Stigmatization and Minoritized Identities Following Exposure to Violence: A Intersectional Evaluation of Friendship Loss in Adolescence

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Abstract

Exposure to violence—witnessing or experiencing violence--is a common occurrence in adolescents, affecting 42% of 6-17 year olds in the United States annually (Finkelhor et al., 2015). Exposure to violence has been connected in a novel area of research to a retraction of popularity within social networks (i.e. indegree), with larger negatives effects for females, net of prior period popularity and depression (Tomlinson, 2021; Wallace, 2017). Combining Stigma Theory (Goffman, 1963) and Intersectionality Theory (Collins, 1990; 1977; Crenshaw, 1989, 1991) within the U.S.’s racialized social system (Bonilla-Silva, 1997; Ray, 2019), I test a stratified model if effects are larger for historically minoritized/dominated identities due to hierarchical social control. Using Wave I and II Add Health networks data (N=1,931) with stratified Mixed-Effects Poisson analysis, implementing school and student random intercepts and period fixed effects, I found that Non-Hispanic Black women and Hispanic (any race) women experienced a 20% and 16% reduction, respectively, in in-degree nominations the year following an exposure to violence. Null findings for men and White women supports the intersectional application to stigma theory, with implications for minoritized adolescent females receiving less social support following trauma and possible disparities in adulthood health and wellbeing.

Author

• Erin L Cuéllar Wright, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill