HOW MUCH AND FOR WHOM DOES SELF-IDENTIFIED ETHNICITY CHANGE OVER TIME IN NEW ZEALAND? RESULTS FROM A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Abstract

Ethnicity is often assumed to be a stable construct. However, much research in New Zealand has shown growth in the number of people reporting multiple ethnicities and changes in the ethnic composition of New Zealand, which may reflect social changes as well as changes in the construct of ethnicity. This study uses three years of data from the longitudinal Survey of Family, Income and Employment (SoFIE) to examine changes in self-identified ethnicity. Self-defined ethnicity is recorded every year and participants may record multiple ethnicities. A change in ethnicity was defined as any change in the reported ethnic group(s) of an individual over the first three waves of SoFIE. Overall, 8% of respondents changed ethnicity at least once during the three waves of the survey. The strongest predictor of changing self-identified ethnicity was Māori, Pacific and Asian ethnicity at wave 1, as well as reporting more than one ethnic group. Individuals who changed ethnicity were also more likely to be younger, to be born overseas, to live in a family with children, to belong to more deprived groups, and to have poorer self-rated health. This exploratory analysis has shown fluidity in the concept of self-identified ethnicity, but more longitudinal research is needed to further clarify the (in)stability of ethnicity over time.