Community participation and subjective wellbeing among the immigrant population in Northern Italy: An analysis of mediators

Abstract

Community participation can be a potential strategy to increase the degree of the subjective wellbeing of immigrants within receiving societies. This study aims to analyze the relationship between immigrants' community participation and their subjective wellbeing, testing the two dimensions of sense of mattering (feeling valued and adding value) and psychological sense of community as potential mediators of this relationship. A total of 308 first‐generation immigrants living in Northern Italy filled out a questionnaire (45.1% were members of a migrant community‐based organization). We found that immigrants who are members of a migrant organization show a higher level of subjective wellbeing, sense of mattering, and psychological sense of community than those who are not members. We also found that the sense of adding value and the psychological sense of community serve as mediators of the relationship between community participation and subjective wellbeing. The findings suggest that active participation is positively related to immigrants' feeling useful and capable of contributing to society and their feeling of belonging, which, in turn, are positively related to their subjective wellbeing. Practical implications are presented, focusing on the need for generative social policies to move beyond the welfarist perspective in which immigrants only “receive” to embrace an active perspective in which immigrants can also “give.”

The Mediating Role of Migrant Community-Based Organizations: Challenges and Coping Strategies

“…They can also function as settings where immigrants’ cultural identities are protected and differences are negotiated (Martinez-Damia et al, 2021 ; Marzana et al, 2019 ; Sonn, 2002 ; Taurini et al, 2017 ). In line with this, research found that immigrants who participate within community-based organizations are more integrated and have higher psychological well-being compared with those who do not participate (Martinez-Damia et al, 2023 ; Marzana et al, 2020a , 2020b ). Nevertheless, the liberation of immigrants from oppressive contexts depends on the challenges that MCBOs face when playing their mediating role.…”

El activismo en las migrantes trabajadoras del hogar: estudio cualitativo en el sur de España

“…El presente trabajo se fundamenta en la información proporcionada por una muestra pequeña de activistas vinculadas a una organización históricamente reciente; sin embargo, contribuye a un campo emergente, interesado en las personas migrantes como agen-tes activos con capacidad para transformar las condiciones opresivas en las sociedades receptoras (Magliano et al, 2016;Martinez-Damia et al, 2023;Marzana et al, 2020;Paloma et al, 2018). De esta manera aporta a la denominada "aproximación de la autonomía de las migraciones" (Mezzadra, 2022), que enfatiza el sentido de agencia y activismo de las personas migrantes como motor de nuevos espacios de ciudadanía que transforman estructuras de dominación en las sociedades receptoras.…”