Anita Sujoldžić

The population history of the Croatian linguistic minority of Molise (southern Italy): a maternal view.

This study examines the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity of the Croatian-speaking minority of Molise and evaluates its potential genetic relatedness to the neighbouring Italian groups and the Croatian parental population. Intermatch, genetic distance, and admixture analyses highlighted the genetic similarity between the Croatians of Molise and the neighbouring Italian populations and demonstrated that the Croatian-Italian ethnic minority presents features lying between Croatians and Italians. This finding was confirmed by a phylogeographic approach, which revealed both the prevalence of Croatian and the penetrance of Italian maternal lineages in the Croatian community of Molise. These results suggest that there was no reproductive isolation between the two geographically proximate, yet culturally distinct populations living in Italy. The gene flow between the Croatian-Italians and the surrounding Italian populations indicate, therefore, that ethnic consciousness has not created reproductive barriers and that the Croatian-speaking minority of Molise does not represent a reproductively isolated entity.

A European project on health problems, mental disorders and cross-cultural aspects of developing effective rehabilitation procedures for refugee and immigrant youth.

The project is an international comparative study on risk and protective factors of adolescent health and well-being, with particular focus on youth with immigrant (or refugee) experience. This is a comprehensive study on the quality of life and health outcomes of adolescent youth that looks at group-specific differences within different socio-cultural contexts across six European countries, including those of post-conflict communities. The research project combines both quantitative and qualitative methods, using a common set up across all countries involved with the goal of collecting data on 3500 adolescents that are strictly comparable to allow cross-country analyses. It is particularly aimed at increasing the understanding of acculturation processes of a particularly sensitive population of adolescent refugees and immigrants and of the influence that the interaction of contextual and developmental factors has on their mental health and psychological well-being.

Migration within the island of Korcula, Yugoslavia.

For several centuries the village populations on the Yugoslav island of Korcula have remained essentially isolated from each other and from the mainland. Historical, linguistic and biological data indicate that systematic population pressure predominantly came from the coastal area of the Balkan peninsula westward onto the island. To examine short and long range migration on the island, data on the place of birth of parents of adult inhabitants (1168 subjects) were presented and migration matrices analysed applying a gamma function. Most examinees were born in the same village as their parents (86.39%); only 6.33% of the parents migrated between villages on the island; and village endogamy is quite high for the past four generations (75%). When inter-village migration has occurred, migration density is greatest at a distance of 8-12 km, rather than from the immediate neighbourhood. Short range migration occurs up to a mean distance of 33.98 km, long range migration over distances greater than 28 km.