Symposia
Culture / Ethnicity / Race
Xin Zhao, M.S.
Psychology Resident
University of Washington School of Medicine
Seattle, Washington
Lu Dong, Ph.D.
Associate Behavioral and Social Scientist
RAND Corporation
Santa Monica, California
Stacy L. Frazier, Ph.D.
Professor
Florida International University
Miami, Florida
Purpose. The high fatality, rapid spread, substantial societal costs, and uncertainties of Covid-19 have agitated considerable anxiety, fear and other mental health challenges, identified as a public mental health crisis. Individuals of Asian descent are most affected; stories related to anti-Asian sentiment, racism, and xenophobia have been reported globally. Violent attacks, hate crimes, and bullying towards individuals who looked East Asian have caused significant distress, fear, and injuries. To our knowledge, though, no studies have examined online search trends specific to racial slurs and mental health treatment-seeking relevant to Chinese individuals at the population level. Method. We extracted aggregated Google Trends data in the US from January 2020 to March 2022. Keywords included search terms that attached locations or ethnicity to the disease (i.e., “Wuhan virus”, “China virus,” “Asia virus,” “Kung Flu,” “Wu Flu”), ethnic slurs (i.e., "chink" and "chinaman"), and treatment-seeking terms (i.e., “Chinese therapist,” “Chinese counseling”). We also used interrupted time-series analyses to examine the impact of media events. Results. Search terms that attached locations or ethnicity to the disease were more commonly used in 2020; interrupted time-series analyses indicated a significant increase in utilizing these search terms corresponding to celebrity events (e.g., former U.S. president Trump’s public use of these terms). Polynomial time-series regression analyses and data visualization revealed overall upward trends in searching for ethnic slurs (i.e., "chink" and "chinaman") and treatment-seeking terms (i.e., “Chinese therapist,” “Chinese counseling”). Conclusion. Findings highlight internet-based opportunities for understanding and detecting racism. Despite the decrease of attaching locations or ethnicity to the virus among the public, the increase in search interest in ethnic slurs and treatment corresponded to the noted spike in xenophobia. There is a high need for mental health advocacy work and public health interventions centering on racial justice to support the AAPI community.