Demographic Factors for Social Adaptation of Rural Migrant Students of Indigenous Ethnic Minorities of the North (the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic)

Abstract

When studying social adaptation, it is vital to review the factors affecting the process and the strategies of social adaptation. Scientific literature encompasses a large number of approaches to adaptation factor analysis. This article deals with the demographic factors affecting the formation of the directions of social adaptation for the youth of indigenous ethnic minorities of the North who study in urban environment. The article presents analysis of the primary sociological data collected among the youth of indigenous ethnic minorities of the North who study in urban environment in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic in the cities of Yakutsk, Neryungri and Aldan. The empirical data was gathered through the questionnaire survey method by multistage quote (proportional) sampling. The related quote sample selection attributes include gender, age, educational institution type, ethnicity, and year of studies. The following demographic factors are reviewed for the analysis of social adaptation: migrants’ gender, marital and reproductive attitudes of the young respondents. The factors for their demographic adaption (i.e. age, marital and reproductive attitudes) are inherently controversial. On the one side, the youth has undoubtedly high adaptation potential owing to their age. On the other side, the reviewed socio-demographic group lacks any experience of adaptation and interaction with urban environment. The analysis of migrant students revealed gender imbalance, i.e. high migration activity of young women, although the proportion of young male migrants has increased over recent years. The results of the questionnaire survey demonstrated the differences in marital and reproductive attitudes between school students, college (secondary vocational educational institutions) students, and university students.