Courtesy Stigma and Social Support: An Exploration of Fathers' Buffering Strategies and Blocking Rationalizations

This study extends scholarship on stigma management communication and social support by exploring the experiences of fathers of children living with a rare health condition, Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Findings from this interview-based interpretive study reveal that fathers assuaged the negative effects...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health communication 2019-11, Vol.34 (13), p.1543-1554
Main Authors: Tikkanen, Stephanie A., Peterson, Brittany L., Parsloe, Sarah M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blocking
Buffering
Buffers
Children
Fathers
Information sharing
Masculinity
Norms
Preempting
Privacy
Prosocial behavior
Social exchange theory
Social interactions
Social norms
Social support
Stigma
Sturge-Weber syndrome
Technology
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Summary:This study extends scholarship on stigma management communication and social support by exploring the experiences of fathers of children living with a rare health condition, Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Findings from this interview-based interpretive study reveal that fathers assuaged the negative effects of stigma on their children-and courtesy stigma on themselves-by employing buffering strategies, including reactive and preemptive information sharing, preparatory conversations, and support blocking. Further, fathers offered three rationalizations for their blocking behaviors-reasoning that to accept support would violate social norms, as well as privacy expectations and that accepting support was not worth the effort (social exchange). These findings encourage scholars to continue to upend predominant constructions of masculinity and also call to question prevailing assumptions about the relationship between technology and privacy.
ISSN:1041-0236
1532-7027
DOI:10.1080/10410236.2018.1504658