Trust as a Moderator of the Relationship among Attitudes to Ethnic Diversity and Acculturation Expectations of the Host Population

A study has been conducted on the role of generalized trust as a moderator of the relationship of attitudes to ethnic diversity and such acculturation expectations as "integration" and "assimilation". In the process of the theoretical analysis, two assumptions have been put forward. 1) The higher the acceptance of ethnic diversity, the higher the focus is on the acculturation expectation of "integration," while the lower it is, the focus is more on the acculturation expectation of "assimilation". 2) People with different levels of trust have a difference in the relationship of their attitude to ethnic diversity and acculturation expectations: in the case of a negative attitude towards ethnic diversity, people with a higher level of trust will prefer integration to a greater extent, and assimilation to a lesser extent, than people with a low level of trust. The study sample was made up of 200 ethnic Russian respondents (61 men and 139 women) who were born in Moscow. Study instruments: general trust scale (T. Yamagishi); a questionnaire to assess the degree of individual acceptance of ethnic diversity; a questionnaire for assessing acculturation expectations (J. Berry). In summation of the study`s results, we can say that generalized trust is an important resource for the integration of a multicultural society. Notably, not only the level of trust in itself is important, but also how it is combined with attitudes towards ethnic diversity. The study confirmed the assumption that trust plays the role of a moderator of the relationship of attitudes to ethnic diversity with two acculturation expectations: "integration" and "assimilation." Generalized personal trust can to a certain extent compensate for the lack of a positive attitude towards ethnic diversity on the path to integration, although it turns out to be unimportant for integration if the individual initially regards ethnic diversity as positive.