(WITHDRAWN) Psychological Impact of Increasing Hate Crimes Against Asians and Perceptions of Activism during COVID-19

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how Asian hate crimes impact Korean American’s psychological well-being and their perception of social action against racism. The coronavirus disease has severely affected the physical health and psychological well-being of people globally. In addition to the health crisis, Asian Americans have experienced more risk and challenges during the pandemic due to the explosion of anti-Asian hate crime incidents. Hate incidents against Asian Americans have been reported at a total of 10,905 between March 2020 and December 2021 (Stop AAPI Hate, 2022). Rising anti-Asian hate crimes negatively influence Asian immigrant communities and increase psychological distress. Asian Americans have been scapegoated with political rhetoric and misguidance via mass media, which increased verbal abuse and physical attacks against Asian Americans. Asian Americans older adults are more likely to be victimized by hate crimes. However, they are less likely to report a hate crime due to language barriers and lack of resources. Violence against older Asian Americans increases fear and anxiety not only for individuals directly affected but for entire Asian communities. In this regard, understanding older Asian Americans’ perception of hate crimes against Asians and their attitudes about social advocacy can help guide support and services for this population.

Methods: A qualitative approach was applied to study Korean Americans’ perceptions of Asian hate crimes, the causes of rising numbers of hate crimes, and their attitudes about social action addressing these problems. A total of 23 participants who are first-generation Korean immigrants and aged 50 or older were interviewed using semi-structured interview guides. NVivo12 was utilized to organize the data, and thematic analysis was used to identify themes and sub-themes.

Results: The findings showed that Korean Americans believed that violence and racial discrimination against Asians have increased since COVID-19 due to politician rhetoric, lack of education about diversity, deep rooted racism, and the blame on Asian Americans for the spread of COVID-19. Rising anti-Asian hate crimes have restricted Korean American’s daily activities by increasing fear and retraumatizing them from negative experiences during the Los Angeles Riots. As a result of increasing hate crimes, Korean Americans felt like perpetual foreigners in American society, which increased mistrust. The results also demonstrated that Korean Americans believe that social action is necessary to change society, but they still hold passive attitudes on social action and have a lack of resources. They believed leaders and other powerful figures in the community rather than individuals should address social problems.

Conclusion: Rising anti-Asian hate crimes impact the psychological well-being of Korean Americans while they are hesitant to voice out and advocate for social issues. The findings give insight into this ethnic group's attitudes on anti-Asian hate crime and promote increased advocacy efforts supporting this population.