Stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

Abstract

Background The outbreak and global spread of COVID-19 was accompanied by an increase in reports of stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people. The behavioral immune system provides a framework for stigmatization in response to infectious disease threats. Specifically, stigmatization might increase with rising levels of infectious disease threat. The present study aimed to examine this hypothesis during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods As part of the “EUCLID” project (https://euclid.dbvis.de), a total of 5011 persons from Germany were surveyed via an online-questionnaire between February 2nd and April 3rd, 2020, covering the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic over three time periods which were defined by critical events. Results There was no evidence for an increase in the stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people across three topics, that is personal proximity, air travel, and medical measures upon arrival from China. Conclusions The present findings provide good news in that participants showed an adaptive response to the infectious disease threat rather than displaying increased stigmatization. Further research is necessary to specify the conditions that increase the risk of stigmatization in response to infectious disease threats.

Stigmatization profiles and psychological distress in people at high risk of infection with COVID-19 –A study conducted in Germany from March to August 2021

“…To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies providing extensive stigmatization patterns for COVID-19-related stigmatization in a German population at high risk of infection using latent class analysis. The relatively low rates of stigmatization in our study sample align with previous studies on COVID-19-related stigmatization in the German population [ 36 , 37 ]. In one study, stigmatizing attitudes towards people suffering from COVID-19 were investigated using two subscales „support for discrimination”and „blame”in 157 German participants in March 2020 [ 36 ].…”

“…The authors reported low to moderate amounts of stigmatization ( = 2.5 and = 1.4; scales range = 1–5) in the general population. Other authors investigated the hypothesis that stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people increases in the general population of Germany with rising numbers of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 [ 37 ]. They found no evidence of an increase in the stigmatization of Chinese and Asian-looking people on interpersonal and societal levels.…”

COVID-19-related self-stigma: association with vulnerability and trust in institutions

“…Für Deutschland liegen aktuell nur wenige nicht-repräsentative Studien zu COVID-19-bezogener Stigmatisierung vor [ 13 – 15 ], die alle auf Fremdstigmatisierung ausgerichtet sind. In unserer Studie untersuchen wir hingegen die diesbezügliche „Selbststigmatisierung“, also die Stigmatisierung, die sich ein Individuum im Kontext von COVID-19 selbst auferlegt (siehe auch Ausführungen weiter unten).…”

Individual and collective protective responses during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 10 different countries: Results from the EUCLID online survey

“…Personal experience can range from infections within one's wider social network to infections in close social proximity (e.g., relatives; Kollmann et al, 2022 ;Weinstein, 1989 ). It may be especially influential as it provides more vivid and concrete information about the hazard ( Weinstein, 1989 ) and can trigger a set of disease-avoidance mechanisms known as the "Behavioral Immune System" (e.g., Koller et al, 2021 ;Schaller et al, 2021 ;Schaller and Park, 2011 ).…”