the process in the course of which a person achieves conformity (compatibility) with a new cultural environment, ethnic traditions and way of life. It is a type of socio-psychological adaptation. It occurs in close contact with representatives of other ethnic groups, including when moving to another country. As a result of full-fledged ethnocultural adaptation, a person accepts the traditions of another culture as his own and acts in accordance with them.
Usually, the process of ethnocultural adaptation includes a number of stages:
1) the first stage (“honeymoon”) is characterized by enthusiasm and high spirits;
2) at the second stage, he begins to experience serious difficulties, faces frustration, depression and disorientation;
3) at the third stage, the symptoms of culture shock reach a critical point, which can be expressed in serious diseases and a feeling of complete helplessness;
4) at the fourth stage, depression is gradually replaced by optimism, confidence and satisfaction, the person begins to feel more adapted and integrated into the life of the new community;
5) at the fifth stage, there is a complete or long-term adaptation, which implies stable changes in the individual in response to the requirements of the environment. Thus, the five stages of adaptation form a U-shaped curve, which can be described as follows: good, worse, bad, better, good.
The duration of ethnocultural adaptation depends on the degree of similarity or difference between cultures and psychological characteristics of people, individual differences, conditions of the natural and social environment, experience of being in a new culture, psychological climate in an ethnic group and the presence of ties between representatives of different ethnic communities.