YOUNG ADULTS IN US AND ITALY 

 

 

 

  1. Introduction 
  2. Young adults and their secondary education: the world of university in both countries
    1. Statistics on university world
    2. The quality of education
    3. An overview of costs
  3. Leaving home: at what age and why? Before or after university?
  4. Working during university or just after it?
  5. Lasciare casa: A che età? Perchè? Prima o dopo l'università? 
  6. Buying a house or renting it?
    1. U.S.: Buying a house or renting it?
    2. Italia: Comprare una casa o affittarla?
    3. Comparison between Us and Italy
  7. Marriage or living together?
    1. An overview
    2. United States
    3. Italia
  8. I giovani in Italia
  9. Authors

 

 

 

Introduction 

 

The aim of this wiki is to provide a brief overview on the world of young adults, that is to say, young people from eighteen to thirty years old, both in the United States and Italy. In order to fulfill the aim of our project we decided to analyze several aspects of the lives of young adults compared in the two cultures. First of all we started by doing a comparison between the world of university in both countries; secondly we analyzed the choice of leaving home and working during or just after university; then we tried to understand if Italians and American young adults prefer buying or renting a house and the reasons for this choice; finally, as a consequence we focused on issue of marriage and on how young adults in Italy and US face the choice of getting married or living together. 

In order to carry on our analysis we tried to mix together materials and elements we got from our skype discussions with our American peer, and data and stastics found while surfing the web, so that each section of our wiki is built up of different parts, including the description of the American and Italian situation and a comparison between the two.

 

 

 

Young adults and their secondary education: the world of university in both countries

 

 

 

 

 

Statistics on university world

 

 

 

Let's start from high school...

 

  • 84% of American citizens older than 25 have got a high school diploma. In 2000 88% of American young adults got a diploma. In Italy the rate is much lower (57%), since that only the first year at high school is compulsory.

  •  The most common degree in Us is bachelor's degree, which is awarded for courses that last four years (although some programs take five, such as engineering). 25% of American population older than 25 and 33% of young adults possess a bachelor's degree.

  •  As far as the associate degree concerns, 8% of US citizens and 9% of young adults has been awarded with it.

  •   In Italy only 10% of the population aged 25-64 possess a degree (laurea or diploma di laurea), while in the US the rate is much higher: 37%.  We have to consider that in Italy young adults accede to university at the age of 18 or 19 and get their first degree at 21 or 22. With the old university courses called "vecchio ordinamento" students got a degree after a 4 or 5 year-course. This is probably the reason why in Italy people who possess a degree are fewer than those in the US.

  • Students who get a first-professional degree such as Juris Doctor or Doctor of Medicine are only 7% of those who get a bachelor’s degree or a higher degree.

  • 3% of American students who have already been awarded with a bachelor’s degree get a Ph.D.

 

 

 

Italy

United States

colleges and universities

87, of which 67 are public

4.000 colleges:

1.700 only for two-year degrees (1.000 are public, called community college: they absorb 95% or university students)

2.300 bachelor's degree and higher degrees universities (only 600 are public)

professors

74.000

700.000

students getting degree per year

160.000

1.200.000 (bachelor's degree)

 

 

 

The quality of education

 

The world's top ten universities are in the UK or the US, according to the annual Times Higher -QS World University Rankings published with this issue. Harvard has emerged as the world's top university for the fourth time in succession, with Cambridge, Oxford and Yale universities all tied for second place.

The UK has four institutions in the top ten this year. Princeton, California Institute of Technology, Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology make up the rest of the top ten.

The rankings are based on the opinion of 7,000 active academics and graduate recruiters, alongside quantitative data on research impact, staff and student numbers, and universities' levels of internationalisation.

The rankings confirm the modest world status of universities in continental Europe, with the top university being France's Ecole Normale Superieure in 26th place. This places continental Europe behind institutions in Canada, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong, the US and UK.

The top 200 includes four from the developing world: two in Brazil, one from Mexico and, for the first time, an African university, Cape Town, in 200th place.

The first italian university in the chart is Bologna in the 173rd place, followed by Rome’s La Sapienza at the 183rd place. 

 

 

 

An overview of costs

 

In the most prestigious private universities, tuition fees including boarding and lodging are very high: they could come to $40,000 per year. Public universities are less expensive ($15,000), but the cost is very high if compared to public Italian universities, where tuition fees are from about 200-300 € for those who get scholarships up to 1.500 €; only in Milan students spend 2.500 € per year in a public university.

Students in US can be granted a scholarship, which can cover tution fees, educational and living expenses; otherwise they can apply for a loan that covers the same costs. 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving home: at what age and why? Before or after university?

Working during university or just after it?

 

 

In the United States the period between ages 18 and 25 is a transitional stage, during which young adults become less dependent on their parents. They start thinking about their future, if leaving home, going to university or searching a job.
 
According to a demographic research published by Max Planck Institute on the 11th December 2002[1] "...Since World War II there has been a decrease in the age at which young people leave the parental home. But in the 1980s and 1990s there has been a slight postponement in the age of leaving home. In the United States 51,6 percent of males aged 20-24 lived at home in 1994 compared with 49,5 percent in 1986. Among US women, this percentage grew from 36,3 percent to 37,3 percent in the same period..."           
According to Census Bureau studies[2]"among the 18-24 years old young adults, 60% of men and 48% of women live at home. The major factor in young people living home is marriage, but the rising divorce rates had an impact on them, many of whom turned back home after a failed marriage". Women tend to leave home earlier than men, because of an innate sense of independence and a willing to create a family with children. On the other hand, men are more likely to live with their mother essentially because of home-cooked meals, clean clothes and a fully-stocked fridge. Young men get looked after, while young women are inclined to look after the family.
     
Living with other young adults of the same or different sex was a totally new phenomenon in the 1960s and 1970s. Before 1960 most young adults in the United States lived at home with their parents until marriage. The fact of leaving home is strictly connected with the possibility of buy or rent a house. However, the trends suggest that there are more young adults who live with a partner or with parents and fewer who can maintain married couples or family households of their own. This is basically due to economic factors[3].
 
The likelihood of young children to become adults come true through an important economic change. Three decades ago the baby boomers caused a quick transition into adulthood. Wages, especially for lesser skilled jobs, have declined relatively and the increase in marital instability and the rise in single parent families has made it more difficult for parents to help their young children to become young adults[4].
  
"The increase in unemployment and housing cost have discouraged many young adults from marrying and from leaving home": says a reserch published by population studies and training centre of Brouwn university in USA[5].Housing has increased in cost in the past two decades, especially in the large urban centres. There are almost no subsidies in the US housing market apart from the tax advantages of home-ownership. Debts and high property prices oblige young adults to live at home with their parents. Only a small fraction of American families receives public assistance, and the number has decreased after the welfare reform efforts of 1996. Now about 2-10 percent of the native born population receives some assistance as general assistance to individuals, aid to families with children and medical and food stamp assistance. However, the various forms of public assistance do not really provide an income a young home-leaver could live on without any other support from the parental family[6].
 
Apart from income, level of education is another important resource. For the young adults, level of education indicates potential incomes. It is necessary an high education of both the parents and the young adults to facilitate leaving the parental home. In today’s globalized world the young adults who cannot afford the college are very disadvantage. For females, high education of the parents is often associated with a greater likelihood of leaving home, either with or without a partner. For males, it only facilitates the willing of leaving to live without a partner. Parental home-ownership is associated with a high probability of creating a family household, especially for females. Parents' wealth is very important to help their children establishing a household[7]. 
 
As the choice of working during university concerns, a lot of students work in bars and cafès inside the university, but obviously this depends on the choice of being independent from their parents’ earnings.

 

 

Lasciare casa: A che età? Perchè? Prima o dopo l'università? 

 

Lo studio dell’Istat “Parentele e reti di solidarietà” sui dati del novembre del 2003[8], rivela quanto i giovani siano restii a lasciare le mura familiari: “anche quando i figli hanno formato una nuova famiglia, la famiglia di origine resta un punto di riferimento, spesso rafforzato dalla prossimità residenziale”. La frequenza elevata dei contatti conferma l’importanza del rapporto affettivo che lega figli e genitori, soprattutto in alcune aree del Paese: nel Sud e nelle Isole, l’84,7% e l’83% delle persone che hanno la madre non coabitante la vedono almeno una volta a settimana. Tra gli intervistati che hanno il padre non coabitante, le quote sono pari all’80,5% e all’80,6%.

In Italia, dove da diversi anni si osserva una prolungata permanenza dei giovani nella famiglia di origine, solo il 17,9% è d’accordo con l’affermazione che al compimento della maggiore età si debba lasciare la casa dei genitori, con lievi differenze per età e genere. I giovani di 18-19 anni che vivono ancora con i genitori indicano che l’età a cui è giusto lasciare la famiglia di origine è ben più elevata della propria (mediamente 25 anni se figli maschi e 24,5 se femmine). Anche a 20-24 anni i figli che vivono con i genitori tendono a spostare in avanti l’età alla quale ritengono giusto “spiccare il volo”: sia i ragazzi che le ragazze indicano, con pressoché nessuna differenza tra loro, che sia giusto che in media i maschi lascino i genitori a 26 anni e le femmine a 25,4 anni. Pur trattandosi di un’opinione minoritaria è nel Mezzogiorno che si riscontra la maggior quota di persone d’accordo con l’affermazione che a 18-20 anni i giovani debbano lasciare la casa dei genitori (circa un quinto contro il 15,6% del Nord-ovest).

Oltre la metà (55,2%) dei giovani tra 18 e 39 anni che vivono a casa con i genitori non intende lasciare la famiglia di origine nei tre anni successivi all’intervista. In generale tra i giovani sono più le donne che gli uomini a voler uscire dalla famiglia di origine (48,6% contro 42%). Tra i giovanissimi (18-24 anni) solo il 31,6% è intenzionato ad uscire dalla famiglia di origine nel breve periodo, tra i 25 e i 29 anni ciò riguarda il 66,8% delle donne e il 53% degli uomini.

Il matrimonio è il motivo più indicato per uscire dalla famiglia di origine (41,7%), seguono l’esigenza di autonomia e indipendenza (24,6%), il lavoro (18,3%) e la convivenza (12%). Sono soprattutto le donne ad indicare come motivo di uscita il matrimonio (45,8% contro 38,1%), mentre gli uomini indicano maggiormente il lavoro (21,7% contro il 14,4%) e le esigenze di autonomia e indipendenza (25,5% contro il 23,5%).

 

 

A brief comparison between Italy and US

 

In Italy young adults tend to leave home first of all for marriage and secondly to live independently from parents or with a partner; they try to go to an university near home. Some students who attend university work in their spare time or in the weekends, however they cannot earn the money necessary to sustain the university life and it is necessary to receive help from parents. In US young adults tend to live home when they go to a college or an university, even if  this choice depends on parents' earnings, but the majority of young adults work while attending the university and can sustain their life during the schooling. Unlike Italy, in US young adults tend to leave home when they are about 18: they have more of a need for independence. 

 

 

Buying a house or renting it?

 

U.S.: Buying a house or renting it?

 

The Associated Press-AOL Money and Finance poll conducted by Abt SRBI Inc.[9] shows that the majority of Americans own a house (70%), while only about 30% rent it. This poll was carried out among adults of any age, from 18 to 75 years and older. Those who own a house are most of all people from 25 to 64 years; however, the highest percentage of owners is represented by people from 45 to 54 and not by young people. Moreover, the majority of interviewees are employed full time and did not attend college or did not finish it, while the percentage of students is very low: less than 1%. This poll clearly shows that only adults who work and have a relatively fixed income can afford to buy a house.  

 

This poll and several articles in the economic section of well-known online newspapers, such as U.S News and World Report[10], CbsNews[11], CNNMoney.com[12], show a recent crisis in the real estate field. In America people are afraid of economic recession, are worried about the increase of foreclosures and of mortgage rates. The current crisis of the housing market is considered convenient for buyers since the prices are more affordable, but not for sellers, who fear that their houses could be underestimated. This ambiguous situation clearly suggests that it is preferable to rent than to buy. The poll of the Associated Press-AOL Money and Finance shows that in 2006 the majority of people (53%) would not buy a house in the next two years and this percentage has risen up to 60% in 2008. Experts support this choice and say that renting a house is cheaper in the short term and allows you to save money that you can invest in other more gainful activities.

 

Even young adults prefer renting a house rather than buying it. A poll by USA TODAY[13] shows that young  Americans are struggling to pay debts, especially student-loan debts; for this reason, they often put off buying a house (26% of young adults). Since they are very worried about having loans and being anxious about how to pay them, they prefer not to buy a house. They leave their parents’ home relatively early, when they go to college, and they hardly come back home to live with their family once graduated. They prefer flexibility rather than stability since they often move from one state to another to go to college, change jobs, or to live with their partners. For this reason, they often need to change house and it is easier and cheaper to rent it rather than to buy it.

 

 

Italia: Comprare una casa o affittarla?

 

Secondo il rapporto dell’ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) del 17 luglio 2007[14], la percentuale di individui che

possiede una casa è del 74,4% (circa 46,3 milioni di persone), l’8,7% fruisce di un’abitazione ad uso gratuito o di usufrutto, mentre il 16,6% di individui (circa 9,7 milioni) è in affitto. L’ammontare di individui che posseggono una casa e che pagano mutui è aumentata rispetto agli anni precedenti, in particolare rispetto al 2004, dimostrando una generale tendenza degli italiani a preferire un’abitazione stabile e quindi ad acquistare una casa.

 

Bisogna però fare un’importante precisazione: per quanto riguarda i giovani la situazione è ben diversa. Secondo l’ISTAT, tra i circa 2,1 milioni di famiglie giovani (composte cioè da persone di età inferiore ai 35 anni) presenti nel 2006 nel territorio nazionale, la quota di proprietari di un’abitazione è comunque maggiore rispetto a quella degli affittuari ma le percentuali sono notevolmente diverse rispetto alla media. La percentuale di giovani proprietari è minore rispetto alla media (50,8%), mentre la quota di affittuari è maggiore (32,7%). Tra i giovani, coloro che si possono permettere di acquistare una casa sono soprattutto le coppie senza figli, che in genere hanno un potere d’acquisto maggiore rispetto alle persone che vivono da sole; queste infatti optano quasi sempre per l’affitto.

 

Si può notare che i giovani spendano una quota considerevole del loro stipendio mensile per le rate del mutuo (dal 28% al 45%) o per l’affitto (circa il 30%). Acquistare una casa significa per i giovani compiere un passo importante e soprattutto costoso e spesso sono aiutati economicamente dai genitori o da altri familiari[15]. Sebbene in Italia esistano delle agevolazioni fiscali[16] per coloro che intendono comprare la prima casa[17], la maggioranza dei giovani tra i 20 e 30 anni (secondo l’ISTAT[18] circa il 70%) resta a casa coi genitori. Ciò è da ricondursi a una situazione giovanile difficile: il difficoltà a trovare un’occupazione, il lavoro precario, l’esiguità dei salari che non sono in grado di garantire un’esistenza decorosa qualora si decida di affittare o acquistare una casa[19]. Secondo l’ISTAT[20], infatti, oltre la metà dei giovani che vive coi genitori ha un’occupazione, ma ha una retribuzione mensile esigua che va dai 500 ai 1.000 Euro al mese. Questa situazione precaria dei giovani italiani ritarda considerevolmente l’età in cui essi scelgano di uscire di casa ed acquistare la loro indipendenza. 

 

 

Comparison between Us and Italy

 

As far as the choice of buying or renting a house, we can notice that American young adults prefer renting it rather than buying it. This choice is due to the fact that purchasing a house is very expensive and involves getting loans; only people who work and have economic stability can afford it. The majority of young adults prefer renting a house not only because it is cheaper, but also because it allows them to easily change house when they move to other cities for studying, working  or personal reasons.

 

Young Italian adults, on the other hand, prefer buying than renting a house, even if the percentage of young tenants is superior to national average. This is due perhaps to a cultural factor: as opposed to Americans, they prefer stability than flexibility and when they purchase a house they often do not consider moving. However, buying a house is very expensive in Italy and a lot of young adults cannot afford it, unless their families fund them. For thess reasons, many Italian between 20 and 30 years still live with their parents, contrary to their American peers.

 

 

 

photo by bondidwhat: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bondidwhat/484997752/

 

 

Marriage or living together?

 

An overview

 

The choice between marriage or cohabitation is something young adults have to face both in Italy and in the US. However, there seem to be many differences in the approach towards this important aspect of a young person's life.  This important choice seems to be affected particularly by another previous choice, which is that of an University, and whether this is in your hometown or not. In this particular aspect seems to lie the following attitude towards the choice of getting married or just living together; in fact, the main difference between Italy and United States is that in Italy most of the people study in their hometown and thus continue living with their family at least up to the degree, whereas in the US people leave their home to go to university and so start living alone much earlier than the Italian students of the same age. For this particular reason, at the end of university American young adults do not return home, but they usually go on living on their own and consequently it is much easier for a young couple already living out of home to decide to move in together. On the contrary, Italian young adults usually find a job in their hometown, and go on living with their parents up to the point when they decide to get married and move to a new house as newlyweds. This does not mean that American young couples do not get married, but the general trend for Amercian young adults is that of living together for a period before deciding to marry, whereas Italian young couples usually live together for the first time just after marriage.

However, even if American couples usually live together for a period before getting married, the average age at which they decide to marry is lower than the average age of Italian couples at thier

fisrt marriage. Here are the statistics[21]:

 

Italy: 30 for men, 27.1 for women. (2007)

 

United States: 27 for men, 25 for women, 26 final average. (2007)

 

This general trend reflects many of the aspects that we've already analyzed throughout this survey on the life of young adults in US and Italy. First of all, it is undeniably true that Italian couples decide to get married later if compared to American couples because of the fact that they do not have a place to live together at the moment when they decide to marry, whereas American couples are usually already living on their own so that they do not have many problems in finding a place to move in together,if they're not living together already. Moreover, as we've already seen before, Italian young adults tend to prefer buying a house rather than renting it, which involves facing much more problems, and in most of the cases asking for a mortgage to be paid in the next 20 or even more years. Besides, in the last few years the Italian working policies for young people have changed a lot, and at the moment it is not so simple for young couples to have the chance to face a mortgage, which involves waiting even more to move in together and get married. The situation in the US seems easier because of the fact that young adults seem to prefer renting a house, so that everything is easier and faster.

Secondly, marriage in Italy is something very important not only for the couple who decide to do it, but also for their families and friends: on the average it takes a year to organize a marriage, so that it is something couples decide long before doing it, and it becomes an event not only for the bride and groom but also for their families and friends. The importance given to marriage, and consequently the costs involved in such a celebration are other reasons why people do not decide to get married until they can afford the whole house – furniture – marriage thing.

 

In conslusion, we have to face a kind of contradiction, given the fact that people tend to prefer marriage in Italy more than they do in the US, but in spite of it young adults getting married earlier in the United States than in Italy, because of the fact that the leave their parent’s home earlier and that they commonly decide to rent the house where they move in together for the first time rather than buying it, as they try to do in Italy.

 

After this general view over the issue of marriage and cohabitation in US and Italy, here are some statistics and data on the general trends in the two countries.

 

 

United States

 

        

 

Photos taken from cartoonstock.com

 

There are a number of statistics, studies, and facts about cohabiting couples. An interesting report has been made by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development :

 

"Cohabitation, once rare, is now the norm: The researchers found that more than half (54 percent) of all first marriages between 1990 and 1994 began with unmarried cohabitation. They estimate that a majority of young men and women of marriageable age today will spend some time in a cohabiting relationship. [...] Cohabiting relationships are less stable than marriages and that instabililty is increasing, the study found."

 

There are many reasons why people decide to live together rather than getting married. Some of the most common reasons[22] are:

 

 

  • Economic or practical reasons.

     

  • To give the relationship a trial run before marriage. 

     

  • Fear of divorce.

     

  • Convenience.

     

  • Compromise with partner who doesn't want to be married.

     

  • Companionship.

     

  • Not seeing a need for "a piece of paper" to express the comittment to each other.

     

  • Not wanting to incur the obligation to support or share property with each other.

     

  • Wanting to avoid the stress and expense of a divorce if the relationship doesn't work out.

 

One of the most important differences between marriage and unmarried cohabitation is that while marriage involves a highly defined set of rights and obligations, unmarried cohabitation does not. However, the law in this area has changed considerably in the past 40 years, and cohabitation, as a consequence, has highly increased. In 1970 there were about 530,000 couples living together outside marriage and this number increased to 1.6 million in 1980, 2.9 million in 1990, 4.2 million in 1998, and 5.5 million in 2000[23].

 

Marriage can also lead to the creation of a new household. Actually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, unmarried couples account for some 5.5 million households in the U.S. As far as households are concerned, the following map shows the percentage of households accounted by married couples in the United States:

 

  

 Photo taken from answers.com

 

According to the Census Bureau, there are currently about 11 million people living with an unmarried partner in the U.S. On a more specific level, 41% of American women aged 15-44 have cohabited at some point of their lives.The number of unmarried couples living together increased 72% between 1990 and 2000. Moreover, the number of unmarried couples living together has increased tenfold between 1960 and 2000[24]. As a consequences, the marriage rates have highly decreased in the last decades, as it is shown in the graphic below:  

 

          

Graphic taken from dshs.state.tx.com

 

As far as marriage is concerned, 55% of couples living together get married within 5 years; 40% break up within that same time period. About 10% remain in an unmarried relationship five years or longer. [25] 

About 20% of all males and females have been living together for more than five years[26] and about 75% of people living together say they plan to marry their partners[27].   

Another important element to take into consideration is that, according to the CWA (Concerned Women for America)[28], Americans usually turn to cohabitation as a safe place against divorce. However, by doing so, the seem to be placing their relationship in even grater danger; in fact, cohabitation is not the answer to the rising divorce rate, given the fact that those who lived together before marriage seem to have the same possibilities of divorcing if compared to those who didn't experience cohabitation.

 

As a conclusion, the majority of couples marrying today have lived together first (53% of women's first marriages are preceded by cohabitation).  [29].   

However, even though the day by day interaction between cohabiting couples could be compared to that of married couples in several ways, important distinctions still remain, so that, while many surveys show that cohabitation has become an alternative to marriage, the available data does not completely support this position [30]. Moreover, another important fact in this sense is that cohabitation before marriage does not prevent the couple from divorce, which is a very important thing to take into consideration while analyzing this issue. Ultimately then, it is undoubtful that the increasing number of divorces, remarriages, step families and single parents has transformed both the institution of marriage and family within the last few years. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italia

 

I dati forniti dall'ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) sui matrimoni in Italia dimostrano che questi sono nettamente in crisi rispetto ai decenni passati. Infatti, i matrimoni celebrati in Italia nel 2005 sono stati poco più di 243000, contro i 419000 del 1972[31]. Un altro dato significativo che permette di sottolineare questo fenomeno è rappresentato dall'età media di coloro che decidono di unirsi in matrimonio, che è di circa 32 anni per gli uomini e 30 per le donne; a titolo di confronto, negli anni '70 l'età media era di circa 27 anni per gli uomini e 24 per le donne[32]. Attualmente, solo il 70% dei 35enni è sposato, contro l'85% degli anni '70. Ad ogni modo, esistono delle differenze, da ricercare sopratutto tra le diverse aree geografiche d'Italia. Al centro-sud si celebrano infatti 4.9 matrimoni ogni mille abitanti, mentre questo indicatore scende e 3.8 al centro-nord[33].

Un'altra novità degli ultimi anni è stato il forte aumento percentuale dei matrimoni civili, che nel 2005 hanno rappresentato il 32,4% dei matrimoni, contro il 20% del 1995[34]. Anche in questo caso esistono comunque notevoli differenze tra le diverse aree del paese: il matrimonio religioso mantiene infatti una quota altissima in quasi tutte le regioni del sud Italia. I matrimoni civili hanno inoltre percentuali molto più elevate nei centri urbani rispetto alle zone prevalentemente rurali.

 

 

 

           

Photo taken from Kataloghi.it                                                                                                                       

 

Per quanto riguarda la convivenza, nella realtà italiana si tratta di un fenomeno piuttosto nuovo, che nel corso degli anni ha subito molto l'influenza della presenza della Chiesa Cattolica sul territorio nazionale. La pesante influenza cattolica ha avuto conseguenze sopratutto sulla legislazione italiana: basti pensare che solo nel 1975 con la riforma del diritto di famiglia vennero riconosciuti in Italia alcuni diritti fondamentali ai non coniugati; si dovette inoltre attendere sempre il 1975 perché venisse tolto l'obbligo dell'indicazione di paternità o perché le madri potessero esercitare la patria potestà sui figli [35]. Nonostante la convivenza si sia gradualmente diffusa e sviluppata come istituzione alternativa al matrimonio anche in Italia, il legislatore nazionale non ha ancora provveduto a riconoscere in alcun modo le coppie di fatto; di conseguenza, molti Comuni e Regioni hanno preso iniziative in questo senso, sia a livello sociale che a livello economico.

Nonostante sia un fenomeno ancora non molto diffuso in Italia rispetto ad altri paesi, la convivenza può comunque essere considerata un'istituzione in forte crescita, come dimostrato dai dati forniti dall' ISTAT, secondo il quale le coppie di fatto sono passate negli ultimi dieci anni da 227.000 a circa 555.000.Un'altro dato molto interesante ed indicativo della realtà italiana è il fatto che nel 1988 solo il 2.5% delle coppie aveva avuto un'esperienza di convivenza prima del matrimonio, contro il 12,8% degli ultimi anni[36]. 

Altre rilevazioni ISTAT riportano che attualmente in Italia, su 100 coppie di età compresa tra i 16 e i 30 anni, le coppie di fatto sono il 6%, contro il 40% dell' Inghilterra, il 45% della Germania e il 46% della Francia[37]. Questo dato rende chiaramente l'idea di quanto in Italia la diffusione della convivenza, se pur in fase di crescita, sia ancora un fenomeno limitato, sopratutto in confronto ad altri paesi occidentali, dove può considerarsi una realtà ormai consolidata.

 

 

I giovani in Italia

 

Non in tutte le facoltà c’è un esame per entrare all' università.  Un studente ha bisogno del denaro e di un diploma di scuola superiore.  Però se vuole entrare alla facoltà di  medicina deve dare un esame.  Sfortunatamente, anche con una buona preparazione non c’è sicurezza nel trovare lavoro. Il tasso della disoccupazione è alto. Spesso agli studenti sono offerti stage ma raramente viene offerto un lavoro vero fin dall'inizio. Oppure sono offerti lavori a breve termine, dove si sa in anticipo quando il lavoro si concluderà. Quando si cerca un lavoro si vorrebbe che durasse per tutta la vita, fino al pensionamento. È molto comune in Italia che i giovani vivano con la loro famiglia fino al matrimonio.  L’età media per lasciare la casa è di circa 30 anni. Congiuntamente al matrimonio la coppia compra una casa e vive insieme per la prima volta.[38]

 

Il sistema scolastico è sviluppato in modo tale che i giovani possano scegliere quale scuola vogliono seguire. Uno studente decide fra il liceo scientifico, classico, linguistico, o l'istituto magistrale, l'istituto tecnico o professionale o ancora le scuole dell’arte. Dopo che lo studente ha scelto il suo campo di studio gli è difficilmente permesso di cambiare idea. Per cinque anni gli studenti vanno alla scuola secondaria superiore fino a quando essi hanno 18 o 19 anni.  Gli studenti devono passare un altro esame per ricevere il loro Diploma di Maturità. Allora cominciano lavorare o vanno alla università. L' Italia ha 42 università statali, 3 università tecniche e 12 università specializzate. Ogni università offre 4 tipi di corsi principali. Ci sono diploma universitario, Diploma di Laurea, Dottorato di Ricerca e Diploma di Specializzazione[39].

 

La maggioranza delle università in Italia sono pubbliche. In media, il costo di andare all' università per un anno é di circa 1500 euro. Il costo è differente per ogni studente. Il costo dell' struzione dipende dalle entrate della famiglia dello studente: piu`denaro la famiglia guadagna, più l’ istruzione é costosa. Scegliere l’università dipende da dove lo studente abita. Generalmente, i giovani scelgono una scuola vicino alla loro casa. Questo perchè gli studenti vivono con le loro famiglie. Qualche volta se la distanza fra la scuola e la casa è troppo grande, gli studenti preferiscono affittare un appartamento e ritornare a casa per il fine settimana. Essere un studente in Italia richiede molto sforzo. Quindi è molto difficile lavorare e studiare allo stesso tempo. Non è comune avere un lavoro e andare a scuola ma se necessario gli studenti possono lavorare part time come baristi, cameriere o un altri lavori simili.

 

Un Confronto fra America e Italia  

Ci sono molte differenze fra lo stile di vita dei giovani in Italia e dei giovani negli Stati Uniti. Negli Stati Uniti è considerata una buona idea vivere insieme prima del matrimonio per evitare i conflitti quando si è già sposati. Anche il sistema scolastico è molto differente perchè gli studenti possono cambiare il loro campo di studio molte volte. È comune per una persona non avere lo stesso lavoro per tutta la vita. La società italiana è basata più sulla tradizione e sulla famiglia che negli Stati Uniti.

Di solito prima del matrimonio le coppie non vivono insieme e il divorzio non è comune. Il divorzio è divenuto legale negli anni settanta ma solo il 12% delle coppie divorziano. Più di metà delle persone appena sposate vivono nell'arco di un chilometro rispetto ai loro genitori. Perchè le famiglie vivono così vicino è facile avere rapporti forti fra i parenti, anche acquisiti. 

 

 

 

 

 

Authors

Lisa Belluco

Veronica Bozzato

Letizia Malacarne

Camilla Zulian

American peer

Michelle Mercogliano

 

 

 

 

 

  •  

    Italian University System

    American University System

     

     
     

     

    In Italy first degree courses (laurea triennale) last three years. After graduation you can have access to a first UNiversity MAster degree course or access to a second degree course. Second degree courses (laurea specialistica) are aimed at providing graduates with an advanced level of education for the exercise of a highly qualified activity in specific areas; their length is two years. Postgraduate studies  consist of three different typologies of degree courses: Research Doctorate programs (Corsi di dottorato di ricerca); Specialization Courses (Corsi di Specializazione), second University Master degree courses (corsi di Master Universitario di secondo livello).

    Post-secondary education in the United States is known as college or university and commonly consists of four years of study. Once admited, student engage in undergraduate study, which consistes of satisfying university and class requirements to achieve a bachelor's degree in a filed of concentration known as a major. Some students choose to attend a community college for two years prior to further study at another college or university; they are then awarded with an associate degree. Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a master's degree or Ph.D. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like residency and internship wich must be completed after graduation and before one is considered to be fully trained.

  •                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

    • Footnotes

    1. Clara H. Mulder, William A. V. Clark, Michael Wagner, A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany, published by Max Planck Institute for demograpghic research on the 11th December 2002. Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/17/7-17pdf ▲
    2. Young Adults at Home. Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htm?res=9BODE4D91539F937A53751COA961948260&scp=117&sq=leaving%20home%20in%20US&st=csel ▲
    3. Clara H. Mulder, William A.V. Clark, Michael Wagner, A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany, published by Max Planck Institute for demographic research on the 11th December 2002. Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://www.dempgraphic-research.org/volumes/vol7/17/7-17pdf ▲
    4. See the previous note. ▲
    5. France Goldscheider, Trends in Leaving Home in the Transition to Adulthood. Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://www-user.ined,fr/mad/Rencontres-Sauvy-Paris/Actes/Goldscheider.pdf ▲
    6. Clara H. Mulder, William A. V. Clark, Michael Wagner, A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany, published by Max Planck Institute for demographic research on the 11th December 2002. Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/17/7-17pdf ▲
    7. Clara H. Mulder, William A. V. Clark, Michael Wagner, A comparative analysis of leaving home in the United States, the Netherlands and West Germany, published by Max Planck Institute fro demographic research on the11th December 2002 Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/17/7-17pdf ▲
    8. Istat (2006), Parentele e reti di solidarietà. Last retrieved 05th June 2008. http://www.istat.it/dati/catalogo/20061010_00/inf_06_26_parentela_e_reti_di_solidarietà_2003.pdf ▲
    9. Abt SRBI Inc.(2008) "AP-AOL Money and Finance Poll". Last retrieved on 26th April 2008 from http://surveys.ap.org/data/SRBI/AP-AOL%20Finance%20Poll%20REAL%20ESTATE%20Topline%20040808_FINAL.pdf ▲
    10. Ewers.J. (2007) " Rent-Don't Buy- Your Home. U.S. News & World Report. last retrieved on 22nd April 2008 from http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/personal-investing-guide/2007/12/05/rent--dont-buy--your-home.html ▲
    11. CBS News (2008). "Poll: Most Of U.S. Down On Housing Market". Last retrieved on 22nd April 2008 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/14/business/realestate/main4012358.shtml?source=RSSattr=Business_4012358 ▲
    12. Updegrave. W. (2006). "Buy? Rent? A young saverâs dilemma". CNNMoney.com. Last retrieved on 22nd April 2008 from http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/03/pf/expert/expert.moneymag.moneymag/index.htm ▲
    13. Fetterman, M., Hansen, B. (2006). "Young people struggle to deal with kiss of debt". Usa Today. Last retrieved on 24th April 2008 from http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2006-11-19-young-and-in-debt-cover_x.htm ▲
    14. Istat (2007). âDossier 4. Lâaccesso alla casa dâabitazione in Italia: proprietà, mutui, affitti e spesa della famiglieâ. Last retrieved on 24th April 2008 from http://www.istat.it/istat/audizioni/170707/E-Dossier4.pdf ▲
    15. Rosina, A. (2006). âComâè difficile essere giovani in Italiaâ. Retrieved on 23rd April 2008 from http://www.bloo.it/news_Speciali_1369.html ▲
    16. RaiNews24(2007). âIstat: con la Finanziaria sconti fiscali per 18 milioni di famiglie.â Last retrieved on 24th April 2008 from http://www.rainews24.rai.it/notizia.asp?newsid=74588 ▲
    17. Italia.gov.it (2008). Contributi e agevolazioni per la casa. Last retrieved on 30th April 2008 from http://www.italia.gov.it/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=e-Italia/Structure&pagetype=livello2&nodo=1151995410889 ▲
    18. Istat (2007). âEsame dei documenti di Bilancio 2008.â Last retrieved on 24th April 2008 from http://www.istat.it/istat/audizioni/111007/Audizione2008.pdf ▲
    19. Associazione SocietàINformazione ONLUS. Diritti Globali. (2006) Last retrieved on 23rd April 2008 from http://www.dirittiglobali.it/articolo.php?id_news=503 ▲
    20. Istat (2007). âEsame dei documenti di Bilancio 2008.â Last retrieved on 24th April 2008 from http://www.istat.it/istat/audizioni/111007/Audizione2008.pdf ▲
    21. Marriage and Cohabitation. Last retrieved 28th April, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage#Marriage_and_cohabitation ▲
    22. Sheri & Bob Stritof (2008). Cohabitation Facts and Statistics. Last retrieved 5th April 2008. http://marriage.about.com/od/cohabitation/qt/cohabfacts.htm ▲
    23. Cohabitation. Background and Trends. Last retrieved 27th April, 2008. http://family.findlaw.com/living-together/living-together-basics/cohabitation-background.html ▲
    24. U. S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports (2000). ▲
    25. Smock, Pamela (2000). "Cohabitation in the United States." Annual Review of Sociology. ▲
    26. Bumpass, Sweet, and Cherlin (1991). "The Role of Cohabitation in Declining Rates of Marriage." Journal of Marriage and the Family ▲
    27. Idem. ▲
    28. Concerned Women for America (1997). Cohabitation Up 85 Percent. Last retrieved 5th May 2008. http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=935&department=CWA&categoryid=family ▲
    29. Living together. Last retrieved 28th April, 2008. http://www.unmarried.org/common-law-marriage-fact-sheet.html ▲
    30. Cohabitation. Trends and Patterns. Last retrieved 6th May, 2008. http://family.jrank.org/pages/279/Cohabitation.html ▲
    31. Wikipedia. Matrimonio in Italia. Last retrieved 29th April, 2008. http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrimonio#Alcune_statistiche_sul_matrimonio_in_Italia ▲
    32. ISTAT. La rilevazione sui matrimoni. Last retrieved 7th May, 2008. http://www.istat.it/salastampa/comunicati/non_calendario/20070212_00/ ▲
    33. Ibidem. ▲
    34. Wikipedia. Matrimonio in Italia. Last retrieved 29th April, 2008. http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrimonio#Alcune_statistiche_sul_matrimonio_in_Italia ▲
    35. La convivenza in Italia. Last retrieved 6th May, 2008. http://www.uaar.it/laicita/convivenza/ ▲
    36. Convivenza in Italia. Last retrieved 6th April, 2008. http://www.uaar.it/laicita/convivenza/ ▲
    37. Irpps. Matrimonio e Convivenza nell'opinione pubblica in Italia. Last retrieved 6th May, 2008. http://www.irpps.cnr.it/sito/download/sunt2_85.htm ▲
    38. Stewart.C. (2008) Life in Italy. Last retrieved from http://www.lifeinitaly.com/moving/school-system.asp ▲
    39. http://www.knowital.com/italian/articles/italy-family-divorce.html ▲


    Page Information

    • 2 months ago [history]
    • View page source
    • You're not logged in
    • No tags yet learn more

    Wiki Information

    Recent PBwiki Blog Posts