Image of a Migrant in the Population of the Border Region of Russia's Notions

Abstract

The issues of adaptation and integration of migrants are one of the main directions of the sociology of migration. The success of a migrant's adaptation depends not only on himself, but also on the local community. Each of them faces the consequences and difficulties of migration to varying degrees. And the actions of each of the parties determine the success of migration processes. The article examines the issue of the adaptive potential of the host community through the study of migrant images in the perception of the population of the border region. The paper presents the results of a psychosemantic experiment conducted in the Altai Territory in 2020-2021 (n = 85). The average age of the respondents is 31.4 years. The image of a migrant in the perceptions of the population is explored through the role positions "migrant", "migrant from the CIS countries", "labor migrant". As scales, 28 pairs of categories were used, describing persons with different social activity. Based on the analysis of average values and factor analysis, the semantic spaces for assessing the mental representations of the "image of a migrant", "the image of a migrant from the CIS countries", "the image of a labor migrant" were built. There is a negative perception of the images of “migrant” and “migrant from the CIS countries”. They are characterized by such categories as "hardy", "alien", "distant", "impatient", "cunning", "arouses hostility", "warlike". A labor migrant is defined by the population as honest, responsible, hardworking, religious, sociable, easy-going and ready to help. The image of a “labor migrant” inspires more confidence in the population and is perceived more positively than the images of a “migrant” and “a migrant from the CIS countries”.