Abstract

Immigrant adolescents have to grow up in two different cultural tradi-tions and systems of values, which may exert conflicting pressures on their behaviours, loyalties and obligations, thus leading to psychological tensions in the process of identity definition. This essay examines some of these issues. Building on a field research carried out among young people of different origins attending a youth centre in Turin, the essay looks at the development of their identity, analysing two areas of life: the family - a key variable in the migration process - and leisure activities - during which immigrant adolescents participate in multicultural activities aimed at improving their linguistic and social integration. Different mod-els of adaptation emerge from the analysis: some adolescents choose the identity of the host country, while others adopt a marginal attitude; some young immigrants employ different identities in different contests (home, school, leisure).