Аннотация:This article reviews adaptive potential of social cohesion in different cultural contexts. The analysis was based on the results of longstanding empirical researches, including those conducted by the authors, of socio-cultural transformations inside the communities of the indigenous small people of Western Siberia - Khanty and Mansi. The presented review is focused on the searching for an answer to the following question: which types of cohesion possess the most distinguished adaptive potential and provide the most stable and lasting rise in living standards and quality of life. Destructive impact of neotraditional types of cohesion on successful individual and group adaptation in changing circumstances is also substantiated.