Transition to Adulthood Across Italy: A Comparison Between Northern and Southern Italian Young Adults

Working status and perception of adulthood: a comparison between Italian and Dutch emerging adults

“…In this sense, results from the groups of individuals from Italy reflect how much the goal of forming a family in the future is crucial for their adult lives. Different cultural perceptions of what are the important criteria for reaching adulthood have been previously explained by individualistic vs. collectivistic societies' values (e.g., Badger, Nelson, & Barry, 2006;Piumatti, Pipitone, Di Vita, Latina, & Rabaglietti, 2013). Although the shared markers emphasize individualism, at the same time, they include collectivistic views.…”

North/south differences among Italian emerging adults regarding criteria deemed important for adulthood and life satisfaction

“…Overall, the striking differences in experiencing the transition to adulthood whether one is living in the North or in the South of Italy have been previously documented by looking at individual psychological outcomes such as well-being, feelings of fulfillment in life or perceived support (see Piumatti et al, 2014). Drawing from such conclusions and in light of the still existing inequalities within the Italian context, the current study aimed at further investigating how the perceptions of the criteria for adulthood may differ between Northern and Southern Italian young adults.…”

“…Nonetheless, they also tended to value issues related to family life, love and friendship, confirming a “growing tendency toward the areas of restricted social relationships” (de Lillo, 2007, p. 140). Indeed, it is important to point out that the support received from the family of origin is a significant aspect also in the North of Italy (Piumatti et al, 2014). In addition, as noticed by Paleari, Rosnati, and Lanz (2002) in a study conducted on entire family nuclei from the North (i.e., including immediate and extended family members), the support received from one’s family played an essential role in the psychological well-being of young adults.…”

“…Despite the merely descriptive nature of the study, and the fact that no previous research has examined the differences between emerging adults from the North and the South of Italy specifically regarding their endorsement of the criteria for adulthood, building upon the features of this time period as proposed in Arnett’s theory of emerging adulthood we formulated the following hypotheses: (1) first, we predicted that Italian emerging adults from the South would place more importance on interdependence, family capacities and more traditional and externally identified criteria (e.g., role transition) as important markers of adulthood, than their peers from the North; (2) second, as suggested by previous research (Ciairano, Rabaglietti, Roggero, & Callari, 2010; Piumatti et al, 2014), we expected the latter to report higher levels of satisfaction in life also with regard to their post-secondary educational track than the former. Moreover, a complementary goal of this study was to investigate gender-related differences in endorsement of adulthood criteria among Italian emerging adults.…”

“…In this sense, the North and the South of Italy represent the opposite sides of a coin with regard to youth employability rates, higher education attainment, generational transitions and family formation process (ISTAT, 2012). In the North, the higher youth employability and education attainment (especially among females) and a later transition to marriage with respect to the South, favor modern family behaviors (living alone before marriage, a large number of consensual unions) (Avola, 2009; Santarelli, 2011) and loose psychological and economical bonds with the family of origin at younger ages (Piumatti, Pipitone, Di Vita, Latina, & Rabaglietti, 2014). Instead, in the South of Italy, family represents not only the sphere of affections but also a safety valve, the “undisputed and beloved cradle of new generations” (Bava, 2010, p. 92), a stronger institution than those in which other Italian young people live.…”