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Evidence suggests that the percentage of men seeking treatment for substance use disorders and other addictive behaviours is significantly higher than that of women. This fact raises several crucial questions concerning the field of addictions. This paper aims to emphasize to the study of addiction in the light of gender studies and especially in the light of theories of dominant/hegemonic masculinity.

The perspective of dominant/hegemonic masculinity in the field of addictions raises a number of questions: Can the dominant/hegemonic masculinity perspective contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon of addiction? What are the implications of male-dominated and male-centred treatment services on meeting the needs of other populations? Are androcentric approaches ultimately helpful for heteronormative men? This paper investigates the emerging questions through a critical review of the literature including the disciplines of psychology, sociology and anthropology.

The perspective of hegemonic masculinity can make an important contribution to the understanding of addiction as it sheds light on a dimension that is not well researched and used in the field of addictions. The influences of the androcentric approach to addiction treatment are significant and pose problems both in accessing and serving the needs of other populations. The androcentric approach to treatment is not helpful for heteronormative men either as there is a risk of not addressing the toxic dimensions of dominant/hegemonic masculinity that are directly linked to the problem of addiction.

This paper poses interesting research questions for further research in the field.

This paper raises important issues for practitioners in the field and at the same time suggests alternative perspectives on the interpretation and treatment of addiction.

The gender perspective that should further enrich psychosocial interventions is crucial for the equal access of all people with an addiction problem to appropriate support structures.

Gender studies can make an important contribution to further understanding of addiction problems and to the development of effective practices for dealing with it. The fact that in substance abuse treatment programmes the vast majority of participants are heteronormative men raises a number of concerns. These concerns relate to the extent to which structures are directed at meeting the needs of these men and whether because of this orientation the needs of other populations such as heteronormative women and those who do not meet the norms of heteronormativity are left uncovered. These concerns are linked to broader considerations of the role that dominant/hegemonic masculinity plays in the aetiology of addiction and in creating barriers to help-seeking for heteronormative men themselves.

Recent studies have introduced new productive theoretical orientations to the vignette studies. There is not, however, sufficient analytical discussion on how the vignettes can be used in qualitative interviews for different functions. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Whatever theoretical framing the researcher decides to apply in qualitative interviews using vignettes, the paper proposes that it is always important to consider in what way the chosen vignettes refer to the object under examination, whether they represent it as clues (metonyms, symptoms, enigmatic traces), as microcosms (icons, metaphors, totems, ideal types, homologies) or as provokers (anomalies, taboos, controversies).

When vignettes are used as clues in interviews, they can be introduced as puzzling traces, tracks or indexes which together with the interview questions carry out the interviewees to metonymic reasoning. When vignettes are used in interviews as microcosms, the interview questions are built so that they encourage the interviewees to consider the vignettes as icons that mimic reality or realities, their actors, situations, acts, events and processes. And when vignettes are used as provokers, they are selected and produced so that they challenge the forms, boundaries, meanings and habits of the well-known and plausible realities of the interviewees.

The paper demonstrates with examples how vignettes function in the interviews as clues, microcosms or provokers and shows why it is important to pay attention to this.