Is There a Paradox of Adaptation in Immigrant Children and Youth across Europe?: A Literature Review
This review examines how well children of immigrants in Europe are doing in terms of educational, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. Based on theory and research in developmental, social and acculturation psychology fields, we explore the immigrant paradox (e.g., first-generation immigrant children show better adaptation in comparison to their native and second-generation counterparts) and migration morbidity (e.g., immigrants display less favorable outcomes than natives) in 102 studies conducted in 14 European countries. We conclude that theoretical assumptions of developmental (e.g., promoting context in families, schools, neighborhoods), social (e.g., intercultural behaviors and att…
Understanding Factors Affecting Well-Being of Marginalized Populations in Different Cultural Contexts: Ethnic and National Identity of Roma Minority Youth in Europe
This chapter focuses on the intersection of the third, fourth and tenth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), referring together to key pillars for improving social inclusion of vulnerable disadvantaged youth. Based on both Positive Youth Development approach and mutual intercultural relations perspective, it sets out to investigate developmental assets (such as ethnic and national identities), optimal outcomes (self-esteem), and their relations among Roma youth in six European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Kosovo, and Romania). Among these countries, the Czech Republic was initially recognized as the more favorable context facilitating potential alignment of Roma…
Intersectional scholarship & positive youth development: Post-modern paradigm shift in understanding adjustment of marginalized youth
Research on intersectionality of marginalized youth is generally situated in the assumption that non-normative identity leads to pathology and victimization. Further, most research to date has studied marginalized youth using a traditional nuclear family paradigm. In this paper we discuss how intersectionality addresses the combination of strengths and challenges of living with stigmatizing identities and family processes, towards developing successful youth adjustment. We apply the three-step intersectionality approach to study findings among a group of racial/ethnic minority and sexual minority identified youth and discuss the particular role of familism and extended kinship support belie…
The Importance of Positive Psychological Strengths in Well-Being and Adjustment of Romanian Emerging Adults: A Pattern and Variable-Oriented Approach
Transition to adulthood in countries that have seen recent historical structural changes in society as well as changes in what it means to be an adult represents important contexts for investigations of ways in which positive development and transition to adulthood are experienced. Situated in such context, this cross-sectional study aimed to (1) describe profiles of positive psychological strengths, as measured by the Five Cs of positive youth development (PYD) and (2) document how identified profiles might differ in relation to other aspects of positive and problematic development. Participants were 272 Romanian emerging adults attending university (76% female; aged 19–29 years old, Mage …
Positive Youth Development in Bulgaria, Italy, Norway and Romania: Testing the Factorial Structure and Measurement Invariance of the 5Cs Model
This chapter applies the 5Cs model of PYD comprising competence, confidence, character, connection and caring among 1403 youth (M = 18.91 years) in Bulgaria (n = 196), Italy (n = 354), Norway (n = 564) and Romania (n = 289). These countries offer a novel and unique context to apply PYD as related comparative work with youth samples is rare across Eastern (Bulgaria and Romania), Southern (Italy) and Northern Europe (Norway). Further, Bulgaria and Romania are emerging nations following the collapse of the communism in late 1980s in contrast to Italy being a traditionally patriarchal country and social equity driven Norway. The chapter presents an empirical example that evaluates the factorial…
Multiple Social Identities in Relation to Self-Esteem of Adolescents in Post-communist Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Romania
We test a model linking ethnic, familial, and religious identity to self-esteem among youth in Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Romania. All countries are post-communist nations in Europe, offering novel and underexplored settings to study identity. Participants were 880 adolescents (mean age, 15.93 years; SD, 1.40) with Albanian (n = 209), Bulgarian (n = 146), Czech (n = 306), Kosovan (n = 116), and Romanian (n = 103) background who filled in an Ethnic Identity Scale (Dimitrova et al., 2016), familial and religious identity scales adapted from the Utrecht Management of Identity Commitment Scales [U-MICS; Crocetti et al. Child and Youth Care Forum, 40, 7–23 (2011); Crocett…
National collective identity in transitional societies: Salience and relations to life satisfaction for youth in South Africa, Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Kosovo and Romania
In this study we investigated the salience of the construct of national collective identity and its associations with life satisfaction among adolescents living in transitional societies characterised by relevant change in the last decades. Participants were 1 066 adolescents (M = 15.35 years, SD = 1.35) from South Africa (n = 186) and five Central Eastern European countries, including Albania (n = 209), Bulgaria (n = 146), Czech Republic (n = 306), Kosovo (n = 116), and Romania (n = 103). They completed a questionnaire including national identity and life satisfaction scales. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group structural equation modeling. Results showed …
External Developmental Assets and Positive Identity Among Emerging Adults in Norway, Romania, Slovenia, and Turkey
The present study adopts The Developmental Assets and Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspectives which (in contrast to the deficit-based approaches which highlight risks and deficit in youth development) claim that young people have potencies to achieve optimal development if supported by their social environment. Extant research indicates that developmental assets are linked with a variety of thriving indicators. The present research aimed to contribute to the PYD research by examining the external developmental assets (support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations) emerging adults (N= 2055; age range = 18–28) perceived in their social environment and the level of their positive…
Socially desirable responding:enhancement and denial in 20 countries
This article investigated the dimensionality, measurement invariance, and cross-cultural variations of social desirability. A total of 3,471 university students from 20 countries completed an adapted version of the Marlowe–Crowne scale. A two-dimensional structure was revealed in the pooled sample, distinguishing enhancement (endorsement of positive self-description) and denial (rejection of negative self-description). The factor structure was supported in most countries; medium-sized item bias was found in two denial items. In a multilevel analysis, we found that (a) there was more cross-cultural variation in denial than enhancement; (b) females tended to score higher on enhancement where…