Promoting Adolescents’ Cultural Identity Development: Adaptation and Implementation of the Identity Project Intervention in Italian Schools

In increasingly diverse societies, resolving one’s cultural identity (i.e., sense of belonging toward one’s cultural memberships) and learning how to navigate diversity represent core developmental competencies. Yet, evidence-based interventions that provide spaces for youth to address such topics are still scarce, especially in recently receiving countries like Italy. The Identity Project is a school-based intervention promoting cultural identity processes, wellbeing, and interethnic relationships among majority and minoritized adolescents (Umaña-Taylor & Douglass, 2017). The intervention was successfully tested in the United States, producing an increase in cultural identity exploration and, in turn, resolution, which predicted better psychosocial functioning one year later (Umana-Taylor et al., 2018a, 2018b). Based on this evidence, European scholars started to adapt the Identity Project to their national contexts: the first implementation was carried out in Germany, with promising results (Juang et al., 2020). However, more research is warranted to test the efficacy of this program in different sociocultural contexts. Addressing this gap, this research project set out to adapt and implement the Identity Project among diverse adolescents in Italy. Overall, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Italian version of the intervention, identify factors that might heighten intervention efficacy, and investigate potential benefits on psychosocial adjustment in the long run. Study 1 presents the online pilot implementation of the Italian Identity Project conducted between March and May 2021 among 138 adolescents (Mage = 15.66 yrs, SD = 0.84, 63% female, 37% with immigrant background) assigned to intervention vs control group. Findings supported the feasibility and acceptability of the program, and showed an increase from pre- to posttest in resolution, but not exploration. Yet, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic posed lingering questions on possible differential effects of the in-person delivery. Study 2 evaluated the efficacy of the Italian Identity Project through a large-scale randomized controlled trial (N =747, Mage = 15 yrs, 53% girls, 31% with immigrant background) conducted between October 2021 and January 2022, exploring immigrant background and environmental sensitivity as moderators. Results confirmed the efficacy of the intervention in boosting exploration from pre- to postest (Cohen’s d = 0.18), while no ripple effect on resolution emerged at follow-up. Moreover, adolescents with higher levels of environmental sensitivity, also in combination with immigrant background, benefited more in terms of exploration. Study 3 used longitudinal latent profile analysis to identify constellations of exploration and resolution over a year (October 2021-2022) and their associations with psychosocial adjustment among participants in the program. Results showed one exploration profile and four resolution profiles (stable low, stable medium, increase low-to-medium, increase high-to-higher), with youth with immigrant background and highest family ethnic socialization being overrepresented in the latter profile. Youth in this profile also reported the best adjustment outcomes one year later. This work provides novel evidence on the adaptation process and efficacy of the Identity Project, and highlights the relevance of intervening in cultural identity formation among diverse adolescents in Italy. Taking into account the role of individual and contextual factors seems essential to comprehend for whom the intervention is more beneficial, also in terms of adjustment. Finally, the identification of distinct pathways for cultural identity exploration and resolution paves the way to research on socialization processes involved in these dimensions and to practical implications on spot interventions to enhance their development.