ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a series of theoretical and empirical studies. The main aim of these studies has been to analyse psychological self-organization processes associated with transgressive actions, in particular the practice of crimes and drug consumption, analysed in the interrelation between the personality system, the action system and the meaning system of the individual. New research and assessment instruments had to be made that would be able to sustain a hermeneutic and procedural approach to certain phenomena. The biogram method, developed by da Agra and Matos, or rather, a modified version of it, proved the most suitable option. The studies aimed to analyse the determinations and meanings of the actions – crime, drug use and the relationship between the two – and of the individuals' deviant pathways. These studies involved collecting short narratives, using a standardized, semi-structured interview.
