Education Racial and Gender Disparities in COVID-19 Worry, Stress, and Food Insecurities across Undergraduate Biology Students at a Southeastern University

Abstract

The global spread of the novel coronavirus first reported in December 2019 led to drastic changes in the social and economic dynamics of everyday life. Nationwide, racial, gender, and geographic disparities in symptom severity, mortality, and access to health care evolved, which impacted stress and anxiety surrounding COVID-19.

College students' underlying perceptions of COVID-19 threat, healthcare discrimination, and healthcare system inequities associated with self-rated health across racial/ethnic groups in the U.S.

“…Given that perceived COVID-19 threat was previously associated with greater stress and/or anxiety (41, 42), it is possible that higher perceived COVID-19 threat contributed to greater stress, and in turn, poorer mental and physical health for students in Class 1 compared to students in other classes with lower perceived COVID-19 threat. Moreover, since students in Class 1 were more likely to belong to minoritized racial/ethnic groups, their higher perceived COVID-19 threat may have been due to national racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 rates (43) as suggested in recent studies (15). The present study aligns with prior suggestions that racial/ethnic structural inequalities and national COVID-19 disparities may contribute to increased stress among college students (15), particularly for students from minoritized racial/ethnic groups.…”

“…Moreover, since students in Class 1 were more likely to belong to minoritized racial/ethnic groups, their higher perceived COVID-19 threat may have been due to national racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 rates (43) as suggested in recent studies (15). The present study aligns with prior suggestions that racial/ethnic structural inequalities and national COVID-19 disparities may contribute to increased stress among college students (15), particularly for students from minoritized racial/ethnic groups. However, there is also recent evidence that students who identified as female and Black, Indigenous, and/or students of color had lower perceived stress over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (44).…”

“…In addition to academic and social stressors (51), the present study suggests that COVID-19-related stressors can influence college students' mental and physical health and further emphasizes the unique needs of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic (7). Continued research in this area is warranted given worsening mental health among college students (52) and rising racial/ethnic disparities in college students' health due to COVID-19 health concerns (14,15). Public health research may also consider the unique circumstances of COVID-19 that influence health-related perceptions [e.g., stronger alignment of perceived COVID-19 threat and objective COVID-19 risk among minoritized racial/ethnic groups compared to other diseases (53)].…”

“…Previous studies identified the fear of COVID-19 infection (e.g., fear of contracting the virus, concerns over its spread, high perceived COVID-19 severity and/or susceptibility) as a major driver of college students' COVID-19-related stress (12)(13)(14). Moreover, prior studies revealed racial/ethnic differences in college students' COVID-19 fears (14,15) and suggested that racial/ethnic structural inequalities in the U.S. (e.g., disparities in housing, working conditions, and/or healthcare access) likely exacerbated COVID-19 fears among students from minoritized racial/ethnic groups by contributing to racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 exposure, morbidity, and mortality (15,16).…”

“…Moreover, prior studies revealed racial/ethnic differences in college students' COVID-19 fears (14,15) and suggested that racial/ethnic structural inequalities in the U.S. (e.g., disparities in housing, working conditions, and/or healthcare access) likely exacerbated COVID-19 fears among students from minoritized racial/ethnic groups by contributing to racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 exposure, morbidity, and mortality (15,16). Considering that COVID-19-related stressors can exist at multiple socio-ecological levels [e.g., intrapersonal risk perceptions, interpersonal stressors, structural/system-level concerns (17)], college students' COVID-19-related stress may be influenced by concerns that span these levels (collectively referred to as "health-related perceptions").…”