/library/oar/handle/123456789/135758 Sun, 28 Dec 2025 08:17:14 GMT 2025-12-28T08:17:14Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140210 Title: The personhood of care workers of children in residential alternative care Abstract: This dissertation explores the personhood of care workers in residential alternative care settings in Malta, with a particular focus on their attachment narratives as central to understanding their caregiving roles. Using a narrative research approach, the study engaged with seven female care workers to co-construct lived stories that illuminate how past and present attachment experiences shape their sense of self, relationships, and professional identity. The analysis reveals a central narrative of “becoming through care,” where caregiving emerges as a transformative, relational process through which personhood is both expressed and developed. Findings highlight how emotional labour, empathy, and ethical sensitivity are deeply rooted in care workers’ attachment histories, influencing their approach to children with relational trauma. Participants often described caregiving as “like” motherhood, capturing the emotional intensity and secure-base function of their role, while also revealing tensions around professional boundaries. Many entered the field unexpectedly yet developed strong attachments that evolved into a vocation. Their narratives reflect how care work extends the self, with identity shaped through ongoing reflection, peer support, training, and therapeutic engagement. This study underscores the dynamic intersection between personal and professional selves in residential care work, calling for attachment-informed frameworks that acknowledge care workers’ relational depth and emotional investment. By centring their voices, this research contributes to a richer understanding of how care workers make meaning of their roles and highlights the need for supportive structures that honour and sustain their personhood. Description: M.Psy. (Clin.)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140210 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140209 Title: The impact of brief, rapid onset COVID-19 on executive functions in Maltese working-age adults Abstract: Executive functioning (EF) is the ability to respond effectively to novel or changing conditions while maintaining emotional, cognitive, and social functioning. Emerging evidence suggests that even mild COVID-19 may impair EF domains such as inhibition, planning, and cognitive flexibility, yet few studies have explored this in non-hospitalised populations. The present study investigated the EF performance of working-age adults in Malta who had experienced mild/moderate COVID-19. A quantitative design was utilised, comparing individuals who previously tested positive for COVID-19, referred to as the COVID-19 group (n = 27) with those who had never tested positive, the NON-COVID-19 group (n = 43). Participants completed a demographic questionnaire as well as four performance-based neuropsychological assessments—Colour-Word Interference Test (CWIT), Trail Making Test (TMT), Zoo Map Test, and Rule Shift Cards (RSC)—and were assessed on key EF domains. No significant group differences were found across most EF measures. Both groups performed similarly in inhibition, planning, and task-switching. A single statistically significant result was found on the Rule Shift Cards test, with the COVID-19 group outperforming the non-COVID-19 group (p = .021). This result may reflect limitations in test sensitivity or the influence of psychological factors such as anxiety and motivation. As the first study to investigate this topic within a Maltese sample, the findings provide preliminary insight into post-COVID executive functioning. Nonetheless, methodological constraints warrant cautious interpretation. Future research should incorporate a broader range of performance-based and self-report EF measures, alongside longitudinal and ecologically valid designs, to better capture potential cognitive effects. Description: M.Psy. (Neuro.)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140209 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140208 Title: From reporting to closure : the lived experiences of victims of intimate partner violence in the Maltese criminal justice system Abstract: This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors in Malta as they navigated the criminal justice system from the initial reporting of abuse through to case closure. Despite the implementation of key legislative reforms, including the Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence Act (2018) and Malta’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention, participants’ narratives revealed a persistent disjunction between policy and lived reality. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with six survivors (four women and two men), highlighting themes of institutional betrayal, procedural delays, re-traumatisation, and emotional disengagement within legal proceedings. Participants reported feeling dismissed or blamed by authorities, facing inadequate protection, and being emotionally unprepared to confront perpetrators in court. These findings underscored the absence of trauma-informed approaches and the detrimental impact of a fragmented, under-resourced support system. While some survivors accessed limited emotional relief through NGOs or private therapy, true psychological closure was often found independently of legal outcomes. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on systemic secondary victimisation and calls for coordinated, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed reforms, including multidisciplinary support models, targeted interventions, and structural measures such as GPS monitoring. Description: M.Psy. (For.)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140208 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/140174 Title: Examining the impact of bilingualism on verbal fluency Abstract: Maltese citizens are uniquely distinguished by their ability to switch interchangeably between Maltese and English, making code-switching a common feature of everyday communication. This phenomenon differs from traditional findings in bilingualism, where one language usually exhibits greater dominance over the other. The present study investigated the impact of bilingualism on verbal fluency in the Maltese context, using a quantitative research design. The study examined differences in semantic verbal fluency across three language conditions: Maltese-Only (n = 20), English-Only (n = 20), and No Language Restrictions (n = 20). A total of 60 adults over 18 (females, n = 41; males, n = 19) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Each participant completed a demographic questionnaire, the Maltese Word Reading Test (Bartolo, 1988), and the Vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV; Wechsler, 2008) to assess their language proficiency. Participants also performed a semantic verbal fluency task using the three most commonly used measures: animals, fruits, and vegetables. Data was analysed using a One-Way ANOVA. Results showed that the No Language Restrictions group achieved the highest mean verbal fluency scores, followed by the English-Only and Maltese-Only groups. Post- hoc comparisons revealed significant differences between the No Language Restrictions group and the English-Only and Maltese-Only groups. However, no significant differences were found between the English-only and Maltese-only conditions. Future studies should explore the cognitive and linguistic factors contributing to these group differences. The study findings also highlight the importance of accommodating bilingual language modes during verbal fluency testing. Description: M.Psy. (Neuro.)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/140174 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z