Mental Health in a Xenophobic World

While the COVID-19 pandemic presented substantial stressors for everyone, people of Asian descent faced compounded adversities due to being subjected to prejudice, stigmatization, and hateful assaults. In addition to health, finance, and social isolation-related anxiety and stress, they had to cope with race and racism-based stress, anxiety, and racial battle fatigue. Racial prejudice is expressed in various forms and intensities, leading to a range of impacts on mental health. According to our study, experiences of avoidance and verbal abuse are primarily tied to increased levels of anxiety, while encountering discrimination in business and social settings is more likely to contribute to depression. Indirect discrimination and stigma consciousness tend to heighten anxiety more than depression. In the United States, individuals who are native-born and female tend to report worse mental health outcomes than those who are foreign-born Asians or males. There is a contrasting relationship with income, where higher earnings are linked to reduced instances of depression but can correlate with greater anxiety. In light of the detrimental effects on mental health, public policies must confront and address racial prejudice and discrimination that individuals from marginalized communities encounter, particularly during times of crisis.