Family Routine Behaviors and Meaningful Rituals: A Comparison Between Italian and Migrant Couples

Abstract

Routines and meaningful rituals play an important role in the family dynamic system. During the past 30 years, migratory flow into Italy has been constantly increasing. Our aim was to explore the structure of daily life in order to understand and compare family functioning of migrant couples in Italy with the family functioning of couples who were born and bred in Italy. In our study there were 124 participants (31 Italian couples and 31 migrant couples) who completed modified versions of the Family Routine Inventory and the Family Ritual Questionnaire. Participants were contacted by teachers at kindergartens attended by the children of the couples. The results highlighted a significant difference between Italian and migrant couples in the symbolic-significance dimension of rituals. The particularity of this finding is its coexistence with the absence of significant differences in the more pragmatic aspects of rituals. The possible influence of the migration experience and practical implications are discussed.

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