Abstract
Asian Americans have experienced compounding stressors during the pandemic as a result of racial discrimination. We aim of to investigate the prevalence of depression symptoms among Asian Americans before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine differences based on socio-demographic factors. Data are from a cross-sectional study (N = 636) among Chinese and South Asian adults in Chicago collected between February and May 2020. One cohort of participants were surveyed from each ethnic group before the pandemic and a second cohort of participants were surveyed during the pandemic. Depression symptoms increased more than two-fold, from 9% pre-pandemic to 21% during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found an increase in depression symptoms during the pandemic for South Asians, men and adults older than 30 years. These findings call for public health education that effectively addresses anti-Asian harassment and violence and ensure that culturally competent mental health services are provided to Asian Americans from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 909-917 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2022 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Epidemiology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health