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The Mental Health Toll of COVID-19: Discrimination, Loneliness, and Coping Behaviors among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

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  • Soyoung Kwon

    (The University of Texas at Dallas)

  • Shannon Shen

    (Hope College)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified discrimination and xenophobia, disproportionately impacting Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI). While discrimination is a known risk factor for mental health challenges, few studies have examined the relationships between COVID-19-related discrimination, loneliness, and coping strategies on AAPI mental health. Using longitudinal data from the Understanding America Study (June 2020–July 2021) and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) models, this study investigated how loneliness and coping mechanisms shape the relationship between discrimination and mental distress, measured by the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4), in a sample of 7,592 observations from AAPI. Findings revealed that heightened experiences of discrimination and loneliness significantly increased mental distress (bdiscrimination= 0.04, p

Suggested Citation

  • Soyoung Kwon & Shannon Shen, 2025. "The Mental Health Toll of COVID-19: Discrimination, Loneliness, and Coping Behaviors among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 1101-1118, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:179:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-025-03655-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-025-03655-1
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