Self‐Construals and Social Adjustment in Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Early Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Executive Functioning

Abstract

This study examined whether executive functions (EFs) moderate the association between independent and interdependent self-construals and social adjustment in 488 Moroccan, Romanian, and Italian preadolescents (ages 11-13) in Italy. Participants were assessed using self-report questionnaires and standardized EF tasks. Better working memory was related to increased social competence across all groups. High levels of inhibitory control were found to enhance the positive relation between interdependence and prosocial behavior for native Italian youth, and between interdependence and social competence for Moroccan preadolescents. High levels of cognitive flexibility boosted the interdependence-social competence link for the immigrant groups, whereas among native Italian preadolescents, the interdependence-social competence link was significant at low levels of flexibility. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.

Parental Supervision, Executive Functions, and Emotional-Behavioral Problems in Chinese Immigrant and Italian Nonimmigrant Early Adolescents in Italy

“…The instructions were to press the key on the opposite side to where the flower was shown (incongruent block, inhibitory control). The third block (mixed block, cognitive flexibility) included randomly presented hearts and flowers, to the left or right, with the instructions to press on the same side when a heart was shown and to press on the opposite side when a flower was shown (see Miconi, Moscardino, Altoè, & Salcuni, 2019, for a detailed description of the task). Performance on the task was assessed by both accuracy (% correct responses) and reaction times (RTs) on correct trials.…”

“…For example, cognitive flexibility has recently been theorized as a crucial aspect of immigrants’ socio-emotional adjustment due to the exposure to diverse social and cultural contexts and the subsequent need to adapt one’s behaviors according to social demands (Fuligni & Tsai, 2015; Miconi, Moscardino, Altoè, & Salcuni, 2019). In contrast, preliminary findings suggest that working memory may be more independent from contextual influences than other EFs (de Abreu, Baldassi, Puglisi, & Befi-Lopes, 2013; Miconi, Moscardino, Altoè, & Salcuni, 2019). Cross-cultural differences may be magnified when comparing youth with a collectivist Chinese background to nonimmigrant Italian youth with an individualistic orientation.…”

Psychological well-being, multiple identities, and discrimination among first and second generation immigrant Muslims

“…Research carried out in the last decades, mostly in countries with long and established tradition of immigration (e.g., the United States, Canada), has extensively documented the complex and multifaceted struggles and challenges faced by immigrants and their descendants. Focusing on specific ethnic minorities living in the West, most studies have shown how immigrants’ and ethnic minorities’ well-being is linked to several acculturation-specific risk and protective factors that distinguish immigrants’ experience, in accordance with their migration history, national origin, and resettlement experiences (Berry, 1997; Miconi, Moscardino, Altoè, & Salcuni, in press; Phinney, Horenczyk, Liebkind, & Vedder, 2001). Among these factors, discrimination and racism have been found to negatively affect psychological well-being among ethnic minority groups (e.g., Asian, Latino, and Black Americans; Brittian et al, 2015; Lee, 2003; Utsey, Ponterotto, Reynolds, & Cancelli, 2000).…”

Impulse Control Moderates the Link Between Parent–Child Cultural Orientation Gaps and Externalizing Problems in Chinese Immigrant Early Adolescents

“…Participants were part of a larger study on immigrant and native Italian early adolescents’ socio-emotional adjustment (see Miconi, Moscardino, Altoè, & Salcuni, 2019). The sample included 91 Chinese early adolescents of immigrant origin (58.2% girls; 26.4% first generation, i.e., born in China) and their first-generation Chinese parents (i.e., born in China).…”