Social support as a moderator between resilience and psychological distress among korean americans perceiving racial discrimination during COVID-19: An exploratory application of a moderated mediation model

Abstract

This study examined how resilience is connected to psychological distress among Korean Americans (both U.S. born and foreign-born). Specifically, we explored the mediating role of perceived racial discrimination and the association between resilience and perceived racial discrimination moderated by different levels of social support. A structural equation model (a moderated mediation model) was employed with a sample of 781 participants. The data were obtained through online surveys for variables of interest. We employed this structural equation model to examine the association between variables using the bootstrapping method. We found that the indirect association of resilience with psychological distress through perceived racial discrimination was statistically significant. We also found that the mediating association of perceived racial discrimination was moderated by the extent of social support, especially when the level of social support was low and moderate. We discovered the roles of social support and perceived racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic and the link between resilience and psychological distress for Korean Americans. The findings suggested that social services and culturally sensitive/responsive resilience-focused treatments (including a mindfulness program) alleviate heightened psychological distress among Asian Americans who experienced racial discrimination during the pandemic. Policy implications are also discussed.