The aim of the study is to determine the role of intercultural competence in the adaptation process of foreign students studying at Russian universities. The research is based on the author's model of intercultural competence, the main components of which are intercultural stability, intercultural interest, the lack of ethnocentrism and the management of intercultural interaction. The sample of the study consisted of 291 foreign students from Turkmenistan studying at universities in Kazan, Saratov, Penza, Rostov-on-Don, Khabarovsk, 291 students (48.5% — Women, average age is 22 years). We showed that intercultural com petence is a significant predictor in the adaptation of foreign students. We revealed different contribution of intercultural competence components to the effectiveness in the adaptation of foreign students. Among the components of intercultural competence only intercultural stability directly affects sociocultural adaptation. The absence of ethnocentrism reduces the effect of culture shock when a student enters a new cultural environment, but increases the success of his/her adaptation in this environment only together with intercultural stability. Two other components of intercultural competence: intercultural interest and the management of intercultural interaction have an impact on the successful adaptation of foreign students not directly, but through the activation of the desire to interact with Russian students and to increase the self-esteem in the effectiveness of intercultural communication with them. In turn these mediators are directly related to both psychological adaptation and intercultural stability. Thus we revealed the mechanism of intercultural competence influence on the adaptation of foreign students. The obtained results can be used to predict the adaptation of foreign students and to reduce the possible risks of their maladjustment in a new culture.

In modern psychology, mindfulness is an important resource for psychological well-being and intergroup relations, but its role in intercultural communication effectiveness has not been sufficiently studied. This research aims to identify the interrelationship between interpersonal mindfulness, intergroup anxiety, and intercultural communication effectiveness among international students. The sample includes 337 (Mage = 22.93, SD = 3.11) international students (41.5% of females) from different countries studying in Russian Universities. Interpersonal mindfulness was measured using the Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale, Intergroup anxiety using ten items adapted from Stephan and Stephan and used in Gudykunst and Nishida, and Intercultural communication effectiveness using the eight items adapted from Gudykunst’s Perceived Effectiveness of Communication measure. Descriptive analysis, correlations, and mediation analyses were used to process the data. The research findings showed that interpersonal mindfulness has both a direct effect on intercultural communication effectiveness and a mediation effect on intercultural communication effectiveness through intergroup anxiety among the international students.

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The paper addresses some core problems pertaining to psychological support for professional development of disabled people and individuals with special needs as well as means of their resolution in Russia and abroad. Underscored is the need for relevant prophylactic, correctional and educational programs designed to: (1) provide assessment of adequacy of occupational choice; (2) promote effective professional education, training, and career building; (3) implement monitoring of professional adaptation and development of people with disabilities and special needs as the primary target population.

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective. </strong>The determination of the conditions under which the preservation of ethnic identity will contribute to the effectiveness of intercultural interaction of international students with host Russian population. <strong>Background. </strong>With the growth in both the number of foreign cultural students in the Russian Federation and the intolerant attitude of the host community towards migrants the need to search for psychological resources of foreign cultural students in order to reduce the stressful impact of the new cultural environment and to establish effective interaction with representatives of the host culture increases. <strong>Study design. </strong>The research is based on the author's model for assessing and predicting the effectiveness of intercultural interaction, integratively combining Anxiety/Uncertainty Management theory by W. Gudykunst, the theory of Intergroup threat by W. Stephan &amp; C. Stephan and Uncertainty-Identity theory by M. Hogg. The contribution of ethnic identity to the effectiveness of intercultural interaction of international students in Russia was determined with the help of moderation analysis using PROCESS macro add in package for SPSS Statistics 21.0. <strong>Participants. </strong>International students studying at higher educational institutions in Moscow, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Ulan-Ude, 340 people (58,5% are women, the average age is 22,9 years). <strong>Measurements. </strong>Scales for determining ethnic identity, perceived threat and perceived discrimination, developed by J. Berry for the MIRIPS project adapted by N.M. Lebedeva and A.N. Tatarko and the scale of perceived effectiveness of communication across relationships and cultures by W. Gudykunst and T. Nishida, modified by O.E. Khukhlaev for international students' self-assessment of the effectiveness of interaction with Russian students. <strong>Results. </strong>The interaction effects of ethnic identity and self-assessment of intercultural communication effectiveness taking into account the moderating parameter (perceived threat and perceived discrimination) are revealed. <strong>Conclusions. </strong>Ethnic identity acts as a predictor of intercultural interaction effectiveness only in the conditions of perceiving the communication situation as either significantly threatening (high degree of perceived threat and medium degree of perceived discrimination), or as significantly discriminating (high degree of perceived discrimination and medium degree of perceived threat), or both significantly and threatening, and discriminating.</p>