Coping strategies as moderators of COVID-19 racial discrimination in Filipino Americans.

Abstract

The present study examined the extent to which coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) racial discrimination related to life satisfaction, depression, and anxiety in 246 Filipino Americans. The extent to which coping strategy moderated the mediated relationship of COVID-19 racial discrimination via depression and anxiety on life satisfaction was also explored. Findings indicated that Filipino Americans who experienced or witnessed COVID-19 racial discrimination were significantly more likely to experience decreased levels of life satisfaction and increased levels of depression and anxiety. Higher levels of discrimination were significantly related to higher levels of depression which were linked to poorer life satisfaction. Coping strategy moderated the mediated relationship of COVID-19 racial discrimination via depression with life satisfaction. Engagement and disengagement coping responses significantly moderated the link between COVID-19 discrimination with anxiety and depression, respectively. Implications for mental health professionals, study limitations, and future areas of research are additionally provided.

Coping, Racial Discrimination, and Psychological Distress Among Asian American Parents

“…Interestingly, inconsistent with prior literature (Litam & Oh, 2022), neither direct nor indirect coping styles moderated the relationship between racial discrimination and/or fear of discrimination and depression symptoms. These results highlight a potential difference between the two psychological distress variables, anxiety and depression symptoms, and the impact of coping styles.…”

The moderating role of emotion regulation strategies on Asian American parents’ discrimination experiences and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“…The increase in racial discrimination against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to COVID-19 discrimination fear, which exacerbated mental health problems such as depression and anxiety (Cheng et al, 2021; Huang & Tsai, 2023; Litam & Oh, 2022a, 2022b). COVID-19 discrimination fear is defined as the fearful anticipation and expectation of discrimination (e.g., being harassed, not feeling safe in public) due to COVID-19-related concerns (i.e., potentially carrying the virus, being seen as Asian).…”

COVID-19 racial discrimination and mental health of Korean Americans: Role of ethnic identity and coping strategy.

“…Ethnic identity and other cultural factors may influence how Asian Americans cope with experiences of racial discrimination (Litam, 2020; Litam & Oh, 2021, 2022; Oh & Litam, 2022; Tweed & Conway, 2006). Coping strategies are behavioral and cognitive tactics that individuals utilize to deal with crises and stressful situations.…”

“…Experiences of COVID-19-related racial discrimination have been associated with greater rates of depression and anxiety and lower levels of life satisfaction among diverse AAPI ethnic subgroups, including Chinese and Chinese Americans (Litam & Oh, 2020), Filipino Americans (Litam & Oh, 2022), and international Asians residing in the U.S. (Litam et al, 2021). Despite the detrimental effect of COVID-19-related racism, some researchers have reported that higher levels of ethnic identity can buffer the impact of COVID-19 racial discrimination on life satisfaction for Chinese Americans (Litam & Oh, 2021) and that greater use of coping strategies reduced the mediated effects of racial discrimination via depression on life satisfaction for Filipino Americans (Litam & Oh, 2022). Despite the growing body of research on pandemic-related discrimination on the mental health and life satisfaction of AAPI ethnic subgroups, no empirical studies have been conducted to understand the impact of COVID-19-related racial discrimination on the mental health of Korean Americans (KA).…”

“…Racial discrimination can include covert acts (e.g., physical attacks, verbal harassment) as well as more subtle types of discrimination (e.g., being treated with disrespect, institutional racism; Gee et al, 2009). Though within-group variability exists, experiences of discrimination among AAPI subgroups were related to higher levels of depressive symptoms (Lee & Ahn, 2011; Litam & Oh, 2020, 2022; Mossakowski, 2003; Nadimpalli et al, 2016), higher levels of anxiety and psychological distress (Hwang & Goto, 2008; Nadimpalli et al, 2016), increased substance use (Le & Iwamoto, 2019), and lower levels of life satisfaction (Tummala-Narra et al, 2018). The buffering effect of ethnic identity and coping strategies on the relationship between discrimination and the mental health of Asian Americans has been mixed (see Choi et al, 2017; Lee, 2005; Lee et al, 2015; Litam & Oh, 2020) and requires further investigation.…”