Psychological Outcomes and Culturally Relevant Moderators Associated With Events of Discrimination Among Asian American Adults

Objectives: Incidents of discrimination against Asian Americans have increased in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aims of this study are to (a) examine the overall psychological impact of incidents of discrimination on Asian Americans adults, (b) identify whether East Asians experience worse psychological outcomes following experiences of discrimination compared to other Asian Americans, and (c) identify culturally relevant factors that moderate the relationship between incidents of discrimination and psychological outcomes. Method: Two hundred eighty-nine participants who identified racially as Asian American (M-age = 33.1 years, +/- 10.5 SD, 57.1% male, and 54.3% East Asian) completed an online survey including measures of demographics, psychological outcomes, culturally relevant factors (e.g., acculturative stress, collective self-esteem), and racial discrimination. Results: We found that, overall, experiencing increased frequency of discrimination related to more depressive symptoms and alcohol use (ps < .05). When comparing Asian subgroups (East Asian vs. other Asian), there were no significantly different relationships between discrimination frequency and attribution to race on psychological outcomes (ps > .098). Collective self-esteem (p = .041) weakened, while acculturative stress strengthened (p < .001) the relationship between discrimination frequency and alcohol use; collective self-esteem weakened the relationship between attribution to race and social anxiety (p = .021); and internalized racism weakened the relationship between discrimination frequency and depression (p = .038). Conclusions: We identified moderators of the relationship between experiences of discrimination and psychological outcomes in Asian Americans. Because the moderators held for all Asian groups under study, they are strong candidates for points of intervention to mitigate the harmful effects of discrimination for Asian Americans. Public Significance Statement It is more important than ever to understand how rising rates of racism and discrimination affect the mental health of Asian American adults, and what factors may be targeted to better support this community. We found that increased discrimination is linked to worse psychological outcomes, and this relationship is consistent across both East Asian and other Asian subgroups. We highlight collective self-esteem and acculturative stress as promising culturally relevant factors to mitigate the impact of discrimination.