How do Past, Present and Future Weigh into Trajectories of Precarity? The Time Perspectives of Young Psychoactive Substance Users Living in Situations of Social Precarity in Montreal
Abstract
Young psychoactive substance users in social precarity are vulnerable to a range of health and social issues. Time perspective is one aspect to consider in supporting change. This study draws on the views expressed by young adults to portray their subjective experience of time, how this perception evolves and its implications for their substance use and socio-occupational integration trajectories. The sample includes 23 young psychoactive substance users (M = 24.65 years old; 83% male) in social precarity frequenting a community-based harm reduction centre. Thematic analysis of the interviews reveals the past to be synonymous with disappointment and disillusionment, but also a constructive force. Participants expressed their present-day material and human needs as well as their need for recognition and a sense of control over their own destiny. Their limited ability to project into the future was also discussed. Avenues on how support to this population might be adapted are suggested.
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Biographies
Vincent Wagner has a PhD in Clinical Psychology (University of Nantes, France). Currently, he occupies a researcher position at the University Institute on Addictions (Institut universitaire sur les dépendances, Montréal, Québec, Canada) and is an adjunct professor in the Addiction Studies and Research Program, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sherbrooke (Canada). His main research interests include trajectories of substance uses and addictive behaviors, especially among vulnerable populations (e.g., people living in precariousness, seniors, etc.), as well as change processes and time perspectives.
Karine Bertrand is a full Professor in the Addiction Studies and Research Program, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sherbrooke, and holder of the CIHR (Canadian Institutes on Health Research) Research Chair in Gender and Intervention in Addiction. She is also the Scientific Director of the University Institute on Addictions (Institut universitaire sur les dépendances). Her research aims to better understand processes of change in the trajectories of people affected by addiction and focuses on bringing people with lived experience, service providers and other key stakeholders together around the shared goal of improving addiction services and reducing health inequities.
Jorge Flores-Aranda is a Professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). He is also a researcher at the University Institute on Addictions (Institut universitaire sur les dépendances), and associated researcher at the Community-based research center. His work focuses on the links between substance use and sexuality, the use of new technologies for social interventions, and social issues experienced by sexual and gender diversity population.
Ana Cecilia Villela Guilhon is a Psychologist and a doctoral student in the Addiction Studies and Research Program, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sherbrooke (Canada). She has a Master in History and Philosophy of Psychology from the Federal University of Juiz de For a (UFJF, Brazil) and she has a diploma of Mental Health specialization from the Center for Research in Public Policies of Mental Health at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB / UFRJ, Brazil). She also has a diploma of Higher Specialized Studies in Clinical and Pathological Psychology from the University of Paris 5 – René Descartes (France).
Shane Knight is involved in the TAPAJ research project and the CIHR Research Chair in Gender and Intervention in Addiction as a peer researcher with lived experiences related to addiction, homelessness and mental health issues. His goal is to advance these field of research and intervention by building action plans mobilizing service providers to offer better services to marginalized populations living inequities in our society.
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