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Friendships have important implications for adolescents' psychological and social adjustment. However, there is still limited evidence on how different same-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendships are formed and regarding their role in refugee adjustment. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine the interplay of parents' and adolescents' same-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendships with adolescents' "own" psychological and social adjustment among refugee adolescents. Participants were 208 Syrian refugees (71.2% female; M[subscript age] = 15.35, SD[subscript age] = 0.95) in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Findings indicated that refugee parents' same-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendships were positively related to their children's same-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendships. Moreover, parents' same-ethnic friendships were negatively linked with adolescents' social well-being, whereas parents' cross-ethnic friendships were positively related to adolescents' social well-being. Furthermore, adolescents' same-ethnic and cross-ethnic friendships were both positively related to adolescents' social well-being, and cross-ethnic friendships were also positively associated with psychological well-being. These findings suggest that adolescents' cross-ethnic friendships mediated the positive associations of parents' cross-ethnic friendships with adolescents' social and psychological well-being. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the protective roles of diverse friendships for refugee adolescents.

Recent developments in the acculturation literature have emphasized the importance of adopting "intergroup perspectives" that provide a valuable background for investigating how acculturation orientations (i.e., maintenance of the culture of origin and the adoption of the destination culture) of adolescents from migrant families are embedded in their proximal socialization contexts. Accordingly, we sought to understand the combined effects of the perceived parents' acculturation orientations and classmates' acculturation preferences on adolescents' own acculturation orientations in two independent cultural contexts, namely North-East of Italy (Study I) and South-East of Turkey (Study II). Participants were 269 (53.2% female; M[subscript age] = 14.77) and 211 (71.1% female; M[subscript age] = 15.37) adolescents from migrant families in Italy and in Turkey, respectively. Findings indicated that adolescents' acculturation orientations were influenced by their perceptions of both parents' acculturation orientations and classmates' acculturation preferences. In addition, the effects of parents' adoption of the destination culture were stronger than the effects of classmates' preferences for adoption of the destination culture in both countries. However, the effects of parents' maintenance of the culture of origin were stronger than the effects of classmates' preferences for maintaining the culture of origin in Turkey, but not in Italy.

In the present contribution, we aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Intergroup Contact Interactions Scale (ICIS). The ICIS is a tool that can easily be administered to assess ethnic minority and majority adolescents' positive and negative intergroup contact in both school and out-of-school contexts. Study I included 169 adolescents in Italy (40.2% ethnic minority adolescents; 51.5% female; Mage = 14.41) and provided initial support for the two-factor structure (i.e., positive and negative contact) of the ICIS in both school and out-of-school contexts. Study II, conducted with a sample of 1,037 adolescents in Italy (26.5% ethnic minority adolescents; 59.7% female; Mage = 14.58), indicated that the fit of the two-factor ICIS structure was excellent for both school and out-of-school contexts. Measurement invariance across ethnic minority and majority adolescents was also established. Convergent validity was also ascertained by highlighting meaningful associations of adolescents' positive and negative contact with the quantity of contact as well as with their perceptions regarding parents' positive and negative contact with outgroup members. Study III, involving a sample of 641 adolescents in Turkey (32.9% ethnic minority adolescents; 69.6% female; Mage = 15.51), supported the two-factor structure, as well as convergent validity, of the ICIS in both contexts. Measurement invariance across ethnic groups was also established. Overall, these studies suggest that the ICIS is a reliable measure for studying positive and negative intergroup contact among ethnic minority and majority adolescents across school and out-of-school contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relationship between intergroup contact experiences and social distancing of migrant people from majority group. • The poisoning effect of negative on the beneficial effect of positive contact of migrant people. • The stronger mediating role of anxiety compared to symbolic and stereotype threat on the effects of intergroup contact. • Positive and negative intergroup contact effects were consistent across two different countries, Italy and Turkey. This research investigates the relationship between different valence contact of migrants with native people and their motivation to avoid further interactions with the majority group, as a preventing factor of adaptation by either side. Specifically, the joint and differential effects of positive and negative contact of migrants with natives on outgroup avoidance were addressed by examining also the mediating role of affective variables such as stereotype threat, symbolic threat and anxiety. Hypotheses were tested on two samples of African immigrants in Italy and Syrian immigrants in Turkey. Positive contact was not associated with outgroup avoidance and anxiety among African respondents who reported higher negative contact with natives. This evidence was not found among Syrian immigrants. In both samples, however, the moderating role of negative contact was found on stereotype threat. Across the two samples, anxiety was the strongest mediator of the relationship between negative contact of migrants on their avoidance of the majority group. Overall, the evidence we gathered furthers knowledge of the impact of negative intergroup contact on preventing migrant social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ectomycorrhizal ascomycetes belonging to the genus Tuber produce edible fruiting bodies known as truffles. Tuber aestivum, in particular, is a fungus appreciated worldwide and has a natural distribution throughout Europe. Most of the molecular studies conducted on this species have been focused on the question as to whether or not T. aestivum and the morphologically similar T. uncinatum are conspecific. Conversely, only a handful of studies have assessed the level and distribution of genetic diversity and occurrence of phylogeographic patterns in this species. Here, we analyzed the genetic diversity of T. aestivum over a wide geographic range, performing an extensive sampling of specimens from Turkey, which is novel, to the best of our knowledge. We compared the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) profiles of 45 samples collected in different Turkish areas with those of 144 samples from all over Europe. We identified 63 haplotypes, 32 of which were exclusively present in Turkey. The majority of these haplotyes were also population specific. Haplotype network analysis and statistical tests highlighted the presence of a genetic structure and phylogeographic pattern, with three spatially distinct genetic clusters (northeastern Europe, southern Europe, and Turkey), with Turkey representing a diversity hotspot. Based on these results, we hypothesize the presence of glacial refugia for T. aestivum in Turkey, whereas European populations likely experienced a population bottleneck. The possible occurrence of cryptic species among Turkish T. aestivum samples also emerged. Our results are of practical relevance for the marketing of T. aestivum truffles and mycorrhizal seedlings and the preservation of the biodiversity of this species.