Anti-Asian Microaggressions in the Time of COVID-19: Impact on Coping, Stress, and Well-Being

ABSTRACT

What is the public significance of this article? East Asian Americans confronted with anti-Asian microaggressions during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic who engaged with the aggressor had more stress, but better mental health outcomes compared to participants who ignored microaggressions. An unanticipated outcome of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been increased Sinophobia directed toward Asian Americans. The present study used a mixed-methods design and investigated how 345 East Asian Americans responded to COVID-19-related microaggressions and how their responses affected stress and well-being. The qualitative data included 196 narratives describing anti-Asian microaggressions experienced by participants during COVID-19. Four themes emerged from narratives including nonverbal rejection responses, verbal rejection, physical assault, and exposure to aggression on the social media. Additionally, quantitative data collected participants' responses to scales measuring microaggressions, personal resilience, social support, coping strategies (engagement and disengagement coping), stress, and psychological well-being. Path analysis showed that participants who reported more microaggressions experienced significantly more stress. Participants with more social support had better psychological well-being. Those with stronger personal resilience were more likely to use engagement coping. Even though engagement coping was associated with more stress, confronting aggressors was also associated with better psychological well-being compared to ignoring the threat (disengagement coping). Implications of these findings are discussed.