Phd in SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATIONAL
RESEARCH

Thesis title: Students from migrant backgrounds in Italian schools: the role of socialisation agents on their psychological and academic adaptation

This thesis investigated the influence of socialisation experiences, especially those involving family and school, on the adaptation processes of young students, particularly immigrant students attending Italian schools. The impact of migration on the well-being of children and adolescents is the subject of extensive scientific debate; in fact, in most European nations, children from immigrant families encounter numerous educational disadvantages even today. Motti-Stefanidi and colleagues' (2012) integrative model of risk and resilience was used as theoretical framework for investigating immigrant students' psychological and academic adaptation. Overcoming deficit-oriented perspectives, particular emphasis was placed on the individual and contextual factors promoting and/or protecting adolescents' well-being and positive adaptation. Particularly, parental influences, teacher-student relationships, and peer relationships, in interaction with individual student characteristics, were the focus of three studies conducted in different upper secondary schools in Italy. The findings confirmed the significance of "significant others" in the adaptation processes of all students, particularly students from migrant backgrounds, and provided insight into how to guide educational policies and practices to assure their academic success and well-being.