Cultural identification, perceived discrimination and sense of community as predictors of life satisfaction among foreign partners of intercultural families in Italy and Spain: A transnational study
The aim of this paper was to analyze how cultural identification, perceived discrimination and the sense of community are related to life satisfaction among foreign partners in intercultural families. The study compared 105 and 95 foreign partners in mixed families resident in Italy and Spain, respectively. The phenomenon in both countries displays similar sociodemographic aspects. In contrast to Social Identity Theory, the results show that in both groups the foreign partner's identification with their own ethnic-‐cultural group is not associated with life satisfaction, nor does it increase perce…
Identity, Couple and Intergroup Dynamics in Intercultural Families: Implications on Life Satisfaction of Partners
The current study analyzed how identity, couple, and intergroup dynamics are related to life satisfaction among 210 intercultural partners living in Italy. Three levels of analysis were considered: a micro level, taking into account the identity aspect of each partner in terms of self- or hetero-ethnic identification; a meso level, examining the passion, commitment, and intimacy of the couple sphere of the partners; a macro level investigating the discrimination that partners can perceive by the community as an effect of the relationship between dominant and minority groups. The results show that for both partners, foreign and Italian, the variables that have a predictive value on life sati…
Unaccompanied foreign minors in the Italian context: From legal order to networking in educational services
As the result of armed conflict, poverty or natural disasters, many children move away from their families and culture of origin. In 2014, in Italy, the number of unaccompanied foreign minors was approximately 11,000. They represent the most vulnerable of the migration phenomenon and for this reason, in December 2013, the Directorate General of Immigration and Integration Policy of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, adopted new guidelines for policies on reception, repatriation and effective integration arrangements of unaccompanied foreign minors. It is possible to promote the implementation of the opportunities aimed at the children concerned activating a networking that involve Na…
Life Satisfaction and Psychological Distress of African Immigrants in Italy and Spain: the protective role of social support and sense of community
This article analyzes whether migrants’ distress factors are reduced, and life satisfaction increased by the sense of community and support from friendship or family networks, with age and length of residence serving as co-variables. Host country, gender, migration (economic/non-economic), employment (employed/unemployed) and legal status (regulated/unregulated) were all treated as moderating variables. We tested this theoretical model in two samples of African immigrants residing in Palermo (Italy) and Malaga (Spain), confirming the predictive capacity of the independent variables. Interesting results emerged relating to the effects of length of residence, employment status and support fro…
Coppie miste in Italia e in Spagna. Uno studio sui fattori che favoriscono il senso di comunità dei partner stranieri
Lo scopo del presente contributo è stato quello di analizzare come l’identificazione etnica (ingroup ed outgroup) e la discriminazione percepita (come straniero o come partner di coppia mista) siano legati al senso di comunità (SdC) dei partner stranieri delle famiglie interculturali residenti in Spagna e in Italia. I risultati mostrano che in entrambi i gruppi l’identificazione con il proprio gruppo etnico-culturale non è associata al SdC. Inoltre, l’aumento della discriminazione percepita come coppia mista porta ad una diminuzione del senso di comunità e della soddisfazione di vita. The aim of this paper was to analyze how ethnic identification (ingroup and outgroup) and perceived discrim…