NCJ Number
147580
Journal
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume: 338 Dated: (November 1961) Pages: 70-78
Date Published
1961
Length
9 pages
Annotation
At the turn of the 20th century, the Italian peasant family was a patriarchal, well-integrated economic unit, and adolescence as an age grade was almost nonexistent; when these families emigrated to the United States, they were drawn to the cities, and the family-community life they led in Italy was no longer possible.
Abstract
The response of first generation teenagers in the United States was characterized by cultural conflict, and street corner gangs resulted. Second generation teenagers, much more a product of lower class urban American society than the traditional Italian culture of their grandparents, still faced less than complete acceptance by the dominant culture and adjusted accordingly. Some teenagers sought to re-embrace the Italian-American cultural pattern, although most compromised by seeking integration into American culture while retaining contact with the immigrant family and way of life. These adjustment modes influenced third generation teenagers, and characteristics setting these teenagers apart from other teenagers resulted from the general position of Italian-Americans in the social structure. 18 footnotes