Parent and Peer Attachment and Psychosocial Adjustment of Chinese Immigrant Adolescents in Italy

Abstract

There is much interest in understanding acculturation processes of Asian immigrants, because they represent one of the prominent immigrant populations in many European and non-European countries. However, knowledge about the relation of acculturation and attachment processes of these groups is still scarce. Most research in the field involves only parenting or adaptation outcomes of Asian immigrant groups primarily in the USA, Canada, and few European countries. Understanding acculturation outcomes in Chinese minority groups is a prominent venue of research as they represent one of the largest and fastest growing immigrant groups in Europe. To the best of our knowledge, no study so far has investigated the role of attachment to parents and peers on adaptation outcomes of Chinese immigrant youth in Italy, who are a relatively recent immigrant group characterized by strong ethnic enclaves and cohesive community. Therefore, this chapter addresses the question of whether immigrant youth differ from their native Italian peers with respect to their attachment and adaptation outcomes. Specifically, we examine parent and peer attachment and psychological adjustment of youth of Chinese descent living in Italy.