Dependencia representacional entre dos objetos sociales: el narcotráfico y la violencia

Drug trafficking and violence are social problems that, for a long time, have altered everyday life in the province of Sinaloa (Mexico). Additionally, according to public opinion, these two closely related phenomena help explain the social insecurity experienced in Sinaloa. In this study, the relationship between drug trafficking and violence was analyzed. In order to explore this relationship, a free word association questionnaire was administered with an inter-subject design. A total of 443 subjects participated in the study, with average age of 21, 32 years old (SD=2, 23), divided by gender (50% male and 50% female), all of whom resided in the city of Culiacan. Half of the sample responded to drug trafficking as the inducting stimulus, while the other half responded to violence as the stimulus. Results showed that drug trafficking has an ambivalent value and has a closely relation with social representation of violence. Finally, the results showed a relation of inclusion (emboîtement) amongst both objects; in other words, drug trafficking is "absorbed" by the social representation of violence.