SEPARATION, INTEGRATION OR ASSIMILATION? THE STRATEGY FOR ADAPTATION EMPLOYED BY UKRAINIAN AND VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE SETTLED IN POLAND

The purpose of this article is an analysis of the cultural integration of the Ukrainian and Vietnamese immigrants who have the right of residence in Poland and of their strategy for adaption. The subject of the survey included such issues as the attitudes of the immigrants to their own culture and to Polish culture; the degree of cultural integration measured by their knowledge of the Polish language; contacts with Polish society and selected collective cultural characteristics (e.g. the level of social trust and the willingness to cooperate on the basis of ethnic ties) which affect the strategy for adaption. Marital relations are also taken into account (mixed and unmixed), the sex and age of the immigrants (especially the age at which the immigrants embarked on their cultural integration) and their attitudes to cultural integration. The article discusses the differences between the levels of cultural integration of the two groups and the consequences of such differences. The authoress argues that a strategy of assimilation predominates among the Ukrainians, while one of integration dominates among the Vietnamese.