شناسایی فرهنگی، احساس تبعیض و حس اجتماعی بعنوان پیش بینی کننده رضایت از زندگی در میان شرکای خارجی از خانواده بین فرهنگی در ایتالیا و اسپانیا: مطالعه فراملی

The aim of this paper was to analyze how cultural identification, perceived discrimination and the sense of community are related to life satisfaction among foreign partners in intercultural families. The study compared 105 and 95 foreign partners in mixed families resident in Italy and Spain, respectively. The phenomenon in both countries displays similar sociodemographic aspects. In contrast to Social Identity Theory, the results show that in both groups the foreign partner's identification with their own ethnic-cultural group is not associated with life satisfaction, nor does it increase perceived discrimination. In turn, increased perceived discrimination leads to a decreased sense of community and life satisfaction among foreigners. Regarding religion, interreligious couples in Italy perceive more discrimination than mono-religious couples. Finally, we found that a low sense of discrimination and a strong sense of community are related to life satisfaction among mixed families in both groups. The implications of the study are described and suggestions for future research discussed.

The present study analyzed a growing phenomenon in Italy and Spain known as intercultural or mixed families. The main objective was to explore a group of variables associated with ethnic identity and intergroup relationships, and to determine how these relate to life satisfaction among foreign partners in intercultural families. Regarding the relationship between different ethnic groups in multicultural contexts, Berry (2001) has identified two main currents in recent studies. The first refers to intergroup analysis derived from Social Identity Theory (SIT), whereas the second focuses mainly on the acculturation process. In this study, we discuss the theory of acculturation in order to introduce studies that explain how ethnic identification may influence adaptation among foreigners, whereas SIT will mainly be used to explain how intergroup relationships form the basis for the development of discriminatory attitudes towards foreigners. The sense of community (SOC) is introduced as a novel factor. This concept is strictly linked to social interaction and cooperation within the community context and has important implications regarding life satisfaction among its members. As discussed in the different sections, numerous studies have examined how the process of acculturation, ethnic identification, and the role of perceived discrimination or SOC influence the welfare of foreigners. However, studies on intercultural families are scarce (Moscato, 2008 and Moscato, 2012).