The starting point of the project is that from the viewpoint of an individual’s life-course, the scientific traditions that emphasize one-sidedly genetic, neurobiological, rational, psychological, social or cultural factors may bypass the networks of heterogeneous forces and sidestep essential surprising factors and associations that contribute to the development of dependence in the diverse contexts of the lives of individuals.

Data: Autobiographical narratives

In this project, we analyze autobiographical narratives from people who have struggled with different kinds of addictions, such as drug use, alcohol consumption, binge eating, smoking, and gambling. In the analysis, we pay attention to the heterogeneous human and non-human forces that have determined their addiction or ended it. By comparing the emergence, stabilization and ending of different kinds of addictions, we expect to be able to specify in what way the attachments and patterns of different types of addictions resemble or differ from each other.

What this study adds

The knowledge we produce in the project facilitates prevention and treatment efforts in which the target is not an individual as an autonomous actor but the attachments and relations that enable unhealthy practices and the development of harm as part of specific relational patterns.