Category: Culture / Ethnicity / Race
Quyen Do, M.Ed.
Project Director | Graduate Research Assistant | Ph.D. Student
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Joyce Yang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Quyen Do, M.Ed.
Project Director | Graduate Research Assistant | Ph.D. Student
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
William Tsai, Ph.D.
New York University
New York, New York
Sowan Kang, M.S.
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Clarksburg, Maryland
Stephanie Chin, M.S.
The University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Lainey Sevillano, MSW
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Recent spike in COVID-related hate crimes against individuals of Asian descent has brought to light the severity of anti-Asian discrimination and the need to address this longstanding issue. In the U.S., Asian-directed hate crimes increased by 149% in many major cities amidst the rapid spread of COVID-19 (Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, 2020). Additionally, nearly 3,800 discriminatory incidents against Asian Americans were reported between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021 alone (Jeung et al., 2021). The adverse effects racism has on the health of U.S. ethnic minority communities have been well established (Williams & Mohammed, 2013). In the case of COVID-19, emergent studies have provided evidence to the deleterious toll COVID-related racial discrimination takes on the mental health of Asian Americans (e.g., Hahm et al., 2021).
Given the recency of events, there is still little research on the experiences and impact of racial discrimination during COVID among Asian Americans. The current symposium aims to contribute to this literature by presenting empirical findings on the experiences, fear, and effects of COVID-related discrimination among Asian Americans. Findings highlight the prevalence and wide range of effects COVID discrimination poses on many Asian Americans. A deeper understanding of these experiences can inform the development of interventions and policy changes that may prevent further discrimination against Asian Americans as well as provide appropriate resources to those impacted.
For this symposium, Presenter 1 will present mixed-methods data on experiences of discrimination and their association with race-based traumatic stress among U.S.-based Asian-identified individuals during COVID. Presenter 2 will present mixed-methods data on experiences of racial discrimination related to COVID among Asian Pacific Islander Desi American college students. Presenter 3 will present quantitative data on the associations between race-related stress caused by COVID discrimination, psychological distress, thriving, and resilience among Asian adults across the U.S. Gender differences were also examined across these variables. Presenter 4 will present quantitative data on fear of discrimination and its impact on psychological distress among East Asian college students. Finally, Presenter 5 will present longitudinal data on changes over the course of the pandemic in Asian Americans’ alcohol-related behaviors, affect, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and sleep quality. Presentations will be reviewed by a Discussant who is an expert on mental health disparities experienced by communities of color. The Discussant will synthesize study results and recommend appropriate future directions to advance the knowledge and clinical guidelines for scholars and providers working with Asian Americans.
Presenter: Quyen A. Do, M.Ed. – University of Texas at San Antonio
Co-author: Emily R. Nhan, PhD – University of San Francisco
Co-author: Jessica A. Chen, Ph.D. – VA Puget Sound Health Care System; University of Washington
Co-author: Joyce P. Yang, Ph.D. – University of San Francisco
Presenter: William Tsai, Ph.D. – New York University
Co-author: Cheng-Yun Teng, MA – Palo Alto University
Co-author: Sophia Hon, MSW – University of Miami
Co-author: Angela Wang, MA – UMass Boston
Presenter: Sowan Kang, M.S. – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Co-author: Andrew Waters, PhD – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Co-author: Jeremy Luk, PhD – National Institutes of Health
Co-author: Bethany Stangl, PhD – National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Co-author: Melanie Schwandt, PhD – National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Co-author: Nancy Diazgranados, M.D., M.S. – National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Co-author: Vijay Ramchandani, PhD – National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Presenter: Stephanie Chin, M.S. – The University of Louisville
Co-author: Jojo Yao, M.Phil. – University of Louisville
Co-author: Laurie McCubbin, Ph.D. – University of Louisville