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A scoping review of mental health and discrimination of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic

Nature Mental Health volume 2, pages 244–253 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated anti-Asian discrimination in the United States. Here we reviewed 59 empirical studies published between January 2020 and March 2023 that examined COVID-19-related racism and mental health outcomes on US Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Studies used different discrimination measures and were mostly cross-sectional, limiting comparability and assessment of long-term impact. Few studies (10%) examined the impact of discrimination on children. We also engaged 27 stakeholders (researchers, service providers, educators and advocates) to contextualize the findings and recommend next steps. Stakeholders acknowledge that increased media attention has led to a recognition of anti-Asian discrimination, but society continues to dismiss its effects. Thus, calls are made for more funding to thoroughly assess Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders’ experiences of discrimination. Additionally, stakeholders urged service providers to practice cultural humility and educators to promote a safer school climate that acknowledges the disservice of the view that Asians are a model minority.

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Fig. 1: PRISMA flowchart of included studies.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

Support for this manuscript was provided through Mary A. Tynan Faculty Fellowship (to C.H.L.), the Family Health and Resiliency Fund (to C.H.L.), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 1R01 MH129360-01 (to C.H.L.) and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 1R21 HD107512-01A1 (to C.H.L.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection, preparation of the manuscript or the decision to publish.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Abdelrahman Ibrahim, Sylvia H. M. Wong.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Abdelrahman Ibrahim, Andrew R. Chang, Jessica J. Wang, Sherry Yang & Cindy H. Liu

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Abdelrahman Ibrahim & Cindy H. Liu

  3. Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Sylvia H. M. Wong

  4. Department of Family Science and Human Development, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA

    Sei Eun Kim

  5. School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Ga Tin Finneas Wong

  6. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Anjeli R. Macaranas

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Ritika Rastogi & Cindy H. Liu

  8. Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Alice Hibara

  9. Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

    Piper Larkin

  10. Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Justin A. Chen

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A.I., S.H.M.W., S.E.K., G.T.F.W., A.R.M., R.R., A.R.C., J.J.W., A.H., P.L. and S.Y. were involved in the study selection, screening and data extraction processes. A.I., S.H.M.W., S.E.K., A.R.M. and R.R. contributed to the write-up of the manuscript. C.H.L. made extensive revisions to the manuscript. C.H.L. and J.A.C. supervised the entire process and provided resources for this work.

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Correspondence to Cindy H. Liu.

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Ibrahim, A., Wong, S.H.M., Kim, S.E. et al. A scoping review of mental health and discrimination of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nat. Mental Health 2, 244–253 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00177-y

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