COVID-19-related Direct and Vicarious Racial Discrimination: Associations with Psychological Distress Among U.S. College Students

Overview

Journal J Affect Disord

Date 2023 Jan 15

PMID 36642315

Authors

Anjeli R Macaranas

Abdelrahman ElTohamy

Sunah Hyun

David H Chae

Courtney Stevens

Justin A Chen

Cindy H Liu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a myriad of racist incidents targeting minorities in the U.S. Young adults are susceptible to direct and vicarious (indirect) pandemic-related racial discrimination. We sought to examine associations between both types of discrimination experiences and psychological distress among college students across different racial groups.

Methods: We analyzed self-reported data from 64,041 undergraduate students from the Spring 2021 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. Logistic regression examined odds of severe distress based on self-reported exposure to direct and vicarious racial discrimination.

Results: Even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and prior mental health diagnoses, there was a significant association between direct discrimination and distress among Asian (AOR: 1.3, p < 0.001), Hispanic (AOR: 1.6, p < 0.001), and Multiracial (AOR: 1.4, p < 0.001) students. Vicarious discrimination was significantly associated with distress among White (AOR: 1.4, p < 0.001), Asian (AOR: 1.4, p < 0.001), Hispanic (AOR: 1.5, p < 0.001), and Multiracial (AOR: 1.3, p < 0.001) students. Further analysis considering distress as a continuous measure revealed a significant association between vicarious discrimination and distress for Black participants (β = 0.9, p < 0.001).

Limitations: Self-reported variables are susceptible to recall bias. Minority racial group analyses may be underpowered.

Conclusions: Our findings reveal an overall link between both direct and vicarious racial discrimination and distress across several racial groups. Further studies should examine effective mental health interventions and anti-racism initiatives to support students who have experienced direct or vicarious discrimination due to COVID-19.

Citing Articles

Ethnic Identity Protects and Internalized Racism Harms Health and Coping in Asian Americans Following COVID-19 Discrimination: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Nhan E, Williamson-Raun A, Chan R, Yang J J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2024; .

PMID: 38649615 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-024-02000-5.

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