Factors of negative self-perception of a migrant in a new country

Abstract

The scale of migration flows in the modern world and their socio-economic, political, and cultural consequences make the study of migration particularly actual. Migration is a multi-step process that contains many psychological aspects, which vary at each stage. Migration begins at the stage when a person considers the alternative of moving to another country. Our study was founded on the idea that the successful adaptation of a migrant to a new life situation and coping with its difficulties is largely determined by the set of pre-migration attitudes and expectations. The study involves 138 people living in Spain, including 108 migrants from Russia and the rest from 25 different countries. The results describe the psychological situation of a migrant, attitude to migration, the motives for moving to another country, the experience of nostalgia, and self-perception in a new life context. The vast majority of Russian-speaking migrants are characterised by a positive attitude towards migration, a significant part of them consider migration as a new experience and an opportunity for self-realization. For a third of Russian-speaking respondents a motivating factor in taking the decision of migration is the interests of close relatives (for foreign respondents, this motivation was mentioned only in 3.6 % of cases). The negative self- perception of Russian-speaking migrants in the new country is connected with this motivation (the interests of relatives) and the experienced nostalgia. The crucial factor in a positive or negative self- perception of a migrant is motivation for relocation. A negative self-perception is based on the desire to escape from an unfavorable situation and its problems, and a positive one is based on the desire for change. Therefore, a negative or positive self-awareness of a migrant in a new country is the most important factor for his/her successful integration and psychological well-being in a new country.