Chicken or the egg? A cross-lagged panel analysis of group identification and group-based relative deprivation

Group identification and group-based relative deprivation (GRD) are critical predictors of numerous group-oriented attitudes and behaviours. While social-identity-based approaches suggest that salient group identities increase social comparisons, empirical data bearing on the causal direction of the relationship between group identification and GRD are mixed. To resolve this inconsistency, we examined the cross-lagged effects of group identification on GRD—as well as the potential reverse causal pathway—using three annual waves of data from a nationally representative sample of ethnic minorities in New Zealand (N = 5,115). Although we found evidence of a reciprocal relationship between variables, ethnic group identification had a stronger positive cross-lagged effect on ethnic GRD than vice versa, suggesting that social identity is an important antecedent to invidious group-based comparisons. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.