Abstract
Background: The mental health of racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S. has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined the extent to which disruptions in employment and housing, coronavirus-specific forms of victimization and racial bias independently and conjointly contributed to mental health risk among Asian, Black, and Latinx adults in the United States during the pandemic.Methods: This study reports on data from 401 Asian, Black, and Latinx adults (age 18–72) who participated in a larger national online survey conducted from October 2020–June 2021, Measures included financial and health information, housing disruptions and distress in response to employment changes, coronavirus related victimization distress and perceived increases in racial bias, depression and anxiety.Results: Asian participants had significantly higher levels of COVID-related victimization distress and perceived increases in racial bias than Black and Latinx. Young adults (<26 years old) were more vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and coronavirus victimization distress than older respondents. Having at least one COVID-related health risk, distress in response to changes in employment and housing disruptions, pandemic related victimization distress and perceived increases in racial bias were positively and significantly related to depression and anxiety. Structural equation modeling indicated COVID-related increases in racial bias mediated the effect of COVID-19 related victimization distress on depression and anxiety.Conclusions: COVID-19 has created new pathways to mental health disparities among racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S. by exacerbating existing structural and societal inequities linked to race. Findings highlight the necessity of mental health services sensitive to specific challenges in employment and housing and social bias experienced by people of color during the current and future health crises.
Highlights
The mental health of racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic [1,2,3,4]
A recent study involving a national sample of Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx young adults ages 18– 25 found the majority of respondents reported at least one instance of COVID-related victimization and when controlling for pre-existing COVID-19 medical risks and financial insecurity, perceptions that the coronavirus has increased racial bias across the country mediated the positive association between coronavirus victimization distress and depression and anxiety [16]
Understanding the effects on mental health of health, employment and housing disruptions and discrimination based on association with between the coronavirus and long-standing racial biases is essential to the development of adequate mental health services and prevention policies for Asian, Black and Latinx adults during the current and future pandemics [21, 39]
Summary
The mental health of racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic [1,2,3,4]. A recent study involving a national sample of Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx young adults ages 18– 25 found the majority of respondents reported at least one instance of COVID-related victimization and when controlling for pre-existing COVID-19 medical risks and financial insecurity, perceptions that the coronavirus has increased racial bias across the country mediated the positive association between coronavirus victimization distress and depression and anxiety [16] These finding are consistent with past research finding longterm mental health consequences of contagious disease related discrimination among marginalized social groups in countries experiencing HIV, H1N1, and SARS COV-2 epidemics [17,18,19,20]. This study examined the extent to which disruptions in employment and housing, coronavirus-specific forms of victimization and racial bias independently and conjointly contributed to mental health risk among Asian, Black, and Latinx adults in the United States during the pandemic
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