TOLERANCE TOWARD REFUGEES AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN AND STUDENTS

This article is devoted to the study of tolerance of schoolchildren and students towards refugees. This specific social group is extremely vulnerable and in dire need of protection and a variety of assistance. This is especially relevant due to the growing number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the Russian Federation. Refugee adaptation is inextricably linked to the host community's level of tolerance. The specificity of the host country and the form in which the dominant culture influences visitors is a powerful factor which contributes to the successful adaptation of refugees. In this regard, it is extremely important to form a tolerant environment in which young schoolchildren and students – children of refugees, adapting to the new conditions of the host culture. The object of the study was schoolchildren and students living in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. To study the tolerance of young people, as well as to study the social attitudes of schoolchildren and students towards refugees, the following methods were used: the questionnaire “Tolerance Index” (G.U. Soldatova, O.A. Kravtsova, O.E. Khukhlaev, L.A. Shaygerova); the “Attribution of Qualities” technique (D. Katz, K. Braley); author's questionnaire (including a bipolar quality scale and questions aimed at identifying socio-demographic characteristics). The average level of tolerance in schoolchildren and students was revealed, significant differences between the groups were not found. The data indicates that half of the students and schoolchildren believe that refugees should be helped no more than everyone else, since locals also have problems. The image of a refugee in modern youth was revealed. It is shown that negative qualities prevail in the image of a refugee: fear, aggressiveness, arrogance, suspicion, anxiety. Among the positive characteristics, the respondents note strength and resilience. Most of the respondents use emotions as a description of the qualities attributed to refugees, which may indicate the assumption that schoolchildren and students think that refugees often experience the following emotions: fear, fear, sadness, anger. On the one hand, it seems important to conduct further research aimed at studying the image of a refugee among modern youth. On the other hand, the presented data can be used in group and individual psychological work to form attitudes of tolerant consciousness towards refugees among young people.