To Stay or to Leave: The Role of School, Family, and Prosocial Goals in Migration Intentions of Russian High School Students

Psychology in Russia: State of the Art. 2024. Vol. 17. No. 1. P. 84–99.

Gordeeva T. O., Sychev O., Kornienko D., Rudnova N., Dedyukina M.

Background. Migration intentions are extremely common among modern youth in almost all countries of the world. They do not always result in migration behavior itself, but in themselves they are an important indicator for society since the possible loss of the most valuable human resources entails long-term consequences for the development of a country or region. This study is devoted to studying the system of psychological factors that determine the desire of young people to stay in their region and addresses the previously discovered paradoxical correlation between migration intentions and subjective well-being.

Objective. This study analyzes the psychological factors of the intention not to leave the region and its association with relationship satisfaction, personal goals, subjective well-being, and academic achievement of high school students.

Design. The cross-sectional study design was used. Questionnaire-based survey was conducted among Russian high school students from urban and rural schools (N = 5635).

Results. It is found that the most important factors in the intention of high school students to stay and to study and work in their city/region are male gender and a system of psychological factors associated with the immediate social environment, such as satisfaction with the school and teachers, family support, and community contribution goals. When these factors are controlled, migration intentions do not show correlation with the subjective well-being.

Conclusion. The results indicate that considering the psychological factors of youth migration intentions, in particular, those related to the quality of interpersonal relationships, allows to deepen the understanding of these intentions sources and be useful in the formation of youth policy. The study also contributes to understanding the complex relationship between migration intentions, subjective well-being, and academic achievement.

Keywords: академические достижения, субъективное благополучие, academic achievement, старшеклассники, high school students, migration intentions, миграционные намерения, family support, subjective well-being (SWB), school satisfaction, prosocial life goals, поддержка семьи, просоциальные цели