Meanings of Community in Contexts of Multiculture: The Role of Citizenship, Identity, and Cultural Changes

Abstract

Sense of community (SOC) can be an important concept in relation to cultural and social changes affecting Western societies because of immigration. The focus of this article is on community, immigration, and contexts of multiculture as the starting point to analyze changes and their consequences in everyday lives. Interviews were conducted with 15 leaders living in Reggio Emilia's Station Zone (Italy) to explore meanings of SOC in the contexts of multiculture. The interviews were analyzed for recurring and unique themes. Results show the importance of immigrants’ culture of origin, which affects their idea of community, as well as feelings about identity and citizenship, perceptions of the context, and intercultural relation. Different results were found for participants who are native to Italy. We discuss the results with reference to SOC and immigration in a global world.

Responsibility for Psychological Sense of Community and Well-Being in Old Age: A Qualitative Study of Urban Older Adults in Norway

“…In earlier studies, interviews were used for getting in-depth information about PSOC as this method gives the informants the opportunity to express in their own words what PSOC is for them [17] [18] [23] [40] [41]. However, to ensure that the informants had the chance to express themselves and at the same time have some overall structure to the interview, a semi-structured interview was chosen [42].…”

“…Taking as our position that PSOC is a context-sensitive concept embedded in culture [9] [15]- [20] experienced differently among various age groups [12] [21] [22] [23] and that cultural context affects our meanings and experiences of aging and thereby our well-being [24], we are interested in how urban older adults in Norway, one of the Scandinavian welfare states, explain and define PSOC.…”

Does ethnic identity buffer or intensify the stress of discrimination among the foreign born and U.S. born? Evidence from the Miami‐Dade Health Survey

“…Thus, the links between nativity status, ethnic identity, and psychological sense of community or community distress warrant further investigation in general (Barbieri, Zani, & Sonn, 2014;Kenyon & Carter, 2011;McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Beyond ethnic identity as a dimension of the self-concept that influences distress at the individual level, more research should evaluate how the ethnic identities of residents can influence community well-being and collective action, especially as immigrant populations grow in the United States.…”

“…Beyond ethnic identity as a dimension of the self-concept that influences distress at the individual level, more research should evaluate how the ethnic identities of residents can influence community well-being and collective action, especially as immigrant populations grow in the United States. Thus, the links between nativity status, ethnic identity, and psychological sense of community or community distress warrant further investigation in general (Barbieri, Zani, & Sonn, 2014;Kenyon & Carter, 2011;McMillan & Chavis, 1986).…”

The Community Culture Survey: Preliminary Findings From a New Approach to Measurement and Understanding Health Disparities

“…), can perpetuate biased notions of what is normative and deviant (Mankowski, Galvez, & Glass, ). Immigration is also related to sense of community and identity, such that “community” is often associated with country of origin rather than the current local neighborhood (Barbieri, Zani, & Sonn, ). Kagawa Singer () has articulated the significance of the research problem stating that although culture is often cited as one of the major factors contributing to these disparities, “the actual contribution of culture to health outcomes is virtually unknown.…”