Shared Communities: A Multinational Qualitative Study of Immigrant and Receiving Community Members

Area of Science:

• Community psychology
• Social psychology
• Immigration studies

Background:

• Community psychology examines how immigrants and residents build a shared sense of community.
• Understanding the formation of psychological sense of community (PSOC) is crucial for social cohesion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how newer immigrants and established residents form multiple positive PSOC.
• To identify commonalities and differences in PSOC formation across diverse groups and contexts.

Main Methods:

• Multinational, qualitative study involving interviews.
• 201 participants: first- and second-generation immigrants and established residents.
• Three contexts: Baltimore-Washington corridor (U.S.), Torino (Italy), and Lecce (Italy).

Main Results:

• Similarities in PSOC construction were found across immigration status, residence length, location, age, and gender.
• Small, proximal, and salient communities were key to building positive PSOC.
• PSOC formed around diverse membership boundaries, with members converging and diverging on various characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Shared characteristics and diverse membership contribute to building community.
• Structural challenges related to power and privilege hinder the community-diversity dialectic.
• Confronting these challenges is essential for fostering strong, shared senses of community.