Integration and marginalization in second-generation immigrants in Palermo: an empirical research

Abstract

In recent decades, Italy has been affected by constant migratory flows of people, which have brought substantial changes to the social, cultural and economic structure of the country.

There are, in fact, many second-generation immigrants on the national territory, who induce political actors and institutions in charge of culture to develop programmes and build pathways to integration, appropriate to their needs. First of all, within the category of "second generation immigrants" there are numerous and heterogeneous individual experiences, whose common denominator is represented by the migratory experience, often experienced only by their parents.

This young generation appears, therefore, as suspended between two cultures, the ancestral one, relative to the homeland, and the dominant one, relative to the society of arrival. Numerous international studies (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001; Sayad, 2002; Palmas, 2012) highlight the possible paths of integration of second generations within the host societies, in order to promote valid and profitable pathways to integration.

As far as Italy is concerned, the picture is, however, more complex, since the phenomenon is inextricably linked to territorial variables of a different nature. Therefore, each region and small territorial entity has peculiar characteristics that require an ad hoc analysis.

The proposed research aims to highlight the most important aspects of the integration pathways of second-generation young immigrants in the Palermo area, striving to grasp the psychosocial dynamics of inclusion and marginalization.