The Role of Self-Efficacy, Perceived Threat and Perceived Discrimination as Adaptation Factors for Russians in Estonia and Kazakhstan

The aim of this study was to analyze self-efficacy, perceived threat and perceived discrimination as factors influencing the adaptation of the Russian ethnic minority in Estonia and Kazakhstan. According to Stephan’s theory, three types of perceived threat were considered: economic, cultural and physical. The sample included 272 Russians living in Estonia and 200 Russians from Kazakhstan. The data were processed using multiple regression analysis based on the SPSS v.27 program. The results showed that cultural threat had a negative relationship with life satisfaction and self-esteem. It was also found that cultural threat was negatively related to integration and assimilation but positively related to separation among the Russians in Estonia. Economic threat was positively related to the separation strategy but negatively related to the integration strategy among the Russians in Kazakhstan. Self-efficacy, in turn, was positively correlated with life satisfaction and self-esteem, and was also a factor contributing to the choice of integration and adaptation strategies among the Russians in Kazakhstan. The results of this study show the importance of self-efficacy as a personal factor, along with perceived threats, in the context of an ethnic minority being adapted in the host society.