https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/102884 Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:10:05 GMT 2026-04-19T21:10:05Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/121415 Title: Exploring the lived experience of women with high-risk drug use in Malta Abstract: This study explores the lived experience of women who have engaged or engage in high-risk drug use in Maltese communities. It explores the journey women partake when they start to use drugs and become drug dependent, exploring victimizing experiences that they contribute to have impacted their addictive trajectories. It investigates how they come to realise and experience that they are drug dependent, how others react to them, and how they negotiate their day to day lives. It goes into what it is like for them to be a woman with high-risk drug use, members of their communities and experience a drug use disorder. It also covers their experiences of treatment and community reintegration efforts. A qualitative research approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants. The interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three super-ordinate themes emerged: Lost in Space – the experience of early trauma and victimization in childhood and adolescence; From LaLa Land to the Land of Confusion – the experience of the addictive career,from hubris (pride) to nemesis (shame); The Road less Travelled – the experience of desistance, the ability to experience emotions. Reintegration of women with high-risk drug use, indicates a complex path in which feelings of shame, some of which caused by community shaming, could play a barrier to adhere to a social reality from which they have been ostracized and to which, with time, have become estranged. This research has pragmatic value, providing insight into implications for community action in order to apply more effective policies and service strategies. Description: M.A.(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/121415 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103006 Title: The normalisation of cannabis use among young people in Malta Abstract: The concept of the normalisation of drug use first developed in Britain during the 1990s when the availability of a range of substances grew, matched by an increase in recreational drug use and a wider acceptance of it. Research has suggested that cannabis use is no longer linked to subculture experiences and has become a normal option for young people to feel accepted in social groups, therefore, in contrast with the past, the use of cannabis is not an activity linked solely to specific social classes, subcultures or delinquent acts. This research aims to analyse whether young people’s cannabis use has become normalised in Malta, by assessing Parker, Williams and Aldridge’s (2002) five key dimensions for normalisation to be considered namely the access and availability of the drug, lifetime prevalence of drug use, recent and regular drug use, the cultural accommodation of drug use and the social accommodation or attitudes towards drug use and drug users. The study adopts a quantitative approach. The online questionnaire was completed by 128 participants, whose ages range from eighteen to thirty. The findings indicate that the use of cannabis has become normalised in the lifestyle of the young people who participated in the research. The study concludes with general recommendations for further research on the normalisation of cannabis use on the Maltese Islands. Description: B.A.(HONS)YOUTH&COMM.STUD. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103006 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103005 Title: The dark side of the Web : youths, drugs, and online purchasing Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to collect the perspectives, experiences and expertise of professionals working with entities such as Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Sedqa, the Malta Police Drug Squad and Cybercrime Unit, and the Customs Department. The data collected will help analyse the possibility of youths resorting to Dark web markets to procure drugs, considering that several empirical data suggests that youths are the cohort that consumes drugs and uses the Internet the most. The findings from the semi - structured interviews were analysed through thematic analysis. This method provided the researcher with honest, vital, and accurate data that would not have been found in existing literature. This study led to the conclusion that it is plausible to state that youths purchase drugs from the Dark web market. Furthermore, another notable conclusion is the fact that Dark web markets are under researched, especially in Malta and statistics regarding it are very limited. This study suggests that further research on the topic is conducted. Description: B.A.(HONS)YOUTH&COMM.STUD. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103005 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103004 Title: Challenges to oral health of youth with drug addiction : the dental surgeon’s experience : a qualitative study Abstract: The person with drug addiction brings a particular set of behaviours and circumstances into the dental setting. The oral health provider on the other hand may encounter many challenges and frustrations in the management of these patients. This study aimed to understand the perceptions and experiences of dental surgeons when providing dental treatment to young persons with drug addiction. The methodology chosen was interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) which is a qualitative method. Data was collected through audio-recorded semi-structured individual interviews. Snowball sampling was used to recruit four dental surgeons with experience treating persons with drug addiction. Data was analysed using IPA. Six subordinate themes emerged: The stigmatization of the young person with addiction: Myths and Stereotypes, The person with drug addiction and his needs as a dental patient, Training of the dental team, Current situation, Challenges of dental care, Possible future changes. The results showed a lack of training on the subject and the necessity for a higher level of awareness to the issues encountered by young persons with drug addiction. Adequate services should be provided for these clients due to their vulnerability. Recommendations for further studies in this topic are required since there is a lack of this locally and there is a need to understand the full extent of these phenomena. The possibility of transdisciplinary clinics where all necessary professionals will fall under one roof to further enhance the needs of this client, should be taken into consideration. Description: B.A.(HONS)YOUTH&COMM.STUD. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103004 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z