Migrant friendships, Migrant Loves: Taking the sociability of second generations seriously

The children of immigrants, both foreign-and Italian-born, have become a sizeable presence in Italian high schools-one with which other students, teachers and administrators must interact on a regular basis. This paper presents findings-complemented by ethnographic observations-of the first two waves of a longitudinal survey among classi from high schools in Trento, Italy. It explores the sociability patterns and categorical identifications of both native-and foreign-born students at a phase of the life cycle when the changes brought by immigration interact with the social and psychological changes triggered by adolescence. The data reveal the possible existence of a weak form of ethnic hierarchy, but there is an absence of any significant processes of social closure. The length of stay is the key variable, associated both with having heterogeneous personal networks and with identification with Italy. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.