Laughter and forgetting: using focus groups to discuss smoking and motherhood in low‐income areas in the UK

Robinson, Jude

doi:10.1080/09518390902835421

Cited by 14 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In terms of the use of focus groups as a way to overcome a sense of discomfort in talking about the intimate aspects of practice, when asked if the topic of conversation made them feel uncomfortable the overwhelming majority disagreed (87.6% – with 56.3% disagree; 31.3% strongly disagree). This supports previous research that has shown that focus groups are a successful way of discussing sensitive topics (Robinson ; Wilkinson et al . ).…”

Section: Reflections On the Use Of Focus Groups And Humour To Capturesupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The excerpt about laundering bed sheets shows that in these focus group settings encouraging curiosity about others, openness and humour enabled the participants to explore what they found interesting or incongruent about each other's practices, and challenge held social norms and meanings. Focus groups or similar informal multi‐person conversations in which humour and laughter feature enact a new type of data (Robinson ). The focus group is therefore a currently underused but potentially fruitful method to research mundane everyday practices because it allows new data to emerge, particularly about social meanings and conventions, the social organisation of everyday practices and connections across bundles of practices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the role of humour and laughter is increasingly explored as a tool for research within geography (Delph‐Janiurek ; Ridanpää ), it has not yet developed in geographical literatures on focus group methodology. Within other social sciences (health, education, psychology), laughter and humour are emphasised within focus group methods as ways of overcoming social awkwardness around taboo and shameful topics, particularly with marginalised groups (Robinson ). Within these literatures, the focus group is thought to create an important social space to enable generation of data that would otherwise be inaccessible through one‐to‐one methodologies (Wilkinson et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can people talk together about their practices? Focus groups, humour and the sensitive dynamics of everyday life

Browne

2015

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The exploration of everyday social practices related to sustainability often touches on the most invisible parts of people's everyday lives. Given the multiple cultural forces that govern cleanliness and comfort, and the intimate spheres in which these practices are performed, practices associated with everyday water use (and associated energy consumption) bump up against 'the taboo' . While it has been resolved that 'people can talk about their practices' in interviews, a range of other methods -including CCTV, video and other data to survey and document practices in homes -are increasingly being used. As we delve theoretically closer to these public/private boundaries with new studies on social practices and sustainability, greater attention to the ethics of methods is needed. Different 'talk'-based methodologies such as focus groups that could allow researchers to work more ethically with the strong moral sensitivities of certain domestic practices have not yet been considered. This paper explores six focus groups on 'bodies, clothes, dirt and cleanliness' that took place in Lancaster, UK. Reflecting on researcher positionality, and results of a follow-up survey with participants, the paper concludes that focus groups, humour and laughter enable intimately political conversations about aspects of everyday practices that might be difficult to access or articulate through other research methods. The implications of using conversational humour and laughter as purposeful tools for exploring particular aspects of everyday social practices is also explored. This paper responds to recent calls for greater consideration of fieldwork and methodologies related to gender and embodiment within human geography, and on the ethics and politics of everyday life research.

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Section: Reflections On the Use Of Focus Groups And Humour To Capturesupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can people talk together about their practices? Focus groups, humour and the sensitive dynamics of everyday life

Browne

2015

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“…The presence of laughter is also interesting. Laughter has been identified as enabling people to talk about sensitive topics (Robinson 2009) and an indicator of 'troubles-talk' (Jefferson 1984) -it suggests rhetorical discomfort in acknowledging an addiction. S126 describes cigarettes as yielding power over her, and suggests that addiction 'causes' her to go to extreme measures to access cigarettes.…”

Section: Accepting a Nicotine Addictionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is it the nicotine? Australian smokers’ accounts of nicotine addiction

Wigginton

Morphett

Gartner

2016

Addiction Research & Theory

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Since the 1980s, it has been widely accepted that nicotine is an addictive drug. While discussions of smoking inevitably lead smokers to reflect on their addiction, smokers' perceptions of nicotine addiction specifically are rarely studied. Smokers' understandings of nicotine addiction are increasingly relevant in light of the emergence of electronic cigarettes and other cessation aids containing nicotine, and their potential use as long-term replacements for cigarettes. This article is based on a thematic discourse analysis of interviews with 29 smokers from a large metropolitan city in Australia. We explore how smokers negotiate the concept of nicotine addiction in relation to themselves and other smokers, and how this influences their views of smoking cessation methods. Starting with the image of a nicotine addict, we show how participants accept or distance themselves from this image by re-framing the source of their addiction as habit-addicted, rather than nicotine-addicted. We also discuss the function of 'habit talk' as a way of contextualising their addiction, and report on how notions of addiction shape participants' views of cessation methods. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for future research and for health professionals working with smokers.

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“…Philamena orients to her smoking as problematic in a slightly different way to Sarah and Jessica, by using humour and laughter. Humour has been identified as facilitating difficult discussions in focus groups with low-income smoking mothers (Robinson, 2009) and, within conversation analysis, a prevalent feature of people's 'troubles-talk' (Jefferson, 1984). Philamena quotes her doctor as a way of justifying her (reduced) smoking, which according to the doctor is 'not going to be a massive stress [for her unborn foetus]'.…”

Section: Smoking In Pregnancy As Moral Troublementioning

confidence: 99%

“Put that out I can hear your baby coughing”: exploring the stigma associated with women’s smoking during pregnancy

Wigginton¹

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Despite comprehensive tobacco control policies in Australia, smoking during pregnancy is still relatively common. Women who continue to smoke during pregnancy report significant guilt, shame, and embarrassment for smoking in the face of widespread messages about the risks to the developing foetus of smoking. Located within critical health psychology and working within a social constructionist framework, this thesis examines the social meanings attached to smoking and addresses their incompatibility with dominant constructions of motherhood, specifically, what it means to be a good mother. The aims of the thesis are twofold: to (1) explore experiences and perceptions of smoking during pregnancy in the Australian context (2) examine the ways in which the presumed stigma attached to smoking during pregnancy is discursively negotiated by both members of the public and women who engage in this practice. This thesis is based on three interconnected projects: 13 semi-structured, short interviews with women who smoked during their recent pregnancies (Study 1); a survey with 626 university students (Study 2); and an online survey with 47 women who smoked during their recent pregnancies (Study 3). Chapter 1 outlines the theoretical framework that underpins this thesis, namely, critical health psychology and social constructionism. This is followed by a discussion of the relevance of reflexivity and a summary of the methodologies of the studies that make up the thesis. Chapter 2 provides a review of the literature relevant to the empirical chapters of this thesis.

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Laughter and forgetting: using focus groups to discuss smoking and motherhood in low‐income areas in the UK

Cited by 14 publications

References 37 publications

Can people talk together about their practices? Focus groups, humour and the sensitive dynamics of everyday life

Can people talk together about their practices? Focus groups, humour and the sensitive dynamics of everyday life

Is it the nicotine? Australian smokers’ accounts of nicotine addiction

“Put that out I can hear your baby coughing”: exploring the stigma associated with women’s smoking during pregnancy

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