My Ethnicity is Older than Yours! Delegitimizing other’s Ethnic Identity as a Correlate of Inter-ethnic Attitudes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to operationalize general tendency to deny the existence of some ethnic groups based on the length of their history (Ethnic identity delegitimization, EIDL), and to examine its relation with Ethnic identification, Essentialism, Political orientation, Social dominance orientation (SDO), and attitude towards the outgroup. Thus, we constructed a 14-items EIDL scale. A total of 140 individuals (76% women) participated in the study. Principal component analysis revealed that EIDL is a unidimensional construct, distinct from other measured variables, indicating its construct- and discriminant validity. As expected, EIDL was positively related to ingroup ethnic identification, rightwing political orientation, and social dominance (but negatively to egalitarianism); it was also related to higher essentialist beliefs. Finally, EIDL marginally contributed to prediction of a more negative attitude towards Bosniaks. The results indicate that ethnic identity delegitimization is a distinct construct that is related to outgroup attitudes and that it should be examined more detailed in the context of intergroup relations.