- Data, Statistics and AI for Well-Being of People and Organisations
- A cura di Luigi Fabbris, Alberto Franci, Pietro Renzi
The ‘Sicily inner areas’: Insights on depopulation processes and well-being of the left-behind
- Maria Gabriella Campolo
- Giovanni Busetta
- Marcantonio Caltabiano
- Antonia Cava
- Antonino Di Pino Incognito
- Massimo Mucciardi
- Debora Maria Pizzimenti
- Alessandra Trimarchi
- © 2026 Author(s) |
- CC BY 4.0
- DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.21
The progressive depopulation of rural and inner areas poses significant social, economic, and demographic challenges, particularly for those who remain in these territories. Understanding the lived experiences, needs, and well-being of these "left-behind" individuals is crucial to inform targeted policies and interventions. This study contributes to this effort by presenting a newly available dataset specifically designed to explore the wellbeing of both those who remain in, and those who have left, highly depopulated areas of inner Sicily. This dataset is the result of a two-step approach. First, a qualitative study was conducted in four Sicilian municipalities (Castroreale, San Fratello, Novara di Sicilia, Ucria) located in the Nebrodi Mountains area of the Messina province. The aim was to identify key themes related to everyday life difficulties experienced by residents in these areas. Based on the insights gained from the qualitative phase, we developed an ad hoc questionnaire to gather quantitative data on the emerging issues. The questionnaire focused on five main themes: 1) Demographic characteristics and intergenerational relationships; 2) Subjective well-being and life satisfaction; 3) Aspects of daily life and difficulties in accessing public services; 4) Reasons for remaining in the area; 5) Use of digital devices to access public services and maintain social connections. The survey was administered by Qualtrics to a representative sample of residents living in Sicily’s inner areas. In total, data were collected from 1,279 respondents aged between 18 and 80. This rich dataset provides valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges experienced by individuals living in depopulated areas and offers a solid foundation for further research on these communities.
- Keywords:
- Inner areas,
- depopulation,
- wellbeing,
- left-behind,
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-1075-4573
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-5843-3851
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-2978-000X
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-2497-6203
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-8965-9570
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-1216-4937
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-5309-5646
University of Messina, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-5786-5206
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Informazioni sul capitolo
Titolo del capitolo
The ‘Sicily inner areas’: Insights on depopulation processes and well-being of the left-behind
Autori
Maria Gabriella Campolo, Giovanni Busetta, Marcantonio Caltabiano, Antonia Cava, Antonino Di Pino Incognito, Massimo Mucciardi, Debora Maria Pizzimenti, Alessandra Trimarchi
Lingua
Inglese
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.21
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Informazioni bibliografiche
Titolo del libro
Data, Statistics and AI for Well-Being of People and Organisations
Curatori
Luigi Fabbris, Alberto Franci, Pietro Renzi
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
420
Anno di pubblicazione
2026
Copyright
© 2026 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1061-4
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1062-1
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1063-8
Collana
Applied Statistics Series