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SENSE OF COMMUNITY, IDENTITY STATUSES, AND LONELINESS IN ADOLESCENCE: A CROSS‐NATIONAL STUDY ON ITALIAN AND BELGIAN YOUTH
Author(s) -
Cicognani Elvira,
Klimstra Theo,
Goossens Luc
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.21618
Subject(s) - loneliness , flemish , feeling , psychology , identity (music) , developmental psychology , sense of community , social psychology , clinical psychology , geography , physics , archaeology , acoustics
The aim of this cross‐national study was to assess the relationships among sense of community (SoC) vis‐à‐vis the residential community (i.e., one's home town), identity formation processes, and feelings of loneliness toward parents and peers. The sample included 431 Italian adolescents (59.4% females) and 221 Belgian (Flemish) adolescents (54.3% females) aged 14–23 years. Results indicate that the more adolescents developed firm and sustained commitments, the more they developed positive feelings toward the residential community. SoC toward the home town is lower among youth in less advanced identity statuses. Parent‐ and peer‐related loneliness differentially predicted Italian and Belgian adolescents’ SoC. Results have significant theoretical and methodological implications for the study of SoC, identity, and loneliness.