Identity with the City: Value Determinants and the Relationship with Psychological Well-Being

Background. Identity with the place of residence is an important factor in psychological well-being, however, despite the large number of studies of individual aspects of this issue, to date there is no consistent empirical data on the influence of identity with the city on the psychological well-being of residents. Objectives. The aim is to study the value bases of identity with the city and the impact on psychological well-being in groups of respondents with different lengths of residence in the city. Study Participants. The study involved 431 respondents, residents of Krasnodar. The sample was divided into three groups according to the length of residence in the city. The first group consisted of native residents of Krasnodar, 185 people (Mage = 26.7; SD = 9.1); the second group included respondents who moved to the city for permanent residence, 135 people (Mage = 24.7; SD = 6.8); the third group involved respondents living in the city temporarily, 111 people (Mage = 20.1; SD = 3.7). Methods. To study the identity with the city, the scale of O. Droseltis and V.L. Vignoles was used in the author’s translation; to study values a shortened version of the “Personality Questionnaire for the Study of Individual Values” was used; the psychological well-being scale by K. Ryff was applied to study psychological well-being. Descriptive statistics, dispersion analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, multigroup path analysis were used for mathematical and statistical processing of the data. Results. The value determinants of identity with the city, typical for all respondents (the values of Tradition and Benevolence), as well as specific to respondents with different lengths of residence in the city were revealed. The values of Self-Transendence are the predictors of identity with the city for native city dwellers. Self-Enhancement predicts identity in the respondents who chose Krasnodar as a place of residence. For temporary residents, Coservation and Openness to Change are the core of identity. The opportunity to achieve career and financial success and social recognition in the urban environment is a significant factor in the psychological well-being of all groups of respondents. Forming a deep emotional connection with the city and the simultaneous awareness of the temporary nature of their stay in the city negatively affects the level of psychological well-being of respondents. Conclusions. Values are significant predictors of identity with the city, with scales of identity with the city being significant predictors of psychological well-being of respondents with different lengths of residence in the city