Abstract
Within the framework of the defence of a sociology of the relationship to the world, this article seeks to analyse the existential discomforts and concerns experienced by individuals in situations of vulnerability, as well as the socio-existential supports that enable them to sustain themselves when the support of work is lost or weakened. To this end, the article mobilises empirical material from research carried out through in-depth interviews and discussion and feedback groups. Specifically, this research focuses on three groups: young people, unemployed people aged over 45, and family network women carers, all of them in a situation of vulnerability. We offer a differentiated analysis of the main existential discomforts and concerns experienced by each of these groups, as well as the main socio-existential supports that allow them to sustain themselves in their daily lives. This article thus aims to make a theoretical and empirical contribution to the development of both a sociology of the relationship to the world and a sociology of supports.