“They call me a glue kid, but I don’t like it”: Experiences of glue use among street-connected adolescents in Merauke Regency, Indonesia
- 1Magister of Nursing Student, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
- 2Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
- 3Research Center in Advancing Community Healthcare (REACH), Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia
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.
Related
- Exploring contextual factors associated with adolescent sexual violence in Tasikmalaya Regency, Indonesia: a qualitative study informing an ecological empowerment framework
- Prenatal And Postnatal Risk Factors Associated with Stunting in Children Aged 0-24 Months Banyumas Regency Indonesia
- Type 2 Diabetes Self-Care in Family Life: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Patient and Family Perspectives from Two Community Health Centers in Ogan Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia.
- Climate Anxiety Among Adolescents in Medan City, Indonesia
- The effectiveness of the Youth-Oriented Mental Health Education Program (Y-MIND) school-based psychoeducational program in improving mental health literacy and reducing psychological distress among adolescents in Klaten, Indonesia: A quasi-experimental study
BibTeX
@article{irawan2026they,
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}},
author = {Faisal Adi Irawan and Ferry Efendi and Praba Diyan Rachmawati},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359626},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359626},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - “They call me a glue kid, but I don’t like it”: Experiences of glue use among street-connected adolescents in Merauke Regency, Indonesia
AU - Faisal Adi Irawan
AU - Ferry Efendi
AU - Praba Diyan Rachmawati
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359626
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359626
AB - 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.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -