Hate Crimes against Asian Americans

Abstract

Using 1992-2014 data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the present study examines the nature and characteristics of hate crimes against Asian Americans by comparing them with those of hate crimes against African Americans and Hispanics. Minority-general and minority-specific models are proposed to guide the analysis. The findings are mixed. The analyses of all victim-related and most offender-related variables show similarities of hate crimes against Asian Americans to those against African Americans and Hispanics. These findings provide support for the minority-general model. Offenders' race and all incident-related variables of hate crimes against Asian Americans, however, differ significantly from those of hate crimes against African Americans and Hispanics. These significant differences provide support for the minority-specific model.

Asian Americans’ Parent–Child Conflict and Racial Discrimination May Explain Mental Distress

“…Although Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group and projected to double in size to over 10% of the U.S. population by 2050, relatively few studies have examined the Asian American experience within Gen Z (Shresta & Heisler, 2011). The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked an unprecedented surge in anti-Asian racism and violence (Pew Research Center, 2021; Zhang et al, 2021). The prolonged pandemic and its devastating social and economic tolls have protracted and intensified the severity, scope, and frequency of anti-Asian discrimination (Pew Research Center, 2021).…”

“…The illustrative study below provides empirical data on the experiences of racial discrimination among young Asian Americans between 2014 and 2018 and how it has undermined their mental health. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, racial hostility against Asian Americans was sharply on the rise (FBI, 2019; Guha, 2017; Zhang et al, 2021). Thus, we expected to see an increase in discrimination and a corresponding increase in mental distress.…”

Who is to blame for COVID-19? Examining politicized fear and health behavior through a mixed methods study in the United States

“…Associating Chinese “culture” with eating bats is an example of this type of racism. Current pandemic responses reflect a long history of xenophobic blame and a climate of anti-Asian racism that has resulted in over two thousand reported hate crimes against Asian and Pacific Islander people across the United States [ 38 , 39 ]. This scapegoating has occurred in everyday acts of hatred and also in the headlines and political speeches of public figures through phrases like “the Wuhan Coronavirus” and other tropes linking contagion with people of Asian descent [ 40 ].…”

Crime and deviance during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Further, research has shown that motivated offenders, when presented with the opportunity, are highly likely to use that opportunity to commit crimes against racial minority groups (Green et al., 2001). Notably, hate violence is found to be often perpetrated by strangers (Zhang et al., 2021) and those who are “thrill‐seekers” (Levin & McDevitt, 2013).…”