Bicultural couples from Family to Community: Educational Styles and Place Identity

The paper examines the dynamics of bicultural couples in which one partner is autochthonous and the other is of foreign nationality. Two levels of analysis were considered: a macro level studying the place identity in reference to the general social context and the residential neighbourhood, in particular; the second level refers to the dynamics of the couple and examines the strategies for managing differences between partners and the educational styles adopted in the presence of children. According to the basic assumptions of qualitative research, 22 mixed couples living in Sicily were interviewed. To analyse the contents which emerged from interviews the Atlas.ti software was used. Through the narrative method we explored the meanings that partners assign to their daily lives and differences they experienced. The results show that the diversity is perceived as a limit when it finds no support in the context in which the partners live. The identity of context and neighborhood is due explicitly to the more or less formally link established with the neighborhood and the availability of support that is found in their network of friends and family and partner. The identity of context is meant as that feeling of being roated in a specific place (as may be the district of residence) that reinforces the sense of self and personal identity. It is revealing that in the research, such identity is associated with the sense of belonging because social identities are always constructed as a bridge between us and others