Potential Impact of COVID-19–Related Racial Discrimination on the Health of Asian Americans

Abstract

Anti-Asian discrimination and assaults have increased significantly during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, contributing to a “secondary contagion” of racism. The United States has a long and well-documented history of both interpersonal and structural anti-Asian discrimination, and the current pandemic reinforces longstanding negative stereotypes of this rapidly growing minority group as the “Yellow Peril.” We provide a general overview of the history of anti-Asian discrimination in the United States, review theoretical and empirical associations between discrimination and health, and describe the associated public health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing relevant evidence from previous disasters in US history that became racialized. Although the literature suggests that COVID-19 will likely have significant negative effects on the health of Asian Americans and other vulnerable groups, there are reasons for optimism as well. These include the emergence of mechanisms for reporting and tracking incidents of racial bias, increased awareness of racism’s insidious harms and subsequent civic and political engagement by the Asian American community, and further research into resilience-promoting factors that can reduce the negative health effects of racism. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 17, 2020: e1–e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305858 )

Discrimination and Stress Among Asian Refugee Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Bhutanese and Burmese Refugees in the USA

“…Experiencing pandemic-related discrimination is associated with participants’ experience of pandemic-related stress. While our cross-sectional study does not establish a causal relationship between pandemic-related discrimination and stress, this finding echoes previous studies showing that discrimination can lead to negative and long-term consequences for mental health [ 3 , 10 , 15 , 33 – 35 ]. While societal strategies for decreasing discrimination are paramount, other researchers have also found that social support and coping strategies can buffer the immediate negative emotional impact of discrimination on Asian Americans [ 35 ].…”

Public Concern About Violence, Firearms, and the COVID-19 Pandemic in California

“…Our respondents expressed higher levels of worry about violence during (vs before) the pandemic, ranging from 2.8 to 5.6 percentage point increases in the estimated statewide prevalence of adults who reported that they were somewhat or very worried about multiple types of interpersonal violence (ie, robbery, assault, homicide, police violence), suicide, and unintentional firearm injury happening to them. As expected, 15,16 self-reported experiences of unfair treatment attributed to the pandemic were also reported and disproportionately common among Asian respondents. In addition to worry about violence for oneself, 13.3% of respondents reported concern that someone they know might physically harm themselves on purpose.…”

“…[11][12][13][14] Fear and scapegoating associated with COVID-19 may increase biasmotivated unfair treatment. 15,16 During the summer of 2020, largely peaceful 17 protests decrying structural inequities, which contribute to both police violence and the uneven burden of COVID -19, have been met, at times, by law enforcement use of crowd-control weapons 18 and heavily armed white supremacist and far-right vigilantes. 19 While most major news sources reported initial decreases in violent incidents, as measured by local police calls for service, following pandemic-related lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, the latest indications are that more serious acts of violence, particularly those involving firearms, have remained the same or increased.…”

Impact of the 2020 pandemic of COVID-19 on Families with School-aged Children in the United States: Roles of Income Level and Race

“…As times of crisis often reinforce and exacerbate these disparities because resources are limited and people are fearful, traditionally minoritized and marginalized populations (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities, low-income families, women) may encounter more challenges ( Kantamneni, 2020 ). As part of the long history of racial bias and discrimination in the U.S., national disasters and crises have often become racialized and scapegoated minority groups are targeted and blamed ( Chen et al, 2020 ). Evidently, racial discrimination against Asians and Asian Americans has increased significantly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the U.S.…”

“…Evidently, racial discrimination against Asians and Asian Americans has increased significantly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the U.S. (e.g., Chen et al, 2020 ; Lee & Waters, 2020 ). According to a Pew Research Center survey, Black and Asian Americans have shared the experiences of racial discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic.…”