Disability, Food Insecurity, and Nutritional Assistance in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: Interrogating the Role of Perceived Everyday Discrimination

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for nutritional assistance among many households, but prior research suggests that people with disabilities and other marginalized groups have been less likely to seek needed assistance due to perceived discriminatory experiences. We examined variation in the use of food assistance programs during the pandemic using data from a community survey of working-age adults with a sizeable subsample of people with disabilities in the Intermountain West region of the United States (N = 1,745). Study findings revealed that having a self-reported disability was associated with greater participation in food assistance programs, which was driven by higher rates of food insecurity. However, the mediated association between disability and nutritional assistance was reduced for food insecure adults who reported greater experiences of perceived daily discrimination. The implication is that perceived discriminatory experiences have diminished the benefits of health-promoting social services during the pandemic. Ways in which the findings extend previous literature on disability, social marginalization, and health disparities is also discussed.

Association of everyday discrimination with health outcomes among Asian and non-Asian US older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Increases in anti-Asian COVID-19 related discriminatory behaviors have been observed, many of which targeted older adults. Studies demonstrate that racial discrimination is associated with worse health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties. No previous studies have examined the impact of day-to-day experiences of discrimination before and during COVID-19 on both Asian and non-Asian older adults within the same sample. We examined whether everyday discrimination was associated with increased anxiety and depression symptoms, decreased levels of functioning, and increased sleep difficulties among Asian and non-Asian US older adults before and during the pandemic. Data came from the Positive Minds-Strong Bodies randomized clinical trial, an evidence-based mental health and disability prevention intervention for racially and ethnically diverse older adults with elevated depression or anxiety symptoms and minor to moderate disability. We conducted secondary data analyses in a cohort of 165 older adults (56 Asian and 109 non-Asian) assessed before COVID-19 (May 2015-May 2018) and during COVID-19 (March 2021-July 2022). Regression models examined whether everyday discrimination impacted health outcomes differently before and during COVID-19, and whether this effect was stronger among Asian compared to non-Asian older adults. Non-Asian older adults reported the same levels of everyday discrimination before and during COVID-19. Consistent with literature suggesting that social distancing has inadvertently kept US Asian populations from experiencing discrimination, Asian older adults reported marginally lower levels of everyday discrimination during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic. We found that everyday discrimination was not associated with health outcomes before COVID-19. In contrast, during the pandemic, everyday discrimination was associated with worse anxiety and depression symptoms and worse levels of functioning, although only the impact on depression was significantly stronger compared with before the pandemic. This negative impact of everyday discrimination on health outcomes during the pandemic appeared to affect both Asian and non-Asian older adults similarly. Social support and social cohesion buffered against the negative effect of everyday discrimination on depression and level of functioning during the pandemic. Results suggest that public health interventions aimed at reducing everyday discrimination and emphasizing social support and cohesion can potentially improve health outcomes for all US older adult populations. Clinical trial registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov; identifier: NCT02317432.

Everyday racism increase for Asians in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic

The United States (U.S.) has a long history of racism and xenophobia, especially around infectious outbreaks. Recently, the associations of COVID-19 to China and Chinese people have been reflected in a surge of anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes. Therefore, the present study examines the perceived change in everyday racism among Asians in the U.S. during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study used self-report surveys to assess the perceptions of everyday racism before and during the pandemic among Asians, Latinxs, and Whites residing in the U.S. We tested a 3 (race [Asians vs. Latinxs vs. Whites]) x 2 (perceptions [before vs. during pandemic]) analysis of covariance with repeated measures for perceptions to determine whether there were differences between racial groups for everyday racism before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings strongly indicate that Asians in the U.S. perceived a change in everyday racism during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to Latinxs and Whites. Exploratory findings show that East and Southeast Asians, in particular, experienced the steepest perceived increase in everyday racism. Anti-Asian sentiment seems to have intensified in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, as evident in the rise of everyday racism against Asians. These experiences may serve as additional stressors for Asians in the U.S. during these already distressing times and disproportionately impact East and Southeast Asians. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement The present study suggests that Asians in the United States perceived an influx of everyday racism during the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to Latinxs and Whites. In particular, East and Southeast Asians experienced the steepest increase in racism-related experiences. Overall findings highlight an alarming escalation in everyday exchanges of anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Perceived Everyday Discrimination Explains Internalized Racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Asians.

The current study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived everyday discrimination and internalized racism among Asians compared to Latinxs. Recently, researchers have attempted to tackle institutional and interpersonal racism during this pandemic outbreak, however, few studies have addressed the internalized component of the racism. We launched this survey study during the critical months of the national pandemic lockdown (April 2020 to April 2021) with a sample (N = 360) of 170 Asians and 190 Latinxs college students self-reporting their experiences related to everyday discrimination and internalized racism. Findings indicated that Asians experienced more internalized racism and perceived a change in everyday discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to Latinxs. Furthermore, the perceived everyday discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a mediator for the race effect on internalized racism. That is, Asians perceived a significant change in everyday discrimination frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to Latinxs and this change was related to higher levels of internalized racism. According to our findings, Asians perceived more daily discriminatory and inferiorizing messages, compared to Latinxs, which also explained the reasons for higher levels of internalized racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that Asians might be rationalizing their encounters with discrimination and even believing their communities deserve these daily attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.