The Italian-American community is one of the most family oriented cultures. Due to the fact that most Italian immigrants came from families (or regions) that were not well off. The only thing they had left was each other. As a result, they formed closer family ties than those that most Americans are familiar with. Below is an excerpt from from an article about Italian-American families:

 Italian immigrants had a difficult time assimilating into American society due to their hesitance and unwillingness to abandon their culture and values. Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans today, hold on to values and beliefs that are contradictory to the values and beliefs dominant in American society. The United States is a capitalist society and therefore greatly values individual advancement. Autonomy and self-dependency are highly esteemed. For Italian-Americans, individual accomplishments are held second to...

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