied between low and standard alcohol consumption conditions, but these effects were inconsistent. Social context had minimal impact on stigma attribution. Conclusions: The stigma attributed to women consuming alcohol during pregnancy may vary as a function of alcohol strength, with consumption of alcohol-free products associated with least stigma. Stigma attribution seemed driven by societal norms around abstinence (which may be informed by perceived risk to the foetus), rather than the context of consumption. alcohol stigma pregnancy perinatal alcohol exposed pregnancy Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterials.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6315356","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":435277314,"identity":"1f433157-167c-4799-8969-624cab71e479","order_by":0,"name":"Sam 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pregnancy","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6315356/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6315356/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground:\u003c/strong\u003e To examine stigma and discrimination attributed to pregnant women consuming alcohol of varying strength and the social context in which it occurred, within hypothetical social scenarios. Specifically, we explored whether greater stigma was attributed to consuming alcohol in social settings vs. alone, and whether consumption of low and alcohol-free drinks are less stigmatised than standard strength alcohol drinks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e The research employed a vignette-based experimental design across three studies, involving hypothetical social scenarios depicting alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Participants were randomly assigned to alcohol (3 levels: no, low and standard alcohol) and social context (2 levels: alone or with friends) conditions. A total of 1,054 participants were recruited across three studies. Measures of stigma were assessed using the Stigma and Attribution Assessment (SSA) and Personal and Perceived Public Stigma Measure (PPSM). Discriminatory behaviour was measured in two studies using a novel discrimination task.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e Pregnant women consuming standard and low-alcohol drinks were more stigmatised than those consuming alcohol free beverages across multiple aspects of stigma. Stigma attribution also varied between low and standard alcohol consumption conditions, but these effects were inconsistent. Social context had minimal impact on stigma attribution.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions:\u003c/strong\u003e The stigma attributed to women consuming alcohol during pregnancy may vary as a function of alcohol strength, with consumption of alcohol-free products associated with least stigma. Stigma attribution seemed driven by societal norms around abstinence (which may be informed by perceived risk to the foetus), rather than the context of consumption.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The stigma of alcohol use during pregnancy: Exploring the impact of alcohol strength and social context on public perceptions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-19 17:49:25","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6315356/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"709fe959-38c3-4dd5-a1eb-c0d2067e73bb","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 19th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-06-19T17:49:25+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-19 17:49:25","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6315356","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6315356","identity":"rs-6315356","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}