ABSTRACT

Accessing stigmatized persons for research purposes can be difficult, and accessing their significant others is perhaps even more challenging. We present here our defining moments of recruiting and surveying partners of persons registered as sexual offenders for our research on courtesy stigma. The challenges and successes of our journey are described within the larger hypothesis that close relationships are an important source of social support associated with adjustment and well-being outcomes for people involved in the justice system as well as their families. Ultimately, we suggest our reflections will not only encourage other researchers to seek the input of hard-to-reach populations in justice, health, and policy contexts, but also to incorporate the experiences of underrepresented voices, elucidate findings and lessons learned from these unique populations, and engage in reflexive health communication and research strategies with highly stigmatized populations.

摘要

出于研究目的访问被污名化的人可能很困难，并且访问他们的重要他人或许更具挑战性。我们在这里介绍我们招募和调查登记为性犯罪者的合作伙伴的决定性时刻，以进行我们关于礼貌污名的研究。在更大的假设中描述了我们旅程的挑战和成功，即亲密关系是社会支持的重要来源，与参与司法系统的人及其家人的调整和幸福结果相关。最终，我们建议我们的反思不仅会鼓励其他研究人员在司法、健康和政策背景下寻求难以接触到的人群的意见，而且还会整合代表性不足的声音的经验，阐明从这些独特的研究中吸取的发现和教训人口，