The Role of Hate Crime Victimization, Fear of Victimization, and Vicarious Victimization in COVID-19-Related Depression

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread and continued, much attention has been focused on the physical costs of the virus. That said, early research has also demonstrated an impact on mental health, including depression. At the same time, there has been a documented increase in hate crime victimization during the pandemic. Importantly, hate crime victimization—and fear of victimization—has also been demonstrated to increase depressive symptoms. Following this, we posit that hate crime victimization, and fear of victimization, may play a significant role in COVID-19-related depressive symptoms. We test these hypotheses using results from a sample of 3,117 participants who responded to a survey administered in May 2020. Results indicate that not only do a higher perceived personal risk of COVID and experiences with hate crime predict higher depressive symptoms but that hate crime experiences mediate the relationship between perceived risk of COVID and depressive symptoms.