Internalized Stigmatization, Social Support, and Individual Mental Health Problems in the Public Health Crisis

The current study examined the predictive ability of discrimination-related variables, coping mechanisms, and sociodemographic factors on the psychological distress level of Korean immigrants in the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Korean immigrants (both foreign-born and U.S.-born) in the U.S. above the age of 18 were invited to participate in an online survey through purposive sampling. In order to verify the variables predicting the level of psychological distress on the final sample from 42 states (n = 790), the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) analysis, which is able to examine complex non-linear interactions among variables, was conducted. The most critical predicting variables in the neural network were a person’s resilience, experiences of everyday discrimination, and perception that racial discrimination toward Asians has increased in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Psychological Distress Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic by Machine Learning: Discrimination and Coping Mechanisms of Korean Immigrants in the U.S.

Choi

Hong

Kim

et al. 2020

“…In conclusion, previous researchers have mainly studied the correlations between social support and health from the two perspectives of physical and mental health [ 34 , 35 ]. These two perspectives should be compared, but the results of the presented works may be incomplete if analyzed from one perspective alone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous Influences of Social Support on Physical and Mental Health: Evidence from China

Yang

Yao

2020

Employing a national representative survey (the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016, CLDS2016) data (N = 14246), this paper examines the heterogeneous influences of social support on individual physical and mental health in China. Social support is characterized by four dimensions: emotional support, tangible or instrumental support, interaction or exchange support, and community support. Physical health is measured by self-rated health and body mass index (BMI), while mental health is measured by depression, hopelessness, failure, fear, loneliness, and meaninglessness. The results indicate that different dimensions of social support have heterogeneous effects on individual physical and mental health. Specifically, the correlation between emotional support and individual physical health is not significant, but emotional support is significantly related to some mental health variables. Tangible or instrumental support is significantly related to individual self-rated physical health but not to BMI or mental health. Interaction or exchange support is significantly correlated with individual self-rated health and some mental health variables. In general, there are significant correlations between community support, and individual physical and mental health. The results also suggest that the influences of social support on physical and mental health of individuals at different ages (<60 years and ≥60 years) are heterogeneous. The results of this study provide direction for the dimension selection of social support to promote individual health.

“…Stigma is time- and context-specific [ 10 ]; therefore, the items were tailored to reflect the context of COVID-19-related internalized stigma. The Chinese version of this scale was translated in a previous study by Li et al [ 23 ], showing adequate reliability and validity for reflecting participant levels of internalized stigma. Items were rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale, and scales with higher scores indicated a higher level of internalized stigma.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, it might profoundly contribute to long-term adverse mental health outcomes [21,22]. Moreover, individuals with travel experience in the epicenter were affected by internalized stigma [23], and that could be psychologically damaging for individuals affected by COVID-19, since high levels of internalized stigma might be associated with lower levels of self-esteem and increased depression [10,24]. In addition, previous studies have shown the association between multifaceted discrimination and retention cares in HIV-positive young adolescents; this process was mediated by internalized stigma [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mediating Role of Internalized Stigma and Shame on the Relationship between COVID-19 Related Discrimination and Mental Health Outcomes among Back-to-School Students in Wuhan

Zheng

et al. 2020

Outbreaks of an epidemic, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), always brings about far-ranging discrimination and stigmatization to the epicenter. This was a cross-sectional survey conducted to assess experienced discrimination, internalized stigma, shame, and mental health (anxiety, depression, distress, insomnia) among college students who merely had a perceived linkage with COVID-19, and explore the linkage between discrimination and negative mental health outcomes through the mediating effects of shame and internalized stigma. A total of 995 participants (53% female) were involved in this study, in which 40.9% of college students were reported to be discriminated against because of their experience in Wuhan. The experience of COVID-19-related discrimination is indirectly associated with anxiety, depression, and insomnia, in which shame and internalized stigma play a complete mediating effect. Meanwhile, it is both directly and indirectly associated with distress through shame and internalized stigma. The findings of this study suggest that COVID-19-related discrimination is associated with shame and internalized stigma, which in turn predict psychological symptoms over time.