The present cross-sectional study investigates the reciprocity of ethnic relations in Finland and the role this reciprocity plays in the development of an inclusive integration context characterised by positive intergroup attitudes, and support for multiculturalism and for the minority groups collective action. The theoretical framework builds on the social identity theory, the theory of acculturation and contact hypothesis. Identity- and contact-related predictors of the inclusive integration context are examined among Finns and among Russian and Estonian immigrants. First, this study sheds more light on intergroup attitudes in the context of immigration. High national identification of Finns and Russian immigrants elicited stronger psychological ownership of Finland. However, while strong ownership made the attitudes of Finns towards Russian immigrants more negative, among the Russian immigrants ownership was linked to more positive attitudes towards Finns. Positive contact with Finns elicited more positive attitudes towards this group, which in turn were linked to more favourable mutual attitudes among Estonian and Russian immigrants. The same association, but with a negative valence, was true for negative contact. Moreover, positive contact with Finns was linked to higher, and negative contact to lower, public collective self-esteem among low-status Russian immigrants but not among high-status Estonian immigrants; higher and lower public collective self-esteem was, in turn, respectively linked to more positive and more negative attitudes towards Estonian immigrants. Second, ethnic identification of Russian immigrants fostered support for multiculturalism only when ethnic superiority of the ingroup was not perceived. Third, among Finns the perception of Russian immigrants preserving more of their culture than Finns would prefer, elicited stronger anxiety and lowered trust, these factors both in turn being related to lower support for collective action of Russian immigrants. When Russian immigrants perceived that they were not allowed by Finns to preserve as much of their culture as they wished, outgroup trust declined and strengthened support for the ingroup s collective action. This study shows that the inclusive integration context does not develop in a social vacuum and provides strong evidence on the importance of the reciprocity of multidimensional intergroup relations in diverse societies.

Over the past few decades, various types of hate material have caused increasing concern. Today, the scope of hate is wider than ever, as easy and often-anonymous access to an enormous amount of online content has opened the Internet up to both use and abuse. By providing possibilities for inexpensive and instantaneous access without ties to geographic location or a user identification system, the Internet has permitted hate groups and individuals espousing hate to transmit their ideas to a worldwide audience. Online Hate and Harmful Content focuses on the role of potentially harmful online content, particularly among young people. This focus is explored through two approaches: firstly, the commonality of online hate through cross-national survey statistics. This includes a discussion of the various implications of online hate for young people in terms of, for example, subjective wellbeing, trust, self-image and social relationships. Secondly, the book examines theoretical frameworks from the fields of sociology, social psychology and criminology that are useful for understanding online behaviour and online victimisation. Limitations of past theory are assessed and complemented with a novel theoretical model linking past work to the online environment as it exists today. An important and timely volume in this ever-changing digital age, this book is suitable for graduates and undergraduates interested in the fields of Internet and new media studies, social psychology and criminology. The analyses and findings of the book are also particularly relevant to practitioners and policy-makers working in the areas of Internet regulation, crime prevention, child protection and social work/youth work.

The psychosocial well-being of orphans in Africa has received little attention in the empirical literature despite experiences of orphan crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa precipitated by war, diseases, and natural disasters. The purpose of this dissertation is to shed light on factors associated with the psychosocial well-being of orphans by taking into consideration living environments, quality of care, the psychological vulnerability, and the sources and functions of social support in buffering stressful situations. This study was based on a survey of Rwandan orphans (N=430) consisting of participants from four living environments (i.e., child-headed households, orphanages, streets, and foster homes). The thesis applied a set of instruments to measure psychosocial well-being, social support, stigma and marginalization, and socio-demographic factors through a close-ended questionnaire administered to survey participants. First, the study assessed the psychosocial well-being of orphans in Rwanda by focusing on their living environments and the quality of care they received. Results indicated that the living environments played an important role where orphans in the orphanage exhibited a higher level of emotional wellbeing, lower mental distress and risk taking behavior than others. Quality of care such as having three meals a day and going to school were associated with high levels of emotional well-being and low levels of mental distress. However, length of time spent in a particular living environment was associated strongly with lower levels of emotional well-being and higher levels of mental distress. Second, orphans psychological vulnerability, such as perceived stigma and marginalization, were explored with respect to living environments, status and cause of parental death, and their roles on emotional well-being and mental distress. The result indicated perceived stigma and marginalization were associated strongly only with the living environments. High levels of stigma and marginalization were associated with lower level of emotional well-being and higher level of mental distress. Furthermore AIDS orphans exhibited higher levels of mental distress compared to those orphaned by genocide or other causes after controlling for stigma, marginalization and social support. Low levels of social support due to stigma and marginalization contributed to low levels of emotional well-being and mental distress. Third, the study explored the relative importance of social support in buffering stressful events. The findings suggest that higher perceived social support was associated with higher emotional well-being and lower mental distress. In addition not all sources and functions of perceived social support were equally beneficial for emotional well-being and mental distress. The most important finding was that the variations in psychosocial well-being across living environments diminished significantly when controlling for stigma, marginalization, and social support, suggesting that community interactions with orphans were important factors in shaping the emotional and mental health of orphans. Understanding this complex reality could provide significant insight into the improvement of the psychosocial well-being of orphans.

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the relationships between personal values and well-being, paying special attention to the contexts in which these associations emerge. This study addresses an ongoing controversy in current research between two competing hypotheses: a direct or healthy values perspective and the value-environment congruence perspective, the latter of which will be further developed in this dissertation. The theoretical background of the study is derived from Schwartz's value theory (1992, 2006), value-environment congruence models of well-being (Sagiv & Schwartz, 2000; Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003; Diener & Diener, 1995), self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), as well as research on subjective and work well-being (Diener, 1984; Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter, & Taris, 2008). This study used a variety of samples: large population samples from 25 European countries (N~40.000, European Social Survey, ESS, 2006), two representative samples of working age adults from a Finnish rural community in 1993 and 2007 (N = 373), university students from Argentina, Bulgaria and Finland (N = 627), as well as a representative sample of young adults from a longitudinal data set from the Finnish Educational Transitions (FinEdu) research project (N = 571). First, the current study tested the relationships between values and the cognitive aspect of SWB specifically life satisfaction (LS) across European countries, and found that the level of socio-economic development of a country moderated the relationships between values and life satisfaction. Interestingly, some associations were contradictory: achievement values were positively and universalism values were negatively associated to life satisfaction in low socio-economically developed countries, and the reverse associations were found in highly developed nations. In less developed countries, which in the ESS are mostly Eastern European, openness to change values (positive) and conservation values (negative) were more strongly related to LS than in higher developed nations. This study also showed some universal positive motivations for well-being: valuing benevolence and hedonism, but not security or power was related to higher SWB in general population across countries. Second, person-group value congruence understood as the similarity between individual and average group values related to higher subjective well-being among university students and fewer psychological stress symptoms among community members. Value congruence, but not individuals scores on value priorities, predicted increased SWB in student samples. In the community sample, conservation values related to fewer psychological symptoms in times of economic crisis, but not in times of economic prosperity. Finally, this study examined long-term predictors of well-being at work (engagement) and proposed a conceptualization of career values based on self-determination theory s ideas of autonomous versus controlled sources of motivation. Results showed that intrinsically rewarding career values were positively related to subsequent engagement, but extrinsically motivated career values were unrelated. According to the findings, perceived person-organization value congruence was the strongest predictor of work engagement. In sum, this study shows that the relationship between values and well-being is dependent on the broader social context that individuals inhabit. In particular, the relationship between individuals values and well-being is influenced by country level characteristics, by the social groups to which they belong, as well as by organizational and developmental situations.