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Performing coolness: smoking refusal and adolescent identities
E W Plumridge1, L J Fitzgerald, G M Abel
1Department of Public Health and General Practice, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand.
Health Education Research
|May 31, 2002
Summary
Adolescent non-smokers navigate identity challenges, as smoking signifies social status. Boys found alternatives to
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Adolescent Health
- Sociolinguistics
Background:
- Smoking is a significant behavior in adolescent social dynamics.
- Peer influence and social hierarchies impact adolescent identity formation.
- Understanding non-smoking identity is crucial for health promotion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how 13- and 14-year-old non-smokers construct personal identity in relation to smoking.
- To analyze the social strategies adolescents use to manage non-smoking identity.
- To investigate gender differences in navigating the social pressures of smoking.
Main Methods:
- Focus groups and dyadic conversations with 13- and 14-year-old non-smokers.
- Discourse analytic approach informed by performativity and social space theories.
- Examination of linguistic and interactional strategies related to identity and smoking.
Main Results:
- Smoking is a key signifier of power and status within adolescent social hierarchies.
- Non-smoking adolescents faced challenges in establishing positive identities against 'smoker cool' groups.
- Boys utilized physical activity to counter 'smoker cool', while girls often accepted lower status.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent non-smoking identity is socially constructed and negotiated.
- Gender significantly influences strategies for managing non-smoking identity.
- Health education needs to address the social meanings of smoking for adolescents.