USING YOUNG ADULT NOVELS TO INCREASE NONMORALISM, NONSTEREOTYPICAL ATTITUDES AND TREATMENT OPTIMISM TOWARD SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS AND TREATMENT AMONG COUNSELING STUDENTS Amy E. Williams College of William and Mary

NATURE OF THE PROBLEM: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS In 2014 among those age 12+: 24.6 million Americans reported current illicit drug use million Americans reported current alcohol use 60.1 million Americans reported binge alcohol use Only 2.5 million Americans received treatment at a substance use treatment facility The Moral Model—predominant viewpoint of lay people (SAMHSA, 2014; Juhnke & Hagedorn, 2005)

NATURE OF THE PROBLEM: HELPING PROFESSIONALS Standardized addiction counseling competencies exist (SAMHSA, 2006) lack of unity for training and practice requirements for addiction treatment professionals nationally Language associated with addiction and its treatment stigmatizes clients; a 2005 study found that 43% of physicians identified moral weakness as one element contributing to alcohol dependence (Richter & Foster, 2014) Nonstereotypical attitudes toward addiction and treatment attitudes predicted treatment optimism among undergraduate counseling students on the Substance Abuse Attitudes Survey (SAAS; Chasek, Jorgensen, & Maxon, 2011)

RESEARCH QUESTION How does reading young adult (YA) trade books focusing on characters experiencing addiction impact counseling students’ nonmoralism, nonstereotypical attitudes and treatment optimism toward individuals impacted by addiction?

SAMPLE Graduate level counseling students enrolled in an addiction counseling course 30 participants minimum Conducted at my university in my course (YSU) and at William and Mary in Eleni Honderich’s course Two year data collection timeline: My course will be the intervention course in year one and Dr. Honderich’s course will be the comparison group in year one; in year two, the group assignments will be switched

METHODS: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Data Collection: Demographic Information Substance Abuse Attitudes Survey (SAAS; Chappel et al, 1985) at start of first class meeting and end of last class meeting of the semester Post-course interviews using questions exploring change in attitudes, use of trade books in course, and impactful class activities Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics ANOVA analysis for intervention and comparison groups for SAAS; consider including grouping variables of addiction and non- addiction counseling studetns Qualitative data analysis of interview data Data analysis will be conducted by me

METHODS: CLASSROOM PRACTICE Content focuses on addiction counseling theories and skills across both courses Intervention course will also include book discussion groups: Assign list of possible books that students may self-select; two books total, with one book before midterm and one after Book groups will be given guiding reflection questions and meet weekly in class to respond to the book, the questions, and their reactions to the story Use of choice with limits in selecting books will allow students autonomy and hopefully increase motivation to read Students will also complete weekly private reflection journals on their personal responses to the book via online LMS to allow for personal reactions not shared in group

ANTICIPATED RESULTS I hope that students will report increased understanding, empathy, and awareness of the realities of addiction and working with individuals impacted by addiction by reading stories that feature characters who are impacted by addiction and participating in discussions related to these readings and how they impact students’ professional and personal understandings of addiction.

OPTIONS FOR DISSEMINATION Presentation Venues: The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference or Regional Conference Publication Venues: The Journal of Addiction and Offender Counseling or Counselor Education and Supervision