This paper briefly outlines Italian pedagogical research on youth since World War II and presents the sociological interaction of youth to family, friends, work, and current issues. A 1987 survey is reviewed with youth responses given in percentages and ranked according to the importance of family, work, friends, leisure activities, studies and cultural interests, sports, social commitments, religious commitments, and political activity. Youth responses to family, friends, and work are discussed in detail while disaffection for politics, human rights, and international justice, and other controversial issues are examined because Italian youth expressed their powerlessness to change these situations. Prior to the International Year of Youth (1985), Italian schools had not differentiated youth from students. Today, the Italian Ministry for the Family and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education, along with local governments and public institutions, have created programs to study youth and to provide services to them. A 24-item bibliography of Italian sources is included. (DJC)