Session: Anti-Asian Racism, COVID-19, and the Mounting Mental Health Impact on Asian American Young Adults (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, racism against Asian Americans has surged, resulting in many being ostracized, shunned, and living in fear of their safety despite this country being the only home they know. The compounding effects of racism, xenophobia and the stress of life in a pandemic on the mental health conditions of Asian Americans is far reaching and lasting. Despite this, Asian Americans continue to face the 'model minority' stereotype, that results in a misconception that they experience less mental health problems than other ethnic minorities. Evidence indicates that Asian Americans continue to experience high rates of psychopathology, with internalizing problems such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and suicide appearing to be of particular concern. Yet, compared to other races, Asian Americans continue to underutilize mental health services due to barriers related to access, culturally specific beliefs about mental health, stigma and discrimination, highlighting the need to address the racial inequity in mental health. This symposium addresses how aversive sociopolitical climate contributes to the mental health disparity among Asian Americans. Using data prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the papers in this symposium underscore the structural racism that continue to impact the mental health of Asian Americans. The first paper examines the longitudinal effects of racial discrimination on the mental health outcomes of Korean American and Filipino American youth, and how individual dispositional characteristics may moderate the effects. The second paper examines survey data to determine the impact of racism during the pandemic on the mental health outcomes among Asian American young adults, and further, how their positionality may impact this association. The third paper utilizes the semi-structured interview methodology to understand the experience of Chinese American young adult during the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in racism against Asian Americans. The final paper examines the impact of COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination among a racially diverse sample via the analyses of open-ended qualitative free-text responses from the COVID-19 Adult Resilience Experiences Study (CARES) study.