ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted U.S. communities of color, such as the Latino/x population. The pandemic coincides with other major contemporary structural factors affecting Latinxs, including the effects of U.S. immigration policies and President Trump's xenophobic rhetoric and priorities. Yet, the independent and simultaneous implications of the larger sociopolitical climate and specific COVID-19 concerns for Latinx mental health remain less clear. The present study uses an intersectional and social determinants of health framework to examine these relationships. Multivariable regression models were estimated with three waves of population-based panel data from the Pew American Trends Study (collected between 2019 and 2020) with Latinx adults (n = 1,132). We simultaneously examined how worries regarding deportation, respondents' citizenship and legal status, perceptions regarding the Trump Administration, anti-Hispanic discrimination, and pandemic-related concerns predicted variation in Latinx self-reported psychological distress, after adjusting for other important covariates. We also conducted analyses separately by gender. The results indicated that worrying about a family member or a friend being deported, perceiving higher anti-Hispanic discrimination, and viewing coronavirus as a threat to respondents' personal health and finances were significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Stratified analyses revealed that gender filters the ways that some of these stressors affect the mental health of Latinas, such as perceived threats about deportation, compared to Latinos. Taken together, this work demonstrates the diverse social determinants shaping Latinx mental health in intersectional ways early in the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Spanish) La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado de manera desproporcionada en EE. UU. a las comunidades de color, tales como la poblacion latina. La pandemia coincide con otros importantes factores estructurales contemporaneos que afectan a los latinos, incluidos los efectos de las politicas de inmigracion de EE. UU. y las prioridades y la retorica xenofoba del expresidente Trump. Sin embargo, siguen siendo menos claras las consecuencias independientes y simultaneas del clima sociopolitico mas amplio y las inquietudes especificas a la COVID-19 respecto a la salud mental de los latinos. El presente estudio utiliza los determinantes sociales transversales del marco de salud para examinar estas relaciones. Se estimaron los modelos de regresion entre variables multiples con datos basados en tres olas poblacionales del estudio Pew American Trends Study (reunidos entre 2019 y 2020) con adultos latinos (n = 1,132). De manera simultanea, se examino la manera en que las preocupaciones respecto a la deportacion, el estado legal y de ciudadania de los encuestados, las percepciones relacionadas con el gobierno de Trump, las discriminacion contra los hispanos y las inquietudes relacionadas con la pandemia predijeron una variacion en como los latinos informaron sobre su angustia psicologica, despues de adaptarse a otras covariables. Tambien se realizaron por separado los analisis segun el genero. Los resultados indicaron que preocuparse por un familiar o amigo que fuera deportado, percibir una mayor discriminacion contra los hispanos y ver al coronavirus como una amenaza a la salud y la economia personal de los encuestados estaban relacionados de manera significativa a niveles mas elevados de angustia psicologica. Los analisis estratificados revelaron que el genero filtra las maneras en que algunos de estos factores estresantes, tales como la percepcion de amenazas de deportacion, afectan la salud mental de las mujeres latinas, en comparacion con la de los hombres latinos. En su conjunto, este trabajo demuestra las variadas determinantes sociales de la salud que dieron forma a la salud mental de los latinos de maneras trasversales a principios de la pandemia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement This study finds that worries about deportation, perceptions of anti-Hispanic discrimination, and having higher levels of COVID-19-related financial and health concerns were significantly associated with increased psychological distress among Latinxs in Spring 2020, net of other covariates. Gender-stratified analyses reveal that worries about deportation, legal and citizenship status, and pandemic-related effects on personal lives and health increased distress among Latinas but not Latinos. This highlights the array of gendered impacts and social determinants of health affecting Latinx psychological well-being during the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Public Significance Statement This study finds that worries about deportation, perceptions of anti-Hispanic discrimination, and having higher levels of COVID-19-related financial and health concerns were significantly associated with increased psychological distress among Latinxs in Spring 2020, net of other covariates. Gender-stratified analyses reveal that worries about deportation, legal and citizenship status, and pandemic-related effects on personal lives and health increased distress among Latinas but not Latinos. This highlights the array of gendered impacts and social determinants of health affecting Latinx psychological well-being during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted U.S. communities of color, such as the Latino/x population. The pandemic coincides with other major contemporary structural factors affecting Latinxs, including the effects of U.S. immigration policies and President Trump's xenophobic rhetoric and priorities. Yet, the independent and simultaneous implications of the larger sociopolitical climate and specific COVID-19 concerns for Latinx mental health remain less clear. The present study uses an intersectional and social determinants of health framework to examine these relationships. Multivariable regression models were estimated with three waves of population-based panel data from the Pew American Trends Study (collected between 2019 and 2020) with Latinx adults (n = 1,132). We simultaneously examined how worries regarding deportation, respondents' citizenship and legal status, perceptions regarding the Trump Administration, anti-Hispanic discrimination, and pandemic-related concerns predicted variation in Latinx self-reported psychological distress, after adjusting for other important covariates. We also conducted analyses separately by gender. The results indicated that worrying about a family member or a friend being deported, perceiving higher anti-Hispanic discrimination, and viewing coronavirus as a threat to respondents' personal health and finances were significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Stratified analyses revealed that gender filters the ways that some of these stressors affect the mental health of Latinas, such as perceived threats about deportation, compared to Latinos. Taken together, this work demonstrates the diverse social determinants shaping Latinx mental health in intersectional ways early in the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hardships and self-reported sleep troubles in a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. DESIGN: Prospective study in March and April 2020. SETTING: Population-based. PARTICIPANTS: About 8130 respondents who participated in the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel in March and April of 2020. MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported sleep troubles were defined as a report of 3 or more days per week with trouble sleeping in March and April (separately). Respondents were asked about COVID-19 stressors such as COVID-19 Threat and COVID-19-specific hardships including pay cuts/hours reductions, job loss, and childcare difficulties. Logistic regression models were fit to test associations between COVID-19 hardships and sleep troubles adjusted for sociodemographic covariates (age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, marital status, nativity, education, income, health insurance, and past diagnosis of mental health problems). RESULTS: Reported sleep troubles increased from March (29.0%) to April (31.4%). For March, we found that COVID threat, losing a job, getting a pay cut, and difficulty with childcare were separately associated with sleep troubles. In April, COVID-19 threat and difficulty with childcare, but not losing a job or getting a pay cut were associated with sleep troubles even after additionally accounting for reported sleep troubles in March. CONCLUSIONS: We found that COVID-19-specific stressors, especially a broad measure of COVID-19 Threat and stress over childcare, were associated with sleep troubles in March and April. These findings identified novel stressors related to COVID-19, which may affect the sleep of the American population.