Perceived Inequality and Wellness: Investigating the Longitudinal Links Between Relative Deprivation, Facets of Well-Being, and Self-Rated Health.

Abstract

Individual-based relative deprivation-feeling unfairly economically disadvantaged compared to others-fosters psychological ill-being and poorer physical health. However, research has overlooked the possibility that relative deprivation also undermines emotional well-being, which is distinct from ill-being and uniquely contributes to physical health. Using nine annual waves of a nationwide longitudinal panel sample of adults (N = 58,741-66,221), the current research utilized random intercept cross-lagged panel models to assess the between- and within-person longitudinal associations between individual-based relative deprivation and three key indicators of emotional well-being: gratitude, meaning in life, and belonging. Results indicated that individual-based relative deprivation longitudinally predicted lower gratitude, meaning in life, and belonging. Moreover, lower belonging (but not gratitude or meaning in life) mediated the longitudinal associations between greater individual-based relative deprivation and poorer physical health. These results suggest that individual-based relative deprivation undermines emotional well-being, which partially explains why relative deprivation correlates with poorer physical health.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-025-00304-1.