the association “i ragazzi della panchina”

THE ASSOCIATION “I RAGAZZI DELLA PANCHINA”:
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DISCURSIVE CONFIGURATION
OF “DRUG ADDICT” AND THE RELATION WITH THE TERRITORY
Sara Checchin, Gilberto Guastalla, Gian Piero Turchi, Alessandro Zamai, Gigi Dal Bon
Psychology Department – University of Padova, Italy • E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] - [email protected]
Abstract
According to the Narrative Paradigm, for which “reality is a discursive configuration generated by discursive practices” (Turchi, 2004), the aim of
the research was to describe the discursive practices through which the Association
“I Ragazzi della Panchina”, in Pordenone (Italy),
contributed to redefine the discursive configuration of “drug addict”, generated by the talkers’ community.
The method used for the textual analysis of the texts gathered is MADIT.
The results show that the discursive configuration of “drug addict” is built up by the whole speakers’ community. Specifically, through different
discursive elements used by people who know/attend the activities of the Association “I Ragazzi della Panchina” and people who do not
know/attend them.
Drug addiction= illness
Drug addiction=
configuration of reality
The social construction of the
“drug addicted” carriere
Medical model
drug using is
bad! drug
users have
problems
with
themselves
and the
NARRATIVISTIC PARADIGM
according to which “reality
is generated by the
discursive practices that
nominate it as ‘reality’”
(Turchi, 2004)
works is focused on the
behaviour with an
intervention of physiological
kind
others!
General
Citizenship
point of view
drug users/health community point
services
of view toward
users reception drug users/health
services users who
attend the
Association
Association
“I Ragazzi della Panchina”
Cultural
activities
for the
community
School
intervention
Association’s
customer
point of view
Interventions are focused
on the dialogical self
Epistemologically unfounded
(it joins together two
different epistemological
levels)
“he is not
reliable ”
“I have to use drug, I can't help
it!!”
Epistemologically grounded
METHODOLOGY
Strategic lines followed:
1) Analysis of local newspapers: textual analysis of eighty local newspapers about the Association “I Ragazzi della Panchina”, comparing two different periods: from 1995 up
to 1999 and from 2000 up to 2004. The 2000 is the year in which the Association opened its headquarters in the urban center.
2) Utilization of two questionnaires with open questions, aiming to gather the cognitive modalities used to construct the “drug addict” identity. The questionnaires were
given to all the people concurring to the generation of the identity of the “drug addict”, that is not only to the consumer of illegal drugs, but to the citizens in general.
More specifically, the sample was composed by 949 citizens of the city of Pordenone:
534 persons knowing the Association and its activities;
389 persons that do not know the Association and its activities;
27 drug consumers frequenting the Association.
The textual data were gathered and analyzed with M.A.D.I.T. – Method for the Textual-Computerized Data Analysis (Turchi et al., 2007).
RESULTS
Key words:
Key words:
Impact on the local
Impact on the association attenders who use illegal
substances concerning the “addicted” stereotype
prevention
problem
community’s point of view:
activity
drug-problem
local newspaper analysis
[theatre/shows]
drug- slavery
community
us [citizens]
partecipation
them [Ragazzi della Panchina / “drug
us [citizens & Ragazzi Panchina]
addicted”]
years
19951999
who work directly toward drug users
Comparison :
comparison:
Description of
the drug user in
general term:
years2
0002004
Responders who
don’t know the
Association and
its activities:
Description of
the drug user
who attend the
Association
Integrated – part of a
group – useful –
hopeful – redemption
- helps
depressed –
alone – useless –
hopeless – void
- Common way
- Social judgment
self-description looking to the future “I’m
optimist/I think I’ll have good experiences” “I’m
hopeful about my future”
-“drug addiction” as
“social issue”
- “drug addiction” as
“illiness”
Responders who
know the
Association and
its activities:
“
- shared responsability
- Ideological debate
Impact on professionals
The achievement of the office in the city centre modifies
the way to construct the “drug problem” and the Association
attenders, who are not used to be seen as part of the community.
Emphasis on the
person: “he is
unhappy/weak”
health/social
care
professionals
“drug addicted are
criminals - they are
to condemn”
Law
enforces
Emphasis on the
drug effects:
“drug addicted are
numb”
“drug addicted are
sick”
The achievement of the office in the city center modifies the way to construct the
“drug problem” and the Association attenders, who are not used to seen
as part of the community.
References:
CONCLUSIONS
Turchi G.P., Baciga D., Mussoni A., Salvini A., I sistemi di
credenze in soggetti con esperienza diretta, indiretta o assente
di sostanze psicotrope: l'analisi di domande aperte mediante
Spad-T, in A. Morin e P. Sébillot (eds.), JADT 2002. 6es
Journèes internationales d’Analyse statistique des Donnèes
Textuelles. Vol. 2. Institut de Recherche en Informatique et
claims/controversy/
moral judgement
“drug-addicted”
“Drug-addicted”
“Normal people”
“dignity”
“redemption” “normal people”
“possibility”
“citizenship”
Systémes Aléatoires/Institut National de Recherche en
Informatique et en Automatique, Rennes, 2002
Turchi G.P., 2007 “M.a.d.i.t.: manuale per la metodologia dei
dati testuali informatizzati” Aracne Editrice
Turchi G.P., Della torre C., 2007 “Psicologia della salute: dal
modello bio-psico-sociale al modello dialogico”, Armando
Editore
claims/controversy/
moral judgement
Health promotion
Before the Association was born there was a conflict between different group
in the community: the so-called “drug addicts” and the supposed “normal people”
Before the Association was born there was a conflict
between different groups within the community: the so-called
“drug addicts” and the so-called “normal people”
After the Association birth, a cultural change starts: now there are no more labels
such “drug addicts” and “normal people”: all the people is part of the same
community, sharing the responsability of health promotion on the territory
After the Association’s birth, a cultural change started: now there are no
more labels such as “drug addicts” and “normal people”: all the people
are part of the same community, sharing the responsibility
of health promotion on the territory
The efficacy evaluation of interventions with tobacco’s
consumers: An action that modifies the discursive
configuration, Dalila Barbanera, Gian Piero Turchi & Eleonora
Pinto (University of Padua, Italy)
The generation of discursive configurations of drug addicts: A
comparison between Italy and the Netherlands, Roberto
Fumagalli, Simona Fanelli, Dalila Barbanera & Gian Piero
Turchi (University of Padua, Italy)