Ethnic and national attachment as predictors of wellbeing among New Zealand Europeans, Māori, Asians, and Pacific Nations peoples

Abstract

Previous research suggests that national attachment is associated with greater wellbeing among members of majority and minority ethnic groups, while ethnic attachment usually predicts better wellbeing among ethnic minorities. This finding may emerge because ethnicity is more salient or protective for ethnic minority group members, but also potentially because ethnic minorities in some nations are seen as peripheral to national group membership. Using data from a nationally representative sample of New Zealanders, we compared the effects of ethnic and national attachment on personal wellbeing. The results showed that national attachment was indeed positively associated with wellbeing for all ethnicities. By contrast, ethnic attachment was positively associated with wellbeing for all minorities except for Māori who are considered equally defining of New Zealand national identity as majority European New Zealanders. Overall, these findings expand past research by showing that ethnic attachment is not uniformly associated with greater wellbeing for all ethnic minorities, but may depend on whether minorities are ideologically integrated into the national identity.