Relationship between Trust and Acculturation Attitudes (With Ukrainians in Russia and Russians in Latvia as an Example)

This research focuses on the relationship between various types of trust and acculturation strategies (according to J. Berry’s model) in ethnic minorities and migrants. Trust is a major resource both of an individual and society. On the individual level it is considered as a component of the social psychological capital of personality, and on the societal level — as a core part of the social capital of the society. This study aimed to test the assumption that generalized trust in migrants or minorities is related to their preferred acculturation strategies and that this relationship is mediated by more particular types of trust, such as trust in representa- tives of own ethnic group and trust in representatives of other ethnic groups. The study involved Russians living in Riga, Latvia (N=336) and Ukrainian migrants who have been living in Moscow for approximately 1,5 years (N=80). The outcomes show that generalized trust and trust in representative of non-ethnic groups correlate with the choice of acculturation strategies aimed at integration with the society. Trust in representatives of own ethnic group correlates positively with the choice of the “Separation” strategy.

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