The Contribution of the System Justification to Social Cohesion

Objective. Analysis of the contribution of the system justification to social cohesion.
Background. Social cohesion in Russia, as well as around the world, is declining, despite its beneficial impact on the society. In accordance with the System Justification theory, there is reason to assume a connection between the system justification and social cohesion, but no empirical verification has been carried out.
Study design. The study examined the relationship between the system justification and different levels of social cohesion. The study used the system justification scale and measurements of variables of interpersonal trust, density of social relationships, openness, social participation, institutional trust and legitimacy of institutions. The presence and nature of the relationship was verified through correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Participants. 819 Russians (52% of women) from 18 to 83 years old (M = 37,7; SD = 10,7).
Measurements. Russian-language versions of the scales of system justification by J. Jost. G. Bottoni's model of social cohesion.
Results. The model of social cohesion was successfully tested on a Russian sample, but macro-level variables cannot be separated and do not allow the formation of the second factor of the model by type of measurement (objective and subjective). System justification significantly predicts all levels of social cohesion. The regression model showed that the more people tend to justify the system, the more they trust others, get involved in various group interactions and positively evaluate the institutional activities.
Conclusions. The system justification significantly positively predicts social cohesion at the micro, meso and macro levels.

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