Immigrant prisoners in Italy. Cultural mediation to reduce social isolation and increase migrant prisoner well-being?

PURPOSE: This study aims to highlight how easy it is for immigrants to break Italian law because of the country's inadequate cultural and linguistic mediation service. Insufficiencies in this service also have a negative impact on both the psychological and physical health of migrant prisoners. Furthermore, Italian is used in legal disputes and prison, and reference is made to Italian culture, preventing migrants from understanding their position regarding the law. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This report concerns the psychological discomfort of migrant incarcerated individuals within Italian prisons due to national laws in force. Consideration is also given to the negative impact on the physical health of incarcerated migrants. FINDINGS: Best practice should include adequate space for linguistic and cultural mediation in reception centres and prisons. It is considered suitable to combat social exclusion, even in prison. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The report is not research on prisoners, but it focuses on making visible the condition of migrant individuals incarcerated in Italy. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Enforced isolation does not allow immigrants to become a community resource but has negative repercussions in terms of financial, social and well-being costs. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper is one of few in limited, national or otherwise scientific output, to contribute to migrant inmate visibility in Italy. Taking action for the well-being of migrant prisoners will not only have a positive impact on a social level but should also help reintegrate these individuals after serving their sentence.

Identity, Couple and Intergroup Dynamics in Intercultural Families: Implications on Life Satisfaction of Partners.

The current study analyzed how identity, couple, and intergroup dynamics are related to life satisfaction among 210 intercultural partners living in Italy. Three levels of analysis were considered: a micro level, taking into account the identity aspect of each partner in terms of self- or hetero-ethnic identification; a meso level, examining the passion, commitment, and intimacy of the couple sphere of the partners; a macro level investigating the discrimination that partners can perceive by the community as an effect of the relationship between dominant and minority groups. The results show that for both partners, foreign and Italian, the variables that have a predictive value on life satisfaction bring into play the couple and the intergroup dynamics, leaving out the identitary one. Specifically, increased perceived discrimination as a member of a mixed couple leads to decreased life satisfaction by partners. In turn, we can see that a strong intimacy between partners enhances their life satisfaction. These results introduce a reflection on the role of the differences about the ethnic identity, considered erroneously the main cause of dissatisfaction in the mixed couple. The implications of the study are described and suggestions for future research discussed.

El presente estudio analizó cómo la dinámica de la identidad, de la pareja e intergrupal está relacionada con la satisfacción con la vida entre 210 integrantes de parejas interculturales que viven en Italia. Se consideraron tres niveles de análisis: un nivel micro, que tiene en cuenta el aspecto de la identidad de cada integrante de la pareja en cuanto a la autoidentificación étnica o la héteroidentificación étnica; un nivel meso, que analiza la pasión, el compromiso y la intimidad en el ámbito de pareja de los integrantes de la pareja; un nivel macro que investiga la discriminación que los integrantes de la pareja pueden percibir de la comunidad como consecuencia de la relación entre grupos dominantes y minoritarios. Los resultados demuestran que para ambos integrantes de la pareja, extranjero e italiano, las variables que tienen un valor predictivo sobre la satisfacción con la vida ponen en juego la dinámica de pareja e intergrupal, excluyendo la de identidad. Específicamente, una mayor discriminación percibida como integrante de una pareja interracial conduce a una menor satisfacción con la vida por parte de los integrantes de la pareja. A su vez, podemos obsevar que una intimidad profunda entre los integrantes de la pareja mejora su satisfacción con la vida. Estos resultados presentan una reflexión sobre el papel que juegan las diferencias con respecto a la identidad étnica, considerada erróneamente la causa principal de insatisfacción en la pareja interracial. Se describen las implicancias del estudio y se debaten sugerencias para investigaciones futuras.