Children's social relationships in the Northern Italian school context: evidence for the immigrant paradox

Abstract

This study examines the existence of the immigrant paradox in a sample of 130 immigrant (69 Albanian and 61 Serbian) and 162 Italian native children, aged 7–12 years. All participants were individually tested regarding levels of emotional instability, pro-social behavior and aggressive behaviour as indicators of children's ability to interact adequately in a school context. Results showed significant differences between immigrant and native children, and particularly in the area of emotional instability. In spite of lower socioeconomic status, immigrant children showed lower levels of emotional instability than natives, while no significant group differences emerged on pro-social and aggressive behaviours. Gender differences revealed that boys in all ethnic groups scored higher on emotional instability and aggression and lower on pro-social behaviours than girls. Overall, the results resemble the paradox, suggesting that immigrant children display positive social relationships within the Italian school context.

Keywords:

• Immigrant paradox
• social relationships
• Albanian and Serbian children
• North-Eastern Italy

Acknowledgements

This study was based on some of the data from the doctoral dissertation of the author, who thanks Dr Maria Tallandini for her valuable support in pursuing the project, and Ingrid Bersenda, Sara Sinozic and Chiara Cardile for their help in data acquisition.