Effects of COVID-19, Discrimination, and Social Support on Latinx Adult Mental Health

Background and Purpose. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to rising rates of mental health issues in the United States. Latinx adults in particular face greater risks of exposure to COVID-19 and are the target of discrimination and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies (Gonzalez-Barrera & Lopez, 2020; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2021). Each of these factors may influence or exacerbate mental health issues faced by the Latinx community. In the following study we investigate 1) the impacts of COVID-19 exposure and discrimination on mental health outcomes for Latinx adults in the Southeast, and 2) the indirect effect of social support on the relationship between discrimination and mental health outcomes.

Methods. Survey data were collected from 314 Latinx adults in the southeastern US. Guided by a risk and protective framework, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a measurement and structural model using R statistical software. Using a two-step procedure (Kline, 2016), we first tested a measurement model to establish that the latent variables were well explained by the indicators. Next, we estimated a structural model for hypothesized direct and indirect relationships between COVID-19 exposure, discrimination, and social support with the outcome variables depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The indirect effects were tested by inspecting the 95% confidence interval of 1,000 bootstrapped resamples of the product of coefficients to ensure the confidence intervals do not include zero, and therefore the effect is considered statistically significant (Preacher & Hayes, 2008).

Results. Just over half (54%) of the sample was female, 47.3% were immigrants, and the mean age was 29.3 (SD = 13.2). For SEM, after establishing the measurement model, we estimated the structural relationships between the observed and latent variables. The structural model achieved acceptable fit, model fit statistics included: χ2(658) = 1057.799, p < .01, CFI= .92, TLI = 0.91, RMSEA=0.05, SRMR= 0.05, and allowed for the testing of our hypotheses. Higher exposure to COVID-19 and experiencing more discrimination each positively and significantly correlated with depression and PTSD. Social support was significantly and inversely related to each outcome and had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between discrimination with depression (β = .115, p<.01, [CI 95%: 0.063, 0.259]) and trauma symptoms (β = .104, p <.01, [CI 95%: 0.040, 0.249]).

Conclusions & Implications. Results reflect prior research (Araújo & Borrell, 2016; McCormack, 2020) and further the knowledge base with a sample of Latinx adults in the Southeastern US. Exposure to COVID-19 and experiences of discrimination each predicted higher risk of depression and trauma symptoms. Providers can better serve Latinx adults by understanding these relationships and assessing for each risk factor in practice settings. Treatment approaches that strengthen social support as a protective factor can serve a valuable role for mental health outcomes. Future research should explore COVID-19 exposure and discrimination, as well as additional protective factors, within individual states and unique local contexts.