About
Ola Røed Bilgrei is Research Professor at Consumption Research Norway (SIFO) and associated with the research group for Consumption Policy and Economy. He has a PhD in sociology from the University of Oslo (2019).
Bilgrei mainly uses cultural and qualitative perspectives in studies of legal and illegal drug use. Among other things, his research examines how such consumption practices can be related to wider societal conditions such as digitalisation, identity work, youth cultures, symbolic consumption and marginalized street life. This work typically draws on large, qualitative data sets that include individual and group interviews, longitudinal studies, textual analysis, and online ethnography.
Field of study
Qualitative methods Drugs Youth culture Sub-culture Digital Culture Consumption Research
Research projects
Ongoing research projects
-
Changing Drug Use and Drug Policy
The project aims to provide new insights into young people's patterns of alcohol and illegal drug use, the social meaning of drugs, and the consequences of drug-related sanctions.
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DISCo: Digital infrastructures for sustainable consumption: Redirecting, reorganizing, reducing and reimaging consumption
DISCo aims to produce knowledge on how consumption can move in a more sustainable direction by applying digital technologies.
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DRUGTREND: Youth cultures and emerging patterns of drug use in a digital age
The main objective of DRUGTREND is to enhance understanding of the cultural and social factors driving changes in youth drug use patterns, with a specific focus on the role of social media platforms.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
; Hanoa, Kristin
(2025).
Navigating the complex currents of risk environments among people who use drugs: A commentary.
Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (NAD).
https://doi.org/10.1177/14550725251396863
Borch, Anita ; Bilgrei, Ola Røed (2025). Barns tilhørighet blant mennesker og ting. ISBN: 9788202885762. 264 p. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
Borch, Anita
;
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
(2025).
Tilhørighetsstudier blant barn og unge.
Borch, Anita; Bilgrei, Ola Røed (Ed.).
Barns tilhørighet blant mennesker og ting. p. 7-26.
Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
https://doi.org/10.23865/cdf.250
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
;
Tokle, Rikke
; Skjælaaen, Øystein; Buvik, Kristin; Scheffels, Janne
(2025).
Shades of Green: Towards a Typology of Adolescent Cannabis Use.
Contemporary Drug Problems.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509251346122
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
(2025).
Smak av tilhørighet: En studie av matpraksiser og tilhørighet
blant barn og unge.
Borch, Anita; Bilgrei, Ola Røed (Ed.).
Barns tilhørighet blant mennesker og ting. p. 53-70.
Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
https://doi.org/10.23865/cdf.250
Skjælaaen, Øystein;
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
; Buvik, Kristin; Scheffels, Janne
(2025).
Frihet og vennskap. Om ungdom og rusopplevelser.
Nordisk tidsskrift for ungdomsforskning (NTU).
Vol. 5.
https://doi.org/10.18261/ntu.5.1.5
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
; Hanoa, Kristin; Buvik, Kristin
(2024).
“You have to be street smart”: Street capital and the social organisation of risk among people who inject drugs in Norway.
Health, Risk and Society.
Vol. 26.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2024.2318548
Bilgrei, Ola Røed ; Scheffels, Janne; Buvik, Kristin; Tokle, Rikke (2024). The green shift? Narratives of changing cannabis policies and identity-work among Norwegian adolescents. Wanke, Michał; Sandberg, Sveinung; Macit, Ruken; Gulerce, Hakan (Ed.). Cannabis: Cultures and Markets. p. 39-48. Taylor & Francis.
Hanoa, Kristin;
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
; Buvik, Kristin
(2023).
Injecting Alone: The Importance of Perceived Safety, Stigma and Pleasure for Solitary Injecting.
Journal of Drug Issues (JDI).
Vol. 54.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00220426231151377
Scheffels, Janne; Brunborg, Geir Scott;
Bilgrei, Ola Røed
;
Tokle, Rikke
; Andreas, Jasmina Burdzovic; Buvik, Kristin
(2023).
Ambivalence in Adolescents’ Alcohol Expectancies: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study Among 12-to-18-Year-Olds.
Journal of Adolescent Research.
Vol. 4.
https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584221150909
