Social representations about future of crack users: what to expect?

Due to the speed at which the crack has earned place in society and because it has been considered, nowadays, a major social problem, this work aimed to analyze the social representations of the expected to the future of crack users and its use in the perspective of users, their families and health professionals. The study was conducted according to the referential of the Theory of Central Core. The survey was conducted in four Psychosocial Care Centers, where thirty crack users, twenty relatives and thirty health professionals were interviewed. In data collection, free associations were used based on the technique of evocations, which were organized and processed through software EVOC. The results showed the absence of changes prospect with regard to the future of the crack users among the groups and a noticeable disbelief toward his recovery, especially for users and family members. These results indicate important concerns, such as the challenges faced by health professionals in its operations against the crack addiction and the difficulties of treatment and prevention measures. Therefore, it is expected that this study will provide subsidies for the development of future studies in the area of social psychology and mental health, supporting actions that bring attention to these users, as well as their adherence to treatment.