Persistence, Desistance and Rational Deviance – a narrative analysis of Finnish youth selling drugs for financial profit
(2026) CCRM20 20261Department of Sociology
Sociology
- Abstract
- This thesis examines how young people in Finland make sense of profit-oriented drug selling and
construct drug dealer identities. Drug use and related harms have increased globally in recent years.
In Finland, an increase in minors selling drugs for financial profit has been noticed by the police and
a non-governmental youth work organization Children of the Station. The aim of this thesis is to
expand knowledge on young people’s drug selling through a qualitative approach, and to address a
research gap in a field that has predominantly relied on survey data in studies of youth drug dealing.
A narrative analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with young people who have started
selling drugs for financial profit while... (More) - This thesis examines how young people in Finland make sense of profit-oriented drug selling and
construct drug dealer identities. Drug use and related harms have increased globally in recent years.
In Finland, an increase in minors selling drugs for financial profit has been noticed by the police and
a non-governmental youth work organization Children of the Station. The aim of this thesis is to
expand knowledge on young people’s drug selling through a qualitative approach, and to address a
research gap in a field that has predominantly relied on survey data in studies of youth drug dealing.
A narrative analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with young people who have started
selling drugs for financial profit while underage. The theoretical framework of this study draws on
narrative criminology and narrative identity theory. These frameworks provide insight into how
young drug sellers justify their involvement in illicit and potentially harmful activities through
storytelling, and how they navigate the moral boundaries that shape their decisions regarding the
continuation of their drug-selling careers. The findings show that while the initiation into drug selling
was narrated as an outlet for personal empowerment that emphasized individual agency, the
continuation of selling was not narrated as a similarly voluntary choice. Moral boundary work was
negotiated by framing oneself as a “good” seller in opposition to unethical seller who, for example,
sell to children and by describing drug selling as a business, thereby legitimizing illegal activity as a
rational choice. These findings highlight how young drug dealers wish to be perceived as intelligent
and responsible sellers, opposing the media’s narrative of deviant youth who glorify crime. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Drug use has increased worldwide, raising concerns about its harmful consequences. In Finland, for
example, the police have been concerned about young people’s involvement in illegal drug selling. A
non-governmental youth work organization, Children of the Station, has also recently encountered
minors selling drugs for money in their work, which is a new phenomenon. There is still limited
research on young people who sell drugs, especially in Finland. Previous researcher has mostly
focused on statistics and surveys instead of asking young people directly about their experiences. To
better understand why young people sell drugs, this thesis interviewed young people in Finland who
started selling drugs for money while underage. The... (More) - Drug use has increased worldwide, raising concerns about its harmful consequences. In Finland, for
example, the police have been concerned about young people’s involvement in illegal drug selling. A
non-governmental youth work organization, Children of the Station, has also recently encountered
minors selling drugs for money in their work, which is a new phenomenon. There is still limited
research on young people who sell drugs, especially in Finland. Previous researcher has mostly
focused on statistics and surveys instead of asking young people directly about their experiences. To
better understand why young people sell drugs, this thesis interviewed young people in Finland who
started selling drugs for money while underage. The interviews showed that the participants started
selling drugs to afford buying things they needed and wanted for themselves and their families. These
included, for example, clothes and dinners with friends. The participants emphasized that selling
drugs was their own choice, even though friends and acquaintances helped them learn how to sell
successfully. Because the participants acknowledged that drug selling is illegal and that the substances
they sell are potentially harmful for their customers, they framed themselves as “good” dealers. For
example, they said they did not sell drugs to children. They also justified their actions by describing
drug selling as a business and as a rational way to make money. Although all participants said that
they started selling because they wanted to, quitting was not easy for everyone. Some had stopped
selling drugs, but others continued even though they no longer wished to. They described feeling
stuck because drug selling provided them money they felt they could not get elsewhere. These
findings show how young drug dealers want to be seen as smart, rational people who are earning their
own money, rather than as young people who glorify crime. While the media often connects youth
crime with the glorification of criminal lifestyles, the participants rejected these kinds of media
narratives. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9244124
- author
- Virtanen, Fanny Maria LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- CCRM20 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- young people, drug selling, financial profit, narrative criminology, narrative identity theory, Finland
- language
- English
- id
- 9244124
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-03 08:59:38
- date last changed
- 2026-07-03 08:59:38
@misc{9244124,
abstract = {{This thesis examines how young people in Finland make sense of profit-oriented drug selling and
construct drug dealer identities. Drug use and related harms have increased globally in recent years.
In Finland, an increase in minors selling drugs for financial profit has been noticed by the police and
a non-governmental youth work organization Children of the Station. The aim of this thesis is to
expand knowledge on young people’s drug selling through a qualitative approach, and to address a
research gap in a field that has predominantly relied on survey data in studies of youth drug dealing.
A narrative analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with young people who have started
selling drugs for financial profit while underage. The theoretical framework of this study draws on
narrative criminology and narrative identity theory. These frameworks provide insight into how
young drug sellers justify their involvement in illicit and potentially harmful activities through
storytelling, and how they navigate the moral boundaries that shape their decisions regarding the
continuation of their drug-selling careers. The findings show that while the initiation into drug selling
was narrated as an outlet for personal empowerment that emphasized individual agency, the
continuation of selling was not narrated as a similarly voluntary choice. Moral boundary work was
negotiated by framing oneself as a “good” seller in opposition to unethical seller who, for example,
sell to children and by describing drug selling as a business, thereby legitimizing illegal activity as a
rational choice. These findings highlight how young drug dealers wish to be perceived as intelligent
and responsible sellers, opposing the media’s narrative of deviant youth who glorify crime.}},
author = {{Virtanen, Fanny Maria}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Persistence, Desistance and Rational Deviance – a narrative analysis of Finnish youth selling drugs for financial profit}},
year = {{2026}},
}