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The aim of this study was to assess the quality of the processes of a Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) citizenship education project by examining a 2-year intervention that involved 43 Italian high school students. We collected qualitative data (focus groups with students and interviews with teachers) to capture participants’ perspectives, as well as longitudinal quantitative data to monitor the process over time (assessing school climate, perceived quality of participation, and group participation norms). The results revealed that YPAR was successful in reducing hierarchy, facilitating group activities, and recognizing youth voice, thus changing students’ perception of their school environment and views on participation and active citizenship. The intervention also changed teachers’ perceptions of students. YPAR proved to be a suitable option for citizenship education in school.

School sense of community has been associated with students’ well-being. However, this finding is based on cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies are required to confirm this association. We hypothesized that school sense of community is longitudinally associated with students’ well-being. We recruited 106 Italian students attending a public high school. We measured school sense of community and students’ well-being at the beginning of the school year (Time 1) and students’ well-being at the end of the school year (Time 2). Results from Bayesian linear regression analysis revealed that school sense of community at Time 1 significantly predicts students’ well-being at Time 2. In addition, school sense of community at Time 1 was a statistically significant predictor of students’ well-being at Time 2, even after controlling for students’ well-being at Time 1, age, and gender. Results of this study support the theory that school sense of community increases well-being.

This qualitative study examines how young people of Moroccan descent in Italy construct their social identities and make sense of acculturation experiences. Twenty nine Moroccan young people, fourteen males and fifteen females (16–23 years old) took part in five focus groups. Thematic analyses of data indicated that participants have to navigate different identity categories in the host country, including Muslim, Moroccan, and migrant, which are often used to construct them as not belonging. They use different strategies to negotiate experiences of prejudice and exclusion including; “Italy is not my home… it is other people’s home”: Accommodating an outsider status, turning critically towards one’s community, claiming an insider status: Feeling Italian, Creating activist identities: Becoming bridge builders. In the absence of legal status, participants conceived citizenship as respecting Italian laws and norms, accommodating their status and position, but making claims based on being and feeling as belonging – cultural citizenship. By using a liberation orientation, our analysis shows the political nature of acculturative integration in a context that denies citizenship as a legal status. These political aspects include deconstructing exclusionary dominant group narratives and forming identities of resistance that are important to their claims for recognition and belonging. We discuss the findings with reference to ways in which researchers and activists can support the activities of young people of immigrant background.

Neighborhood sense of community and school sense of community have been associated with important outcomes for adolescents. However, the complex interplay between neighborhood sense of community and school sense of community among adolescents is not clear. Moreover, the studies showing an association between neighborhood sense of community and school sense of community have been cross-sectional. The present study investigated the directionality of the relationship between neighborhood sense of community and school sense of community using a longitudinal cross-lagged design. Using structural equation modeling, a cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that school sense of community at Time 1 significantly predicts neighborhood sense of community at Time 2 even after controlling for neighborhood sense of community at Time 1. However, neighborhood sense of community at Time 1 did not predict school sense of community at Time 2. Results of this study support the theory that school sense of community can provide students with a bridge between school and community.

The topic of youth participation in the public sphere has received increasing attention within recent psychological research. The literature remains somewhat fragmented between different conceptualizations varying in their specificity or broadness. The present study aims to map the current state of debate in psychology regarding youth civic and political participation and to identify the prevalent themes that characterize the research in the discipline from 1990 to 2016. A semantic content analysis with the software T-Lab was performed on a corpus of 1,777 publications retrieved from the PsycInfo database. The results highlight the increasing number of academic contributions on the topic, confirming the growing importance of the issue within psychology. The study sheds light on the spheres of participation, in which the discipline has attempted to make a contribution, namely: traditional and online political context, institutional civic education, adolescent development, and rights-based activism. Moreover, the findings reveal the existing opposing priorities of research that focus either on the explanation of specific forms of involvement or on the formation of future citizens. Within the thematic attention to young people’s civic and political development, there seem to be two general approaches that see youth in divergent ways: as citizens whose civic capacities are to be fostered or as targets for top-down training interventions. This systematic thematic review calls attention to the disparate ways in which youth participation is being addressed in psychology and highlights the need for greater theoretical integration in the field of study.

Psychological sense of community among early adolescents has been investigated using instruments developed for adolescents/adults or ad hoc scales. The aim was to contribute to the validation of a scale of Sense of Community in Early Adolescents (SoC-EA) using a 3-year longitudinal study. Participants were 576 Italian students attending middle schools. Participants filled out a questionnaire 3 times, in the second term of their first, second, and third middle school years. Results provided support for a five-factor model and both bifactor and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) models had excellent fit. The SoC-EA can be scored according to each subscale or a total score. In addition, the SoC-EA demonstrated (a) longitudinal measurement invariance across the middle school years; (b) good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and test-retest correlation across the 3 years; and (c) adequate construct validity. Findings support the use of the SoC-EA to measure sense of community in early adolescence.

Tolerance toward migrants currently represents a key issue in many Western democracies and studying the factors that can foster it has become increasingly more important for the social sciences. This chapter starts by providing a definition of ‘tolerance’, illustrating the ambivalent qualities that are attributed to this concept in the literature. Recognizing some limits of this concept, our reasoning develops from the assumption that, with specific reference to migration, tolerance represents a basic democratic principle. It can be defined as the belief, based on equalitarian principles and a political conviction, that migrants and non-migrants should be treated equally. We proceed to report the findings from two recent studies we conducted in Italy and illustrate some key paths through which tolerance can develop during different developmental stages. The results from our studies showed that younger participants had lower levels of tolerance toward refugees and migrants. Different forms of politically committed youth participation (online and offline, more and less conventional) were positively associated with tolerance; in particular, civic participation represents a ‘school for democracy’ in which young people learn a range of civic skills also enhanced tolerance toward migrants. Finally, we present an overview of some of the main approaches (global citizenship education, education to intercultural dialogue and community-based approaches) that professionals across the world have at their disposal to promote a tolerant attitude at different stages of the developmental process. The chapter closes by illustrating some implications for future research and interventions to promote tolerance toward migrants.

Community coalitions or intersectoral partnerships have long been advocated for the promotion of population health. In the present study, we assessed the quality of the functioning of health promotion partnerships created within a large community health promotion program implemented by the Emilia-Romagna region located in the north-east of Italy (2014-2016). In particular, we aimed to test the effectiveness of partnership working in strengthening participants' empowerment, sense of community and ultimately, the outcomes of a well-functioning partnership, conceptualized as including perceived effectiveness of health promotion interventions developed by the partnership, trust in their implementation and personal commitment in health promotion in the future. Participants were 238 stakeholders (e.g., health professionals, representatives of local administrations, teachers, representative of community and volunteer organizations, and citizens) formally included in six partnerships lead by six major local health services. Using Bayesian structural equation modeling, we found that a higher perceived quality of collaboration within the partnership enhances the outcomes of a well-functioning partnership, by strengthening their sense of a health-promoting community and empowerment. Sense of community responsibility did not predict future commitment in health promotion. The study findings suggest that community members' ownership and feeling of responsibility, as well as empowerment constitute positive partnership processes.

Understanding the multiple motivations for joining youth organisations can help civic and political organisers to to give voice and provide opportunities for action on social issues relevant for youth as emphasised from a critical perspective on active citizenship (Johnson & Morris,2010). Previous quantitative studies on prosocial participation (Vecina et al.,2013, Marta et al., 2006) and on civic and political participation have studied motivations to join and remain in civic organisations as linked to the dispositional and organisational variables that support youth identification with the organisation. Self- and other-oriented motivations (Omoto & Snyder, 1995) have been analysed considering the first as favouring sustained involvement while the second as related to initiation of civic engagement, thus affirming the importance of multiple motivations (Kiviniemi et al., 2002) related to participation. Studies on community participation (Cicognani & Zani, 2015, Chavis & Wandersman, 1990) further highlighted the motivations that can lead adolescents and young adults to experience belonging to an organisation, such as integrating needs and interests, having trustful relationship with peers and sharing emotions by joining community organisations. The emphasis on participation at local and community level and the construction of a peer community within the organisation is considered a first step to develop a sense of global citizenship (Arnett, 2002, Reysen & Katzarska- Miller, 2013). Building on these studies and using ethnographic cases as data, this chapter analyses the motivations of adolescents and young adults who sustain their involvement in civic organisations. 24 original narrative interviews from three different Italian youth organisations are considered as life stories of adolescents’ and young adults’ engagement. Qualitative results show that motivations for involvement are related to close peer relationships while motivations for remaining in the organisations are linked to positive emotions experienced in different phases of organisational life. Moreover, peer relationships can be considered an important factor that create new opportunities to act citizenship and to support civic and political development of youth, as highlithed in chapter 3. The construction of peer and friends network within the organisation, strengthen positive emotions and motivations to countinue to be involved in organisations, as stressed in chapter 6. Finally, the ethnographic method allows to give an in-depth lens to explore the relations among motivations of adolescents’ and young adults’ participation.

Negli ultimi decenni, la ricerca psicologica si e avvalsa sempre di piu di strumenti informatici per la statistica testuale. T-LAB rappresenta un esempio di software modulare, costituito da un insieme di strumenti linguistici, statistici e grafici per l’analisi dei testi. Il software include un cospicuo numero di funzioni e negli ultimi anni e diventato piu popolare in diverse discipline scientifiche. Tuttavia, ad oggi non esistono delle indicazioni stringenti e specifiche rispetto al suo possibile impiego in psicologia della salute, poiche esso dipende principalmente dalla domanda di ricerca, dal modello teorico di riferimento e dal tipo di materiale utilizzato. Obiettivo del presente studio era quello di indagare le prassi di applicazione del software nel campo della psicologia della salute. Tramite una rassegna degli articoli pubblicati dal 2004 al 2016 in importanti riviste di questo settore (Psicologia della Salute, Journal of Health Psychology, Psychology Health & Medicine, Health Psychology Open), sono stati individuati 17 articoli (full-text) che si sono avvalsi del software T-LAB. I risultati mostrano una tipologia molto varia di materiali testuali analizzati. Molte delle ricerche in esame avevano un obiettivo di carattere esplorativo (coerente con un approccio qualitativo) e si e avvalsa di un numero limitato di funzioni rispetto a quelli disponibili in T-LAB. La discussione dei risultati fornisce alcune utili indicazioni sul valore aggiunto derivante dall’utilizzo di strumenti per l’analisi automatica dei testi e suggerimenti per gli sviluppi futuri.

Collective action is typically studied in social protest contexts and predicted by different motivations (i.e., ingroup identification and efficacy beliefs, and outgroup-directed anger). Assuming that voting to some extent reflects a form of collective action, we tested whether these three different motivations predicted voting in Dutch, Israeli, and Italian national election contexts. Based on previous meta-analyses on voting and collective action, we hypothesized that identification with and efficacy beliefs regarding this party would motivate voting across the different elections (i.e., context-independent effects). As for anger, we predicted more context-dependent effects, depending on whether the anger is targeting the previous government or at the political system at large. Results were largely in line with predictions, showing the relatively context-independent motivational power of party identification and efficacy beliefs, and clearly context-dependent effects for anger. Specifically, we found little support for a similar motivational power of anger targeting previous government policies, but anger targeting politics in general demotivated Dutch and Israeli participants to vote (interpreted as an expression of political cynicism), while curiously motivating Italian participants to vote (interpreted as a desire for system change from “old” to “new” politics). We discuss these findings in the context of voting in national elections, and recommend further integration of the voting and social protest literatures.

Previous studies have demonstrated the role of students' school sense of community (i.e., emotional connection and bonds with other students at school and sense of belonging to the school as a community) in predicting well-being (presence of positive feelings and positive functioning in life). Specifically, these studies have found that individual sense of community in the school is associated with well-being. However, individual sense of community in the school does not constitute a school-level characteristic, and the influence of sense of community at the school level on students' well-being was not investigated. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a study investigating the influence of sense of community at the school level on students' well-being, using multilevel analysis. Our sample comprised 1,800 students (age ranged from 11 to 20 years) from public lower and upper secondary schools in Italy. Results showed that higher sense of community scores at the school level were associated with higher well-being scores, while controlling for individual sense of community, gender, and age. These results provide support for a school-level theory of school sense of community (i.e., moving school sense of community theory from the individual to the school level).

Cross-border mobility is one of the most important factors that are assumed to strengthen young people’s commitment as European citizens. However, the existing empirical evidence does not provide consistent support. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that cross-border mobility is associated with a stronger European identification, more positive attitudes toward the EU, and with specific visions of the EU, and that these factors, in turn, have a positive effect on engagement at EU level. Data were collected as part of the multinational research project CATCH-EyoU. Analyses were performed controlling for gender, income, country, and migrant status. Results mostly confirmed the hypotheses among both adolescents and young adults, and for both short-term and long-term mobility. EU level participation and EU voting intentions appeared to be influenced by partly different factors. The implications of the findings, both at theoretical level and for the development of international mobility programs, are discussed.

European Union countries are participatory and representative democracies. Therefore, active citizenship in the EU and trust in EU institutions are paramount for the continuation and the strengthening of the EU project. Young Europeans who hold the future in their hands need to be actively engaged not only in the social and political life within their national communities, but also in the wider European community. The papers in this special issue examine whether and how European youth identify with the EU, trust EU institutions and engage in EU issues, and which societal and proximal-level contexts and/or individual-level attributes promote or hinder young people’s active citizenship in European context. They are based on results from the Horizon 2020 CATCH-EyoU project, standing for Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions. Scientists represent different disciplines (Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Media and Communications, Education) and from eight European countries (Sweden, Estonia, U.K., Germany, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Italy). Together, the papers contribute to the development of a new, cutting-edge conceptualization of youth active citizenship in the EU, and to a better understanding of the factors promoting or inhibiting young EU citizens’ engagement, participation and active citizenship at the European level.

Research suggests that sense of community in the school is a promising construct in terms of its ability to promote students’ well-being. However, mechanisms behind and the potential benefits of school sense of community have not been studied in detail. This cross-sectional study tested a model which examined the role of sense of community in the school, social skills, exposure to aggression, and victimization in shaping students’ well-being. The sample consisted of 1076 students from 22 public middle schools and 724 students from 22 public high schools located in the Italian Region of Liguria. Using a Bayesian estimation for a structural equation model, results showed that sense of community in the school directly predicted students’ social skills, exposure to aggression, and well-being and, indirectly (through social skills and exposure to aggression), victimization. In addition, we found that social skills were related to victimization. Finally, results showed that victimization was predicted by exposure to aggression and predicted well-being. The current study suggests that sense of community in the school and social skills are key variables for interventions that aim to prevent aggressive behaviors at school and to increase students’ well-being.

School sense of community has been associated with lower levels of students' aggressive behaviors. The main aim of the study was to examine whether the magnitude of the influence of school sense of community on students' aggressive behavior is similar or different across schools with different levels of aggressive behaviors. Participants were 1,800 Italian students attending 44 middle and high schools. Using multilevel modeling (a random intercepts and slopes model), we found that the magnitude of the negative relationship between sense of community in the school and students' aggressive behaviors was stronger in schools with high levels of aggressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

We assume that emotions (anger, shame and hope) mediate the relationship between perceiving a discriminatory context and civic/political engagement. Results of a survey with 1242 participants (mean age 20.7 years; 53% men; 32.8% migrants) showed that such emotions play a different role according to the type of engagement and the population (native Italians versus migrants). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sense of community in the school has been associated with a range of important outcomes for students. However, there are currently no standard definitions of sense of community in the school with corresponding measures with established psychometric properties. To fill this gap, the main aim of the present study was to propose a model of sense of community in the school, its operationalization and to examine its key psychometric properties (factorial structure, reliability, differential item functioning, differential test functioning of the scale and discriminant, convergent, and criterion validity). Participants were 1,076 students from 22 public middle schools and 724 students from 22 public high schools located in the Italian city of Genoa and its province. To test the dimensionality of the scale, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis under the Item Response Theory paradigm. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed three dimensions: Membership, Emotional connection, and Opportunities. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the bifactor model exhibited the largest improvement in fit. Cronbach’s alpha, omega total, and omega hierarchical indicated a good reliability for the measure. Internal consistency was satisfactory, considering Cronbach’s alpha and omega. Analysis of differential item/test functioning of the scale showed that girls and boys as well as students attending middle school and those attending high school responded in largely similar ways to the measure. Finally, the instrument demonstrated good discriminant, convergent, and criterion validity. Together, these findings indicate that our theory driven model of sense of community in the school is valid and that the instrument is a reliable measure for assessing sense of community in the school.

The aim of the study was to assess the role of some psychosocial factors in explaining offline and online civic engagement intentions in a sample of Italian and second generation migrant (Albanian and Moroccan) adolescents and young adults living in Italy. The theoretical model was an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour including past experience. The sample included 598 adolescents and young adults (M = 19.32, SD = 3.17). Two hundred were Italian (88 males, 44.0%), 197 migrants of Albanian origin (130 males, 66%) and 201 migrants of Moroccan origin (116 males, 57.7%). Moroccan youth reported higher levels of both past civic engagement and future intentions than Albanian and Italian peers. Perceived effectiveness of civic engagement and past experience are consistently associated with stronger intentions to engage in the future (offline and online) in all groups. Internal efficacy plays a limited role, whereas the role of subjective norms differs according to the group and the source of normative influence (parents, peers).

Italy is one of the European countries with the highest levels of gender inequalities (World Economic Forum 2011). The aims of this paper were to understand to what extent the well-documented gender gap in Italian adult society has an impact on both political and civic actions of younger generations, and whether the process of participation assumes specific features according to gender. 835 Italian participants (49.6% males; 50.4% female, aged from 16 to 26 years old; 20% under voting age) completed a self-administered questionnaire. Analyses confirmed general trends (voting at elections is the most frequently performed political action among Italian youth) and showed the existence of a small gender gap (a major orientation of young women toward civic action, while young men are more engaged in manifest political participation). The results confirmed that family cultural capital and normative support are significant predictors of political participation, in particular for girls and young women. The research reported in this document was supported by a grant received from the European Commission 7th Framework Programme, FP7-SSH-2007-1, Grant Agreement no: 225282, Processes Influencing Democratic Ownership and Participation (PIDOP), which was awarded to the University of Surrey (UK), University of Liège (Belgium), Masaryk University (Czech Republic), University of Jena (Germany), University of Bologna (Italy), University of Porto (Portugal), Örebro University (Sweden), Ankara University (Turkey) and Queen’s University Belfast (UK). For further information about the PIDOP project, please visit the project website: http://www.fahs.surrey.ac.uk/pidop/

Research on the consequences of motor vehicle accidents centres mainly on the assessment and treatment of post-traumatic psychological–behavioural reactions of the people involved. Few studies have explored the experience of surviving a serious accident and its impact on different dimensions of individuals' lives. This qualitative study aims at investigating adaptation strategies and quality of life of 20 severely injured accident survivors who spent several months in an intensive care unit of a hospital, and who still suffer permanent injuries of varying extent. Participants completed individual in-depth interviews which were subsequently analysed according to the grounded theory method. The findings indicate that the adaptation process follows a sequence of temporal phases (‘past–present’, ‘present’, ‘future’ and ‘being’), characterized by different emotional and behavioural reactions, perceived needs, and by the adoption of specific coping strategies. The duration of the adaptation process is influenced by the severity of the injury suffered, participants' age at the time of the trauma, the occurrence of coma and the availability of social support in participants' life environment.

Civic and political participation (CPP) is often routinely operationalized through the same questions, as can be found in many related studies. While questions can be adapted in accordance with the research purposes, their psychometric properties are rarely addressed. This study examines the potential methodological problems in the measurement of CPP, such as the conflict between construct validity and measurement invariance, as well as unequal item functioning between some groups of people. We use the Rasch model to test 18 CPP questions for their relevance for the European youth population and to study differential item functioning between groups based on (1) age, (2) gender, (3) economic satisfaction, and (4) country of living. We discovered that CPP questions are strongly connected with the cultural and social context and can discriminate against some groups of people. The results demonstrate the need to develop more culturally responsive methods to study CPP and the paper offers suggestions on how to do so.