LE RAGIONI PER VIVERE E LA MOTIVAZIONE ALL'ASTINENZA TRA TOSSICODIPENDENTI IN UNA COMUNITA' TERAPEUTICA, IN REGIME ALTERNATIVO ALLA PRIGIONE O SENZA PENDENZE PENALI

This article presents the results of the second part a field research carried out in 8 Therapeutic Communities (TC) of southern Italy with 78 IUDs drug-addicts, 37 following a regime alternative to prison and 41 without pending legal matters. Instruments used: the semi-structured interview, whose answers have been analyzed via the Analysis of Lexical Correspondences (ALC) with Spad-T, and the Reasons for Living Inventory [RFL]). This issue was addressed to deal with the question of the danger of punitive logic as expressed by the recent wish (proposed on 13 November 2003) to revise the DPR [Decree of the President of the Republic] 390/90. The article addresses the contradiction between the current policies directed to the “health principle” and the tightening up of the prohibitionist resolve: the former are centered on the value of prevention and of the psycho-educational promotion of subjective empowerment and life skills; the latter, on the contrary, is centered on restriction and social control. In particular, the relationship is examined between suicide prevention and the suicide risks linked to detention, which is used as a deterrent to dissuade from drug abuse.