{
  "abstract": "Background: Glue-sniffing among street-connected children and adolescents is a neglected public health and social issue with acute toxicity, entrenched stigma, and long-term life-course harms. In Merauke (South Papua), everyday practices, peer dynamics, and social labeling remain under-described. Objective: To explore lived experiences of street-connected children and adolescents who use inhalants in Merauke, focusing on initiation, accessibility, peer processes, harms, return to glue use, and perceived stigma. Methods: We conducted an inductive descriptive qualitative study with children and adolescents aged 12–18 years who reported glue use in the prior three months. Participants were recruited via gatekeeper-facilitated snowball sampling until information power indicated sufficiency. Data comprised semi-structured in-depth interviews (audio-recorded) and field notes; brief member checking closed each session and after the analysis. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive content analysis in NVivo 15. Results: Twenty-two participants (19 male, 3 female) shared narratives; among the nine who recalled their age at initiation, first glue use occurred between 5 and 12 years. Participants reported inhaling commercially available adhesive products. Five categories emerged: (1) Early Exposure, Easy Access, and Peer Influence (Early Initiation, Easy Availability, and coercive invitations); (2) Everyday Glue Use and Its consequences (earmarking daily income for glue, polysubstance patterns, concealment, somatic/perceptual disturbances); (3) Social dynamics and peer support (in group solidarity, ambivalent community/enforcement responses, painful labeling); (4) Returning to the cycle (peer-triggered return, difficulty quitting, and strong attachment to glue); and (5) Hopes and multilevel strategies (age-gated sales and basic-needs support). Conclusions: Glue-sniffing in Merauke is sustained by permissive retail environments and peer-mediated cues set against structural deprivation. Effective prevention requires integrated policy, peer, service, and social-protection responses tailored to local contexts.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Magister of Nursing Student, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia",
    "Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia",
    "Research Center in Advancing Community Healthcare (REACH), Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Faisal Adi Irawan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ferry Efendi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Praba Diyan Rachmawati"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/74pg1x31s97ck.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359626",
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  "id": "74pg1x31s97ck",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359626",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3317|Youth, Drugs, and Violence"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors"
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      "plos",
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Substance-related disorders/Intoxication"
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      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Children"
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      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Children/Adolescents"
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      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Families/Children"
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      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Families/Children/Adolescents"
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      "/Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials/Adhesives"
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  "openalex": "W7220420705",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0359626&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-05",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/74pg1x31s97ck.ris",
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359626",
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      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
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      "origin": "plos:mental health and psychiatry",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
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  "title": "“They call me a glue kid, but I don’t like it”: Experiences of glue use among street-connected adolescents in Merauke Regency, Indonesia",
  "title_text": "“They call me a glue kid, but I don’t like it”: Experiences of glue use among street-connected adolescents in Merauke Regency, Indonesia",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/74pg1x31s97ck",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
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}