Just a matter of time? The ways children of immigrants become similar (or not) to Italians

Using the Itagen2 panel survey (2006 and 2008), we study children of immigrants aged 10-16 in Italy by means of a dynamic and multidimensional approach aimed at understanding the determinants of levels and changes in four different aspects of assimilation. Results from the first wave underline a negative relation between the level of assimilation and age at immigration, and show considerable differences by country of origin. The second wave shows that assimilation increases mainly for children who arrived in Italy after their sixth birthday, i.e. those less assimilated in the first wave