Paola Cardinali

Photovoice and Interpretation of Pictures in a Group Discussion: A Community Psychology Approach

The primary objective of this article is to contribute to the literature on the Photovoice method through analysis of its characteristics. The Photovoice visual methodology often employed in qualitative research in the frame of community psychology because it enables participants to express their ideas using pictures. This study aims to demonstrate the utility of Photovoice through presentation of evidence gathered during our study on immigration to exemplify some issues surrounding group interaction, picture interpretation and symbolic meaning. This qualitative method has some defining features: first, Photovoice offers participants the opportunity to discuss and interpret their photographs in a group where each participant can share his/her perspective, based on his/her experiences and values. Second, the method allows participants to represent an idea by capturing images of inanimate objects that may symbolise the personal meaning attributed to the research topics. Third, it is well suited to communicating a general understanding of the research topics with the benefit that it may integrate influences from the participants’ lives.

Unaccompanied Migrant Adolescents in the Italian Context: Tailored Educational Interventions and Acculturation Stress

The migration experience is normally associated with acculturative stress; this condition assumes relevance when the migrant is a minor alone. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions about the migration process and educational interventions offered by host-community social workers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 unaccompanied migrant adolescents that had finished their educational pathways in the traditional community centers. Interview results were analyzed using NVivo 9, based on the grounded theory. The main results of the study are related to the incompatibility between the educational intervention of host communities and minors’ projects and motivations.

Daily Family Routines of Italian and Ecuadorian Immigrant Mothers in Everyday Life

This study compares Italian mothers’ and Ecuadorian immigrant mothers’ daily family routines. Thirty mothers took part in this investigation: 15 Italians (M = 37.5 years, with ages ranging from 30 to 42 years) and 15 Ecuadorians (M = 36.1 years, with ages ranging from 18 to 46 years and having lived in Italy for an average of 15 years), with children ranging in age from 4 to 8 years. The objective is to highlight the differences and similarities between the daily routines and family relations that characterize the lives of each of the two groups of participants. The instruments employed in service of these aims were in-depth interviews and diaries. The results showed similarities regarding the routines of Italian and Ecuadorian families. However, a relevant difference emerged regarding their perceptions of social support. Specifically, Italians receive more social support from their parents than do Ecuadorians, who are supported more by other relatives or by friends.

Acculturation strategies and adjustment in immigrant and host Italian communities

This paper aims to develop a multidimensional scale to measure intergenerational family solidarity (IFS) to assess its psychometric properties and to examine the invariance of the instrument across gender. In order to do that, we initially developed a scale with six dimensions. Using the theoretical framework of Bengtson and his colleagues (1991), we measured five out of the six conceptual dimensions of the IFS, together with a new one developed by us and called systematic solidarity. Furthermore, items about partner are introduced in the questionnaire. Using a sample of 201 valid questionnaires, different analyses were conducted to validate the new scale. The definitive scale proposed to measure IFS was composed by four dimensions: normative solidarity and three affectual solidarities (related to parents, partner, and children). Finally, we provide evidences of the consistency of this scale across gender differences.

Motivations and Family Functioning of Foster Families in Italy

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper was to investigate foster family care to better understand this unique care-giving context. The research objective was to understand motivation, family functioning, and individual attachment styles in foster families. Participants were 33 foster parents who completed a questionnaire that included the motivations for choosing foster care, the relationship with the birth family and with social service workers, a measure of family functioning and adult attachment. The motivations for becoming a foster family were very different between families with a birth child and families without a birth child. The results showed that for the foster mother, the relationship with the birth family constituted a very critical element of the fostering experience. The same trend emerged in the relationship with the minor. The results showed that foster families were cohesive and expressive. With respect to attachment style, foster parents had lower scores than a normative sample on the discomfort with closeness, the tendency to consider relationships as secondary and the need for approval subscales. These results have implications for the practices of social work for foster family support and developing a shared commitment to the needs of the foster family in terms of both resources and weaknesses.

Domestic Violence in Separated Couples in Italian Context: Communalities and Singularities of Women and Men Experiences

Relationship breakdown and separation represent a critical aspect in domestic violence. Few studies have investigated domestic violence in separated couples. Moreover, there is a need for a more in depth analysis of gender differences that could enhance the comprehension of the phenomenon. The primary aim of this research was to analyze, through a qualitative approach, which kinds of domestic violence are characteristic or major in separated couples in the Italian context, where this phenomenon has not yet been sufficiently investigated. Participants are 60 separated couples (mean age: M = 48; F = 44) who attended a Family Mediation Center. A descriptive study was conducted using grounded theory methodology. A brief narrative task was administered to both ex-partners separately. The transcriptions were analyzed using NVivo 11 software. From data analysis, some themes emerged regarding typology of domestic violence specific of the separation context and shared by both men and women. The analyses of gender differences showed that there is a gender specific experience of domestic violence. Results highlight that women narrate both physical and psychological violence, while men relate only psychological abuse focused on limiting access to children. We discuss these findings in relation to possible appropriate gender specific intervention and prevention efforts.

Processi di accomodamento intersistemico nelle relazioni scuola famiglia : la funzione dei supporti nella costruzione del benessere di adolescenti italiani e immigrati

La famiglia e la scuola rappresentano i microsistemi piu significativi per gli adolescenti. L’inserimento scolastico e la relazione genitore-adolescente sono associati alla capacita di adattamento dei migranti; inoltre, l’accordo intersistemico fra famiglia e scuola influenza il benessere degli adolescenti. Questo lavoro analizza il sistema casa-scuola cosi come percepito da 177 adolescenti italiani, 175 di origine est europea e 83 sud americani, evidenziandone le relazioni con i costrutti di benessere e supporto sociale. In accordo con la letteratura, abbiamo rilevato una correlazione tra il supporto sociale e il successo scolastico. Inoltre, in accordo con il modello della partnership, a piu alti livelli di dissonanza tra casa e scuola corrisponde un benessere inferiore.

Il progetto di generatività sociale in un campione di coppie affidatarie

A project of social generativity in a sample of foster parents - The aim of this paper is to investigate foster family care through the study of motivations and personal and social pathways leading up to the birth of the family social generativity project. Another aim is to study in depth the dynamic and relational aspects that characterize foster families. Fourteen foster families were administered a semi-structured interview and a que-stionnaire that listed the wish for a child as the main motivation underlying the choice of foster care and, for families that have also natural children, the centrality of a triggering event, not always supported by careful family planning. To conclude, some considerations are presented on the relation-ship between biological and social generativity and on the perspective of family surplus. Key words: assessment; parenting abilities; instruments