Students’ Images of Immigrants in Italy: First Results from a National Mixed Methods Study

The study aims to explore the social representations of immigrants’ image provided by a sample of young Italian students, starting from a qualitative content analysis of a set of metaphors. The methodology is based on mixed methods approach that combines and integrates qualitative and quantitative analyses. Results describe the main source domains related to the students’ metaphors and suggest a resulting pattern of emerging attributes against a classic representation of immigrants as a threat. The metaphors are a tool through which can figure out, simplify and communicate meanings, ideas and experiences. Metaphors can thus be considered as a textual artefact useful to read complex social representations.