Labeling and the Adoption of a Deviant Status

This study explores the role of labeling in the process by which individuals come to perceive their personal indebtedness as indicative of a deviant status. Particular attention is paid to the respective roles one's informal social network and self-help groups play in promoting the transformation from a non-deviant to deviant status. In-depth interviews with a convenience and snowball sample of 46 members of Debtors Anonymous (DA), was supplemented with contextual data from a DA newsletter and other print materials. The theoretical implications for both labeling theory and identity change processes are discussed.