The Relationship Between Perceived Discrimination and Acculturation of Nigerian Students in Russia: The Role of Personality Traits

Perceived discrimination (PD) is generally found to be negatively associated with psychological adjustment (PA) and sociocultural adjustment (SCA), which is in part because PD tends to be negatively associated with integration attitude. However, it appears that despite perceiving similarly high levels of discrimination, some African immigrants in Russia were found to be relatively well-adapted compared to others. This study, therefore, sought to determine whether perhaps personality traits may influence how one reacts to PD in terms of how one decides to acculturate under this condition, and how this choice affects their adjustment. Empirically put; the moderating role of personality traits in the relationship between PD, acculturation attitudes, and adjustment. In a sample of 124 Nigerian immigrant students in Russia (Mage = 25.02; SD = 4.9; Male = 69.4%), a moderated mediation analysis was carried out to investigate whether the big-5 personality traits moderate the indirect relationship between PD and adjustment via the acculturation attitudes. Results showed that PD had a significant negative association with both PA and SCA, and this relationship was partially mediated by integration attitude. Neuroticism was found to significantly strengthen PD’s negative indirect association with adjustment, by strengthening PD’s negative association with integration attitude. The results provide a plausible partial explanation to the variation in the levels of adjustment of acculturating immigrants/minorities under similarly high levels of perceived discrimination.