Perceived well-being in adolescent immigrants: it matters where they come from

The aim of this work was to explore whether adolescent immigrants have worse or better perceived well-being, and whether this perception varies by ethnic background or between first- and second-generation immigrants, when compared with adolescents from the host population.

A representative sample of 47,799 students (13.4% immigrants) aged 11, 13, and 15 years were recruited throughout all Italian regions within the framework of the Italian 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study.

Adolescent immigrants from Eastern European and non-Western/non-European countries had a higher occurrence of health complaints and the highest risk of reporting low life satisfaction, which increased among the second generation. The risk of reporting bullying behaviours and physical fights was higher in first-generation immigrants and decreased in the second generation, independent of ethnic background.

Italian welfare immigration policies do not seem to offer the same opportunities to all adolescent immigrant groups, which leads to differing effects on their well-being. To tackle these inequalities, Italy should increase its investment in education through early prevention initiatives, e.g. providing support in intercultural education and proper training to school teachers and staff.