Perceived ethnic discrimination and acculturation strategies through the prism of human relations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9527-2019-1-3-294-305Keywords:
perceived ethnic discrimination, acculturation, acculturation strategies, separation, integration, marginalization, assimilation, ethnic identity, Russian-speaking immigrantsAbstract
The article presents the results of the study aimed to reveal the possible connections between perceived ethnic discrimination and acculturation strategies used by Russian-speaking immigrants in Finland. The aim of the research was to study the phenomenon of “perceived discrimination” — social practices that are perceived as discriminative by immigrants themselves. The empirical data was collected by means of a deep semi-structured interview. The sample included 30 respondents who moved to Finland from the former Soviet Union and have lived in new culture between 3 and 19 years. The research results show that the vast majority of the respondents experienced different forms of ethnic discrimination. We have discovered that the most common forms of ethnic discrimination include various forms of verbal abuse, refusal to communicate, and limited employment opportunities. The outcomes of the study show that ethnic discrimination can take place in a wide range of an immigrant’s life situations, including educational institutions, the work place, the service sector, the streets, and mass media. Most common translators of a negative attitude towards Russian-speaking immigrants in Finland are strangers (passers-by), but the list also includes colleagues, fellow-students, service professionals, and relatives. The majority of the respondents chose separation as an acculturation strategy (46 % of the respondents), and integration was also frequently chosen (40 % of the respondents), while 7 % of the respondents chose assimilation or marginalization as their acculturation strategies. The research also revealed connections between ethnic discrimination and acculturation strategies: the immigrants who report high levels of ethnic discrimination tend to resort to the separation strategy, while the respondents who didn’t experience any forms of ethnic discrimination usually gravitate towards the integration acculturation strategy.
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