Running to Recovery: A Carnal Sociologically Inspired Study of Change in Substance Use

Abstract

This dissertation represents an embodied investigation of the experiences of those who have integrated running into addiction recovery processes. This ethnographically inspired study, conducted in Vancouver (Canada), combines a carnal sociological framework with mobile interviews. Thus, the researcher's body served as a research tool, and the semi-directed interviews (n=22) were conducted while running with the participants. Wacquant's (2015) Six S properties served as conceptual categories for the deductive analysis of corporal experiences, namely: 1) skills; 2) suffering; 3) sentient; 4) situated; 5) symbolic; and 6) sedimented. This dissertation is comprised of three articles: 1) The first article provides a scoping review on the role of the body in social work literature; 2) The second article focuses on the methodological considerations stemming from the use of running interviews within a carnal sociological theorical framework; and 3) The final article, which is empirical, presents the findings of this study, emphasizing the significance of running in the participants' recovery process and the role of habitus in this context (Bourdieu, 1978). Finally, the dissertation concludes with a discussion that addresses: 1) the tensions between deviant and athletic bodies, and the place of this research between them; 2) considerations for running-based psychosocial interventions; and 3) implications for the discipline of social work.