[The attachment formed in addictive behaviors during the adolescent process]

At the heart of the knotting of an addiction during the adolescent process is the possibility of conceptualizing the dynamics of an addictive behavior through the prism of attachment theory. From the inheritance of a family gift, through the coloring of attachment objects, to the adolescent oedipal reactivation, the addictive behavior finds a functional echo in compensation for an inaugural lack. This lack, this deficiency from an insecure family space, conditions the appearance of a symptomatic defense embodied by the dependent attachment to external objects. The case of Mohamed illustrates these problems in the relationship to the Other while providing a clinical window on the identity issues palliated by addictive behaviors. Witha logic of having rather than being, shaped by a relationship to language oscillating between the unspeakable and the reification of his speech, Mohamed invites us, singularly, to glimpse an avenue of clinical reflection.