Kalungkutan: The Mediating Role of Loneliness and the Moderating Role of Nativity Status in the Relationship between Discrimination and Psychological Distress Among Pilipino American Workers

Background and Purpose: Racial discrimination against Asian Americans rose during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pilipino Americans (PAs) – who are overrepresented in essential industries including healthcare, childcare, and food services – faced elevated risk of exposure to violence while working outside the home. In response, many individuals avoided public spaces and became more vigilant and socially isolated. The purpose of the study is to examine the mediating role of loneliness on relationships between racial discrimination (COVID-19 and everyday) and psychological distress. Additionally, we explored whether these associations were further moderated by nativity status.

Methods: Survey data was collected from a sample of PA workers in California (n=378). Independent variables were Pandemic Asian Discrimination (COVID-19 racial discrimination) and Everyday Discrimination (Liu et al., 2020; Williams et al., 1997). The dependent variable assessed anxiety and depression symptoms (PHQ-4). We used the Three-Item Loneliness scale to assess loneliness as a mediator and nativity (immigrant) status as the moderator (0= Foreign-Born, 1=US-Born). Analyses controlled for age and gender. Ordinary least square (OLS) mediation and second-stage moderated-mediation analyses were performed using SPSS 29 and PROCESS macro v4.3.1. Two mediation models were tested to analyze separately relationships between independent variables: 1) COVID-19 racial discrimination and 2) everyday discrimination on psychological distress, through loneliness. With COVID-19 racial discrimination and everyday discrimination as focal predictors, two second-stage moderated mediation analyses were performed to examine the moderating effect of nativity on the association between loneliness and psychological distress.

Results: Descriptive results indicated a mean PHQ-4 score of 7.58 (SD = 3.27), suggesting moderate psychological distress. Bivariate correlations indicated significant associations between COVID-19 discrimination and psychological distress (r = .32, p < .001), everyday discrimination and psychological distress (r = .41, p < .001), and loneliness and psychological distress (r = .59, p < .001), respectively. Mediation analyses demonstrated that loneliness mediated the association between COVID-19 discrimination and psychological distress (indirect effect = 0.23, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.13–0.34); and everyday discrimination and psychological distress (indirect effect = 0.07, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.047–0.095). In both second-stage moderated mediation models, the path from social isolation to psychological distress was moderated by nativity status. In both models, a greater effect of loneliness on psychological distress was observed among US-born PAs.

Conclusion: Findings indicate that Pilipino American (PA) essential workers may be vulnerable to experiences of racial discrimination and loneliness, which contributes to psychological distress. In particular, the association between loneliness and psychological distress is potentially stronger for US-born PAs. PAs continue to be overrepresented in essential industries where they are exposed to workplace exploitation, safety hazards, and discrimination. Findings enable researchers, mental health providers, and social service administrators to design culturally responsive interventions for PA essential workers who contend with racial discrimination in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.