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The text presents a proposal of new a concept of social anchoring, which redefines the problem of links between an individual and a society and tries to tackle the problem of cement in a contemporary society. In the first part of the article the role of identity for the analysis of a contemporary society and reasons why the concept of identity is so problematic are examined. Afterwards the problem of relationship between identity, on the one hand, and integration as well as social cohesion in complex and diverse societies, on the other hand, is described. These parts play a role of introduction to the concept of social anchoring, similarly to the analysis of the daily and metaphoric usage of anchoring, particularly in psychology. The central part of the text presents the concept of social anchoring as a new theoretical proposal, which revises and integrates the previous categories and research approaches. It is proposed to provisionally define anchoring as searching for points of reference and footholds which enables individuals to establish socio-psychological stability in their lives. There can be distinguished different types of anchors, among others such as legal and institutional (e.g. citizenship), economic (material resources), places (e.g. place of birth), personal anchors (such as appearance, physical practices, individual traits and values), cultural (e.g. language), and social anchors (embedded for example in family or friend relations). The proposed approach provides an opportunity to integrate the issues of identity, adaptation and integration as well as to overcome the limitations of subjectively defined identity and include the psycho-sociological resources that can be used by individuals to adapt to changeable social realities. Although this concept mainly originates from migration studies dealing with the adaptation and integration of migrants, it seems to be also useful for more general sociological analyses.

We study recent immigration to Poland by immigrants who are set to settle in the country for good. Drawing on the register of permanent residence permits (maintained by the Office for Repatriation and Aliens), and on data from a 2005 representative survey of Ukrainian and Vietnamese settlement migrants carried out in Mazowieckie province, we conduct comparative analysis of the patterns of migration and adaptation of these two groups of migrants. We focus on Ukrainians and Vietnamese for two reasons: they are the largest groups of migrants, and they are the most distinct from each other in terms of culture and distance from origin. Looking at the familial situation of the migrants, we find that the Ukrainians are largely women who are married to Polish citizens, and that their migration to, and settlement in Poland are the outcome of family formation. In contrast, the Vietnamese, who are mostly men, bring their families from Vietnam. There are sharp differences between the two groups with regard to modes of employment and strategies of adaptation. The Ukrainians are largely employees working for others. Because of cultural proximity and Polish partners, they (easily) acquire the Polish culture and forge close links with Poles. The Vietnamese in turn are largely self-employed. While trying somewhat to establish social relationships with Poles, they tend to preserve strong links with Vietnamese co-migrants, and to maintain and cultivate their Vietnamese identity. With regard to settlement preferences, both the Ukrainians and the Vietnamese seek to settle in the large cities of the Mazowsze, Dolny Slask, and Ma±opolska regions.