The aim of the study was to investigate proactive attitudes towards integration and intense group identification in a sample of the Swedish-speaking minority of Western Finland. A questionnaire was completed by 298 respondents (208 females and 90 males). The mean age was 32.7 yrs (SD 13.4) for women and 28.9 yrs (SD 13.4) for males. The questionnaire included scales measuring positive attitudes towards cultural and structural efforts to enhance the situation of immigrants, openness to diversity (Phelps, Eilertsen, Türken, - Ommundsen, 2011) and intense group identification. Positive attitudes towards cultural and structural efforts to enhance integration, and openness to diversity all correlated significantly positively with each other, and negatively with intense group identification. Age did not correlate with any of the scales in the study. Females scored higher than males on the three subscales measuring proactive attitudes towards integration, and males scored significantly higher on intense group identification. Respondents with a higher educational level scored higher on cultural efforts and on openness to diversity, and significantly lower on intense group identification. Social integration efforts could be fostered by enancing prosocial traits, especially among males, and by encouraging people to study at the higher degree institutions. This could be applie not only among the Swedish-speaking Finns but also among other cultural groups in Finland and elsewhere.

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The role of social integration in determining subjective psychological wellbeing in a sample of Swedish-speaking Finns in Ostrobothnia was investigated. A questionnaire was completed by 298 respondents (208 females, 90 males). The mean age was 32.7 years (SD 13.4) for females and 28.9 years (SD 13.4) for males. The age span was between 16 and 90 years. The questionnaire consisted of four scales measuring social integration. Females scored significantly higher on access to social benefits, positive social relations, and trust in the Finnish judiciary system. No sex difference was found for satisfaction with the neighbourhood. The mean values were overall high for both females and males. Respondents over 30 years of age reported significantly more positive social relations and more satisfaction with the neighbourhood compared to respondents under the age of 30. Respondents belonging to a group with high scores of social integration scored significantly lower on anxiety, depression, and somatisation. Conclusively, social integration can be regarded as a resource for psychological health.

The association between witnessing domestic aggression and respondents' level of social integration and their proactive attitudes towards the integration of immigrants was assessed with a questionnaire in a sample of the Swedish-speaking minority in Ostrobothnia, Western Finland (n = 298; 208 females and 90 males). The age span was between 16 and 90 years with a mean age of 31.6 years (SD = 13.5). Respondents scoring higher than average on witnessing domestic aggression scored lower than others on the following scales measuring social integration: Access to Social Benefits, Positive Social Relations, and Trust in the Finnish Judiciary System. They also scored lower than others on the following scales measuring proactive attitudes towards the integration of immigrants: (the need for making) Cultural Efforts, Structural Efforts, and Openness to Diversity. They also tended to have a lower level of education than other respondents. The implications of the findings are discussed.