Impact of Fear-Based Strategies on Health Awareness, Stigmatization, and Adolescent Behavior
Overview
This paper examines the negative impacts of fear-based health awareness campaigns, particularly those targeting sexual health and disease prevention. The author argues that while fear-inducing strategies may initially raise alertness, they promote stigmatization of marginalized groups, can backfire with teenagers, and fail to address root causes or provide comprehensive health information.
What this essay covers
- Analysis of Lederer's critique on fear-inducing awareness methods and their role in promoting stigmatization
- Examination of societal impacts through Fairchild, Bayer, and Colgrove's research on marginalization of infected groups
- Critical analysis of a fear-based campaign targeting sex workers and its misogynistic messaging
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Impact of Fear-Based Strategies
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Impact of Fear-Based Strategies
Alyssa Lederer’s article addresses the impact of fear-inducing methods of awareness on individual health and self-esteem. An essential con in the article is the promotion of stigmatization by these sensitization methods. According to the article, Lederer suggests that most of these appeals do not focus on tackling the root cause (Lederer, 2017). Instead, people are subjected to decision-making responsibilities, and this leads to stigmatization of the marginalized groups. Besides, graphical images display pathetic features of diseases that also cause stigmatization to the people who are already affected by the conditions.
When fear-based strategies are used primarily to discourage teenagers from indulging in unhealthy practices, there is a risk of backfiring. These strategies aim at displaying specific extreme symptoms, yet some people may have sexually transmitted diseases and not show signs at all. These strategies could be misleading since people who do not show signs might feel exempted from taking precautions. Fear inducing strategies fail to address general information on these diseases and could lead to unhealthy practices among teenagers.
Fairchild, Bayer, and Colgrave address a more societal based issue that arises from the use of fear-based strategies. These strategies tend to promote the marginalization of infected groups of people (Fairchild, Bayer & Colgrove, 2015). A significant focus is on associating diseases with ugliness, death, and inappropriateness. Therefore, those who are already infected with the diseases feel displaced in society.