Abstract
BackgroundLittle remains known about both Asian and Asian American (A/AA) and non-Asian young adults’ experiences and affective reactions regarding COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination. To our knowledge, this is the first study that explores the nature and impact of COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination within a multi-racial sample.MethodsThis study uses qualitative open-ended responses from a sub-sample of Wave I of the COVID-19 Adult Resilience Experiences Study (CARES) data collected between March to September 2020. Thematic analysis was used to explore two open-ended questions: “Are there experiences we missed in the survey so far that you wish to describe?” and “What are your thoughts about the current social climate?” The data analysis for this study focused on 113 discrimination or racism-related comments.ResultsA total of 1331 young adults completed an online survey of which 611 provided comments; a multi-racial sample of 95 individuals (65.3% non-Asians, 24.7% A/AA) contributed 113 COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination or racism-related comments. Two overarching themes were: types of discrimination (societal, interpersonal, intrapersonal) and affective reactions to discrimination (fear, anxiety/distress, hopelessness/depression, and avoidance). Not only did both A/AA and non-Asian participants report witnessing or hearing reports of anti-Asian discrimination, but both groups described having negative affective reactions to anti-Asian discrimination.ConclusionAnti-Asian discrimination in the face of COVID may be more widespread than initial reports indicate. Our finding suggests that anti-Asian discrimination is a societal illness that impacts all populations in the U.S. This calls for cross-racial coalitions and solidarity in the fight against discrimination and racism.
Highlights
Little remains known about both Asian and Asian American (A/AA) and non-Asian young adults’ experiences and affective reactions regarding COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination
The purpose of this study was to explore racism and discrimination narratives written by A/AA and non-Asian U.S young adults who participated in COVID-19 Adult Resilience Experiences Study (CARES) [20] during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S To our knowledge, the data reported in this paper represent the first study to analyze open-ended survey comments pertaining to anti-Asian discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic
Our study provides evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic substantiated an intense explosion of various types of discrimination and the harmful emotional tolls of anti-Asian discrimination to both A/AA and non-Asians
Summary
Little remains known about both Asian and Asian American (A/AA) and non-Asian young adults’ experiences and affective reactions regarding COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination. In a study following Twitter, researchers collected 2.7 million related tweets five hours before President Trump’s announcement of his and the First Lady’s COVID-19 diagnosis on Oct. 2, lasting until Oct. 5 [8]. In this sample, anti-Asian tweets and conspiracy theory tweets regarding the origins of COVID-19 increased by 85%, with roughly 60% of the related tweets being anti-Asian rhetoric [8]. The purposeful and persistent use of racist terminology, even after the request by the World Health Organization (WHO) for individuals to refrain from its use, is highly stigmatizing These public statements may intensify racism against A/AA [8] as suggested by public leaders and the latest research findings (e.g., U.S senators)
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