Immigrants Are Like … The Representation of Immigrants in Italy: The Metaphors Used by Students and Their Family Backgrounds

The aim of this study is to identify the way young Italian students represent immigrants and to evaluate the existence of relationships between these representations and the family background of the students. The data is based on a sample of Italian students (N = 841). The respondents were given an open question, which asked them to provide a simile or a metaphor concerning immigrants. A mixed methodology was employed, which involved: (i) analysis of the qualitative content; (ii) quantitative analysis investigating the relationship between the categories identified by means of an analysis of the content and the socioeconomic status of the student. The results showed a very diverse and articulated set of representations, with the contents of the metaphors produced by the students ranging from those based on a kind of «us-them» opposition, to images based on an attitude of tolerance and equality, and semantic regions with a more emotional component. The analysis revealed some statistically significant relationships between the socio-economic backgrounds of the students’ families and some types of metaphors produced by the students. The mixed research methodology adopted proved to be effective with respect to the objectives of the study, and it combines the use of reliable statistical tools with the qualitative richness of metaphor-based answers to open questions

Support for autonomy at school predicts immigrant adolescents’ psychological well-being

We investigated the relationship between teacher support at school intended to promote students’ autonomy and immigrant adolescents’ psychological well-being. A structural equation model was tested on 3130 immigrant adolescents who attended a representative sample of 654 Italian high schools. Gender, socioeconomic status, previous school achievement and immigrant generation were included in the analysis as control variables. Results showed that when teachers are perceived as adopting an approach that is supportive of autonomy, immigrant adolescents report significantly higher levels of psychological well-being. Gender appears to be the most relevant background factor, with girls being more at risk than boys as regards mental health. Overall, our findings suggest that interventions of enacted support by teachers at school that aim to foster students’ autonomy would be an effective approach for protecting against mental illness in immigrant adolescent

Adolescents' psychological well-being at school: The impact of individual and group characteristics, and the role of autonomy support and peer relatedness

Learning environment and school situations can trigger several affective states, which can include extreme feelings such as intense happiness or hatred. This study, based on a random sample (N= 26,470) of the Italian tenth grade students investigated: (1) the multilevel impact of individual and group characteristics on students’ psychological well-being; (2) the mediational role of autonomy support and peer relatedness. In the first part of the study the following factors were considered at the individual level: gender, immigrant background (first-generation and second-generation immigrants), socioeconomic background and achievement before entering high school. At the group level, the analysis included class size and compositional variables (i.e. gender ratio, immigrant ratio, classroom socioeconomic level, classroom achievement level before entering high school). The results of the first part of the study show that females, low-achievers, immigrants and low SES students are more at risk of psychological distress at school, with gender and achievement being the most important factors. A doubly latent model analysis reveals that while individual socioeconomic status and achievement have a positive impact on students’ psychological well-being, the effect of the two variables at the classroom level is negative. Group socioeconomic status and group achievement before entering high school therefore show a negative compositional effect on psychological well-being. The impact of immigrant classroom composition seems to be limited to positive affect and dependent on students’ immigrant generation. All the compositional variables taken into consideration have effects over and above what would be predictable on the basis of individual characteristics and explain a significant amount of between classrooms variance in positive and negative affect. Finally, students in smaller classrooms show more psychological well-being at school. In the second part of the study the mediational role of teacher autonomy support and of peer relatedness will be examined by means of a doubly latent model analysis

The use of self-regulated cognitive strategies across students with different immigrant backgrounds and gender

Cognitive self-regulation is regarded as necessary for enhancing academic success and the possibility of lifelong learning. This study, based on 263,683 Italian 10th-grade students, examines the use of self-regulated cognitive strategies in immigrant and native students, as well as in boys and girls. Preliminarily, we examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance across the groups of the short four-factor scale adopted. Immigrant students report less use of self-regulated cognitive strategies than natives and that this use diminishes from one generation of immigrants to the next. Also boys report lower levels of cognitive self-regulation than girls. On the whole, these findings indicate that male and immigrant students systematically use less self-regulated cognitive strategies in studying. Improvements in their cognitive self-regulation should therefore increase the chances of academic success in these groups of students, which tend to have lower performances at school across the industrialized countries

Addressing Adolescents’ Prejudice toward Immigrants: The Role of the Classroom Context

According to social learning theory, classrooms are essential socialization contexts for intergroup attitudes, but analyses of contextual factors net of the impact of individual variables affecting prejudice toward immigrants are very limited. This study was conducted on a large sample of Italian adolescents (N = 2904; Mage = 13.70; females = 48.5%; 168 classrooms). It examined the role of classroom contextual factors affecting adolescents’ prejudice toward immigrants, relying on the combination of groups’ warmth and competence, and their antecedents (i.e., competition and status). Multilevel structural equation analyses revealed that classroom contextual factors (i.e., classroom socio-economic status-SES; classroom open to discussion climate; classroom educational achievements) indirectly affected, at the class level, adolescents’ perceived warmth and competence of immigrants through the mediating role of perceived competition (and status) of immigrants. These findings suggest that interventions targeting the classroom context can help to hinder prejudice in adolescence at the class level

Prejudice towards Immigrants: A Conceptual and Theoretical Overview on Its Social Psychological Determinants

Immigration processes and the possible marginalization of ethnic minorities in the receiving countries are essential issues in contemporary societies. Prejudice and discrimination can be critical obstacles to immigrants’ integration into the host country and can severely affect their well-being and mental health. This theoretical and conceptual overview aims to highlight the critical social–psychological processes underlying attitudes toward immigrants. First, it tackles the social psychological roots of social prejudice by focusing on the role of individual (ideological, motivational, and cultural) factors and categorization processes. Second, it examines how contextual factors such as intergroup perceptions and structural relations can lead to high levels of prejudice and discrimination towards immigrants. This review highlights how prejudice against immigrants can be driven by various factors at the individual and contextual level, suggesting that programs aimed at facilitating harmonious relations in contemporary multi-ethnic societies should consider such different determinants. Accordingly, the conclusion discusses possible interventions that can promote better relations between the majority and immigrant groups and counteract the negative impact of discrimination

Psychometric Properties and Validity of a Brief Scale Measuring Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Adolescents

Studies have shown that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, as defined by Self-Determination Theory, has a great impact on adolescents’ well-being, prosocial behavior and academic success. In the present study, we aim to validate a brief scale for adolescents measuring the satisfaction of the three basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. A preliminary qualitative study was conducted to select and adapt for adolescents a subset of 12 items from the original version of the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale (BPNS). This version of the scale was then analyzed in terms of dimensionality, measurement invariance and criterion validity on a sample of 308 Italian adolescents (M age = 14.04 years; 57.1% males). The results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the posited three-factors structure and the measurement invariance of the instrument across gender. Correlations with a measure of psychological well-being provided evidence for criterion validity. The scale proved to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure the levels of satisfaction of the psychological need for autonomy, competence and relatedness in adolescents

The interplay between self-determined motivation, self-regulated cognitive strategies, and prior achievement in predicting academic performance

The present study examined the interplay between self-determined motivation and the use of cognitive strategies in predicting university students’ academic performance while taking into account the effect of prior achievement. A theory based model was tested using structural equation modeling on a sample of 764 Italian university students. Results showed that prior achievement influenced students’ academic performance and their motivation and use of cognitive strategies. Critical thinking was the only cognitive strategy which proved to have a significant impact on students’ academic performance. Autonomous motivation had an indirect positive impact on academic performance through its influence on the critical thinking strategy. Controlled motivation had a direct negative impact on academic performance. On the whole, our findings suggest that autonomously motivated students tend to achieve better academic performance by using critical thinking, while students who are driven by controlled motivation have lower academic performance

Predictors of prosocial behavior and school well-being in native and immigrant very-low-income adolescents: The role of needs satisfaction

According to the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991), this study investigated the relationships among needs satisfaction, prosocial behavior and school psychological well-being in native and immigrant very-low-income adolescents. Participants (N=250; Mage=12.75; SDage=2.35; age-range: 9-18; 41.6% girls; 19.2% immigrants) completed measures of prosocial behavior, school well-being, and three needs satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) across two measurement points (6-month time lapse). A multivariate regression model investigated the role of gender, age, immigrant background and the three needs at T1, in predicting respectively prosocial behavior and school well-being at T2, controlling for the corresponding baseline levels. The model showed good fit: χ2(2)= 0.13, p= .93, RMSEA= .000, CFI= 1.00, SRMR= .005. Need for autonomy, beta= .13, p= .04, and age, beta= .13, p= .01, significantly predicted prosocial behavior, whereas need for competence, beta= .17, p= .02, significantly predicted school well-being. Moreover, a multigroup analysis showed that the need for relatedness significantly predicted prosocial behavior among immigrants, beta= .35, p= .03, but not among natives, beta= .001, p= .99, (Wald test χ2(1)= 3.56, p= .05). Our findings enlightened the specific role of need for relatedness for the positive development of immigrant adolescents, with implications for research, prevention and education