TY - JOUR
T1 - Smoking to fit a stigmatised identity?
T2 - A qualitative study of marginalised young people in Australia
AU - Hefler, Marita
AU - Carter, Stacy M.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article: During the period of this project Stacy Carter was supported by NHMRC CDF 1032963.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2017.
PY - 2019/5/1
Y1 - 2019/5/1
N2 - In countries with comprehensive tobacco control, smoking is increasingly denormalised, with smokers subject to social stigmatisation. Qualitative research and commentary about denormalisation and stigma has largely focused on the impact on current or former smokers. Little attention has been given to the interaction between existing stigma among socially marginalised and disadvantaged young people and its role in smoking uptake, maintenance and resistance to quitting, or remaining a non-smoker. This article draws on a qualitative (grounded theory) study of young people aged 16–25 years who attended social services for at-risk youth in an inner city area in Australia, to explore the intersection between stigmatised identity and smoking in a context of increasing smoking denormalisation. Drawing on theoretical conceptualisations of stigma, we outline processes by which participants accept and apply social labels, internalise or distance themselves from stigmatised identities, and the influence of labelling on smoking trajectories, to demonstrate how the persistent dilemma of stigma shapes and reinforces smoking behaviour. The study highlights the need for tobacco control initiatives to align and integrate with broader initiatives to address structural inequality and social disadvantage.
AB - In countries with comprehensive tobacco control, smoking is increasingly denormalised, with smokers subject to social stigmatisation. Qualitative research and commentary about denormalisation and stigma has largely focused on the impact on current or former smokers. Little attention has been given to the interaction between existing stigma among socially marginalised and disadvantaged young people and its role in smoking uptake, maintenance and resistance to quitting, or remaining a non-smoker. This article draws on a qualitative (grounded theory) study of young people aged 16–25 years who attended social services for at-risk youth in an inner city area in Australia, to explore the intersection between stigmatised identity and smoking in a context of increasing smoking denormalisation. Drawing on theoretical conceptualisations of stigma, we outline processes by which participants accept and apply social labels, internalise or distance themselves from stigmatised identities, and the influence of labelling on smoking trajectories, to demonstrate how the persistent dilemma of stigma shapes and reinforces smoking behaviour. The study highlights the need for tobacco control initiatives to align and integrate with broader initiatives to address structural inequality and social disadvantage.
KW - adolescent
KW - grounded theory
KW - smoking
KW - social inequalities in health
KW - stigma
KW - young adult
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061056329&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1363459317745690
DO - 10.1177/1363459317745690
M3 - Article
C2 - 29188726
AN - SCOPUS:85061056329
VL - 23
SP - 306
EP - 324
JO - Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, illness and medicine
JF - Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, illness and medicine
SN - 1363-4593
IS - 3
ER -