Mellan missbruk och Svenssonliv – En kvalitativ studie om före detta missbrukares upplevelser av dåtid och nutid.

Sammanfattning: Between drug abuse and a more ordinary life – A qualitative study about former drug addicts experiences of past and present (translated title) The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of a group of people after leaving a life of drug abuse behind to live a more ordinary life and to interpret these experiences in the light of interactional theory. The theoretic framework used was based on the concepts of social worlds, marginal conflicts, social identity and role-exit. We were interested in comparing the past and the present in terms of social relationships, shift in identity and if the interviewees experienced any difficulties related to their new role as drug-free. The study was based on six semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted over a period of two weeks. We found that the social relationships of the interviewees during the time of drug abuse were based on the notion of exchange. Many talked in terms of closed doors between different (incompatible) social worlds and the isolation that could be a result of this. The interviewees were in different stages of shifting their identity from being a former drug addict into something else. They wanted to move on but it was difficult to pin point exactly what this meant. Different symbolic values and properties were important in shifting the identity towards the society in large and as a kind of receipt, a drivers license wore a strong symbolic value for the interviewees. Many of the interviewees could feel insecure in their new role as drug-free. Even though they all said they were being treated well, some residues from their past lives in forms of hepatitis C and debts still affected their sense of identity today.