The negative health effects of anti-Asian stigma in the U.S. during COVID-19.

Abstract

This study provided a systemic review of the content of 50 behavioral and social science studies investigating enactment and outcomes of anti-Asian stigma related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) published in the final quarter of 2020 and during 2021. Based on a systematic search of several databases in December of 2021, 500 studies describing the impact of COVID-related stigma on Asian Americans were identified. From this group, 50 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed focusing on health and social consequences of stigma. The studies were described by five stigma themes: the enactment of stigma, health consequences of stigma, stigma in the social media, Asian American stigma in education, and policy and political consequences of anti-Asian stigma. The studies appeared in a wide range of scholarly journals using several methodologies. While some studies exclusively focused on health impacts of stigma, all considered how Asian Americans have been scapegoated for COVID-19. Spread of blame and digital stigma on the social media has been particularly damaging to psychological well-being. Discussion of these studies provided an informative systemic overview for how scholars from various disciplines have investigated the antecedents and possible mechanisms leading to anti-Asian hate. This study serves as a baseline for other scholars who want to build on this body of research in future studies as Omicron and other potential future variants of COVID unfold.

Stress vulnerability and resilience in children facing COVID-19-related discrimination: A quasi-experimental study using polygenic, brain, and sociodemographic data

“…Lastly, the generalizability of our findings needs validation through an independent dataset. For example, Asians, who have reportedly faced frequent COVID-19related discrimination [81][82][83] , represent only 0.5% of our study sample. This racial imbalance within the ABCD dataset could limit the representativeness of our results.…”

Asian American social workers’ experiences and perspectives on anti-Asian hate

“…Moreover, Hahm et al (2021) suggested that increases in COVID-19 related discrimination may be more strongly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (e.g., disturbed memories, thoughts, and avoidance) than anxiety symptoms. Finally, a systematic review outlined the overall health consequences of the anti-Asian stigma on Asian Americans and emphasized mental health concerns (e.g., increased levels of anxiety, fear for personal safety and for loved ones), social health concerns (e.g., increased microaggressions, model-minority stereotypes endorsements, shunning behavior by others), and physical health concerns (e.g., headaches, heart palpitations) (Bresnahan et al, 2022).…”

Impact of Mass Media on HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Mass media can have their own financial and political interests in stigmatization as it may attract more "eyeballs" in the attention economy (REF). Also, mass media may frame a group of people in a negative light due to their political interests leading to prejudice and discrimination against these people, like the example of stigma against Asians in the COVID-19 pandemic [27]. Moreover, HIV/AIDS is associated with social interaction difficulties and seclusion [1,11] that may negatively affect the efficacy of mass media programs in reducing HIV-related stigma.…”