Financial Wellbeing and Mental Health Among Latinas and Latinos during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background & Purpose:

Latina/os in the US have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 173,000 dying from COVID-19 (CDC, 2024). Examining the relationship between the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is an important and understudied aspect of COVID-19 research, particularly among Latina/os. This study helps to fill the gap in the literature by examining the relationship between the negative financial impacts people experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, among self-identified Latinas and Latinos.

Methods:

Data for this study were drawn from a sample of collected in the fall of 2020 of 1,015 adult Latinos (857 (84.4%) self-identified women, and 158 (15.6%) self-identified men) living in the US during the pandemic. Participants were recruited through social media postings in Latino and immigrant rights organizations, as well as outreach to social service agencies.

Financial Impact was a 5-item scale (α = .84) regarding negative financial impacts of COVID-19 such as losing a job or having hours reduced, among others. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress were measured using the DASS-21 (Daza, Novy, Stanley, & Averill, 2002). Depression was a 7-item subscale (α=.91). Anxiety was a 7-item subscale (α=.86). Stress was a 7-item subscale (α=.94.)

Six multivariate OLS linear regression models examined the relationship between financial impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among Latinos in the US (controlling for age, SES, level of education, US citizenship status, and years in the US). The data were analyzed separately for self-identified women and men.

Results:

The results indicated that Latinas who reported a greater negative financial impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic were also significantly more likely to report increased symptoms of 1) Anxiety (B= .779, CI (95%) .152, 1.405, p< .01), and 2) Stress (B= .942, CI (95%) .151, 1.734, p< .05). The results also indicated there were no significant relationships between Latinos who reported a greater financial impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic and symptoms of depression, anxiety, or stress.

Conclusions and Implications:

The results of this study indicated that Latinas who experienced greater negative financial impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported greater symptoms of anxiety and stress. On the other hand, there were no significant relationships between Latino men who felt greater negative financial impacts a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. This may indicate disparate impacts the COVID-19 pandemic had on mental health symptoms by gender among Latina/os. While further research is needed, Latinas may have experienced greater symptoms of anxiety and stress due to their central role in the family and traditional Latino cultural expectations of managing the household, as well as the additional burdens placed on Latinas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the worst of the pandemic appears to be over, social workers must continue to examine the long-term mental health impacts of COVID-19 on Latina/os in the US.