Community resilience and the acculturation expectations of the receiving community.

Abstract

The study addressed how communities cope with multiculturalism by exploring the relationship between community resilience (CR) and acculturation expectations held by a sample of Italian-born. Specifically, the study aimed at detecting whether the perception of living in a community endowed with social (CR-connection and caring) and material (CR-resources) resources, along with the availability of individual assets (i.e., psychological resilience) encourage positive acculturation expectations (i.e., multiculturalism). Further, it also tested whether the perceived competitiveness of immigrants mediates the relationship between CR-resources and acculturation expectations. A survey involving 619 participants living in the south of Italy completed a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that competitiveness mediated the effects of CR-resources on acculturation expectations. CR-resources were related to increased perception of the competitiveness of immigrants, which, in turn, was associated with a reduced endorsement for multiculturalism and increased support for melting pot (i.e., assimilation) and exclusion, while CR-connection and caring was unrelated to all acculturation expectations. Implications and limitations of the study are finally discussed.