Abstract
Addiction has in general been characterized by individuals’ experience of loss of control over certain forms of behaviors (such as consumption of alcohol or drugs, gaming, or shopping) and manifested as intense craving. Most theories of addiction atomize the individual from social relationships and wider social and cultural contexts. In this talk, I will go beyond the individual and explore how social relationships, institutional contexts and society at large affects addictive behaviors. Using examples from my own research on illegal substance use, I will discuss how problems, harms and addiction related to illegal substance use is contextual and not solely embedded in the use of a particular substance. How institutional contexts, such as drug use treatment, shape the possibilities for individuals to recover from addiction. And lastly how policies on illegal substances affect the understanding of addiction. 

About the speaker
Vibeke Asmussen Frank
Professor
Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences - Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research
Aarhus University