Accessing emergency contraception: the role of friends in the adolescent experience
Fallon, D.
Sociology of Health and Illness 32(5): 677-694
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1467-9566 PMID: 20553423 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2010.01237.xDocument Number: 211855
This paper focuses on the findings of a qualitative study that explored adolescent experiences of accessing emergency hormonal contraception (EHC). It describes how anticipated judgements and associated feelings of embarrassment and shame were dealt with through friendship. The paper outlines how, contrary to the notion of the 'mean girl', friends assumed crucial supporting roles which included confidante, advisor, and motivator. In some cases this included physically accompanying hesitant friends to sexual health services. The narrative brought to light how friends often kept each other on the straight and narrow, providing a sharp contrast to the image of irresponsible or shameless adolescents. Being this friend was transformative, offering a kind of reform that allowed a shift from the perceived label of promiscuous risk taker to that of informal advisor and supporter. The study concluded that friends were instrumental in the successful negotiation of the powerful discourses of risk and responsibility in the health arena and that this example of female solidarity at a time of crisis potentially plays a key role in adolescent sexual health.