Psychological factors of internal migration of the Russian population

Introduction. The process of migration of people is getting more large-scale and universal. Its causes are usually connected with an array of objective factors which affect the life of a modern man: geographical, climate, economic, political and others. Besides this phenomenon has been sсarcely studied in respect to the psychology of an individual, his psychological features inducing him to relocate in search of a more comfortable life and not because of escaping war or famine. Materials and methods. To reveal psychological reasons for migration the authors' questioning was used. Basic personal features of migrants and people who did not venture to move were investigated through 5PFQ five-factor questionnaire (adapted by Khromov A. B). Comparative analysis (Student t-criterion) was employed to statistically process and analyze the data. The data was developed via SPSS-Statistics 25 programme. The research covered 78 respondents aged from 23 to 60 from different regions of Russia. Results and Discussion. The questioning revealed the main psychological factors of internal migration of the Russian population: seek for self-realization, desire to change or improve life, leave hardships behind. The respondents mentioned the following main reasons deterring from move: responsibility for others (children/parents), fear not to find one's place in new conditions, worry about the unknown and uncertain future, inability to part from close people. According to the respondents, the most difficult thing when moving is homesickness, and the positive thing is the feeling of a new life and opening opportunities. More than a half of those who once migrated (60,3%) are willing to do this again. The comparative analysis showed that the migrants are characterized by less intensive extroversion, activity, confidence and more intensified dreaminess, playful and artistic character. Conclusions. The main psychological causes of internal migration are seek for self-realization, desire to change life, improve living conditions, explore the world, leave some worries and hardships behind. The ability to satisfy the above mentioned demands and start a new life is determined by moderate extroversion, activeness, sociability, understanding, seek for impressions, persistence, curiosity and strongly intensified dreaminess and openness.