Latinx LGBTQ Youth, COVID-19, and Psychological Well-Being: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Latinx youth report high rates of negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression. Similarly, research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth have documented increased negative mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the current literature has yet to systematically uncover the intersectional experiences of Latinx LGBTQ youth during this time. METHOD: We conducted a systematic review to uncover the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ youth during the pandemic. Our systematic review resulted in 14 empirical studies that explored the challenges, stressors, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latinx LGBTQ youth. RESULTS: Findings revealed that most studies include cisgender, gender binary, heterosexual, Latinx youth. Findings across studies include: (a) impact from school closures, (b) pandemic stressors, (c) impact from online media, (d) family and Latinx cultural values as a source of support and stress, and (e) the implementation and evaluation of interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic. DISCUSSION: We provide recommendations for clinicians working with Latinx LGBTQ youth including expanding their knowledge about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these communities, considering the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ youth as multifaceted, and considering the role of heterogeneity in the mental health of Latinx LGBTQ Youth.

Immigration status microaggressions: A moderated mediation analysis of cultural stress, fear, internalization, and psychological stress among Latinx and Asian college students.

OBJECTIVES: Latinx and Asian people are experiencing an elevated rate of immigration status-related oppression-both systematically and individually-despite actual nationality, and this type of cultural stressor has seen a rampant increase recently in the United States. We aimed to assess the relation and effect of immigration status microaggressions on psychological stress and some mechanisms connected to these experiences. METHOD: Using a sample of Latinx and Asian college students (N = 776), we unpack the relationships between individual cultural stressors, such as immigration status microaggressions, and psychological stress, by exploring their mediating relation with internalized racism (Mediator 1), and fear of foreign objectification (Mediator 2), using Hayes's (2012) PROCESS Model 6-serial mediation. Furthermore, we expanded on this model, highlighting differences between Latinx and Asian participants (moderator) using a moderated mediation. RESULTS: Findings suggest a full serial mediation. Specifically, the psychological stress associated with immigration status microaggressions was mediated by internalized racism and fear of foreign objectification. Results also highlighted that Latinx participants, compared to Asian ones, showed a significant positive association between immigration status microaggressions with internalized racism and fear of foreign objectification. Furthermore, a significant interaction for Latinx who experience more fear of foreign objectification was positively associated with psychological stress. Indirect effects for each group are discussed. CONCLUSION: Our study is one of the first to explore cultural stress in the form of immigration status microaggressions in connection with more general forms of psychological stress and internalizing processes for two groups historically persecuted around immigration in the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Intersectional microaggressions, depressive symptoms, and the role of LGBTQ-specific parental support in a sample of Latinx sexual and gender minority youth.

INTRODUCTION: Latinx and sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth experience higher incidents of racism, cissexism, and heterosexism in the forms of overt discrimination and microaggressions. These experiences could in part explain increased negative mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms. Evidence points to the possibility that LGBTQ-specific parental support buffers the effects of intersectional microaggressions on depressive symptoms among Latinx SGM youth. METHODS: In a sample of 1292 Latinx SGM youth (ages 13-17), we assessed: a) the association between LGBTQ-specific parental support and depressive symptoms, b) the associations between three forms of intersectional microaggressions and depressive symptoms, and c) whether parental LGBTQ-specific parental support moderated the relationship between three forms of intersectional microaggressions and depressive symptoms. Main effect and moderation analyses examined interactions between LGBTQ-specific parental support with each of the three forms of intersectional microaggressions on depressive symptoms. RESULTS: We found that Latinx transgender youth experienced higher intersectional microaggressions compared to their cisgender counterparts and that Latinx SGM youth who reported lower LGBTQ-specific parental support experienced higher depressive symptoms. We also identified a significant interaction between intersectional microaggressions and LGBTQ-specific parental support, suggesting that parental support was more protective at low rather than high levels of intersectional microaggressions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest a need for future work examining culturally appropriate approaches to foster a supportive parent-child relationship among Latinx SGM youth and their parental figures.

Perceived Everyday Discrimination Explains Internalized Racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Asians.

The current study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived everyday discrimination and internalized racism among Asians compared to Latinxs. Recently, researchers have attempted to tackle institutional and interpersonal racism during this pandemic outbreak, however, few studies have addressed the internalized component of the racism. We launched this survey study during the critical months of the national pandemic lockdown (April 2020 to April 2021) with a sample (N = 360) of 170 Asians and 190 Latinxs college students self-reporting their experiences related to everyday discrimination and internalized racism. Findings indicated that Asians experienced more internalized racism and perceived a change in everyday discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to Latinxs. Furthermore, the perceived everyday discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a mediator for the race effect on internalized racism. That is, Asians perceived a significant change in everyday discrimination frequency during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to Latinxs and this change was related to higher levels of internalized racism. According to our findings, Asians perceived more daily discriminatory and inferiorizing messages, compared to Latinxs, which also explained the reasons for higher levels of internalized racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that Asians might be rationalizing their encounters with discrimination and even believing their communities deserve these daily attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Risk Factors of Problem Gaming and Gambling in US Emerging Adult Non-Students: The Role of Loot Boxes, Microtransactions, and Risk-Taking.

Video gaming and gambling have increasingly converged with one another (e.g., social casino games). For emerging adults (18-25 years old), who are already at an elevated risk for addictive disorders, this overlap in these activities may increase the likelihood of problematic involvement. At the moment, Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is being considered as a future medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the potential comorbidity between IGD and gambling disorder (GD) in emerging adults, as well as explore if problematic engagement in gaming and gambling may be explained by recent trends in video game microtransactions (e.g., loot boxes) and risk-taking behaviors. An online survey was completed by 300 emerging adult non-students (Mage = 22.79, 49% male) from across the United States. The results revealed that compared to non-gamers, problematic gamers were 6.45 times more likely to problem gamble and compared to non-gamblers, problem gamblers were 5.62 times more likely to problem game. Microtransactions were the major mechanism for the relationship between IGD and GD. Participants with higher severity levels of either disorder demonstrated a greater likelihood of purchasing microtransactions, in addition to displaying significantly less aversion towards several domains of risk-taking. These findings suggest that emerging adults with probable IGD or GD may share common risk factors and patterns of behavior that transdiagnostic treatment approaches may better serve than syndrome-specific models.

Ethnic identity and resilience: a moderated mediation analysis of protective factors for self-blame and racial microaggressions.

Introduction: People of Color (PoC) in the United States encounter everyday racial microaggressions, and these commonplace experiences can wear and exhaust PoC's resources. Racial microaggressions have shown detrimental effects on physical and psychological well-being. Consequently, researchers have examined and tested different ways in which PoC cope and protect themselves from these everyday exchanges. Past findings have indicated that PoC might blame themselves for racism-related occurrences to cope with these commonplace discriminatory experiences. Ethnic identity and resilience have emerged in research as protective factors that can moderate and buffer the impact of racism on PoC's well-being. We used a combination of mediation, moderation, and conditional analyses to unpack the relationships between racial microaggression (predictor), psychological distress (outcome), self-blame (mediator), resilience (moderator), and ethnic identity (moderator). Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design and sampled 696 PoC regarding their experiences and responses to racial microaggressions. We tested the association between psychological distress and racial microaggressions and further examined whether self-blame mediated the relationship. We also tested ethnic identity and resilience as moderators and used a conditional analysis to determine whether these protective factors moderated the mediation model. Results: Findings from the mediation, moderation, and conditional analyses supported our four hypotheses: (H1) self-blame mediated the relation between racial microaggressions and psychological distress (mediation), (H2) ethnic identity moderated the association between racial microaggressions and self-blame but only at low and average levels (moderation), (H3) resilience moderated the relation between self-blame and psychological distress but only at low and average levels (moderation), and (H4) evidence of moderated mediation were found for all five variables (conditional). While statistically significant, most moderation effects were minimal to small. Conclusion: PoC may engage in self-blame when experiencing racial microaggressions, which explains why these everyday, commonplace occurrences might lead to psychological distress. There was evidence that ethnic identity and resilience can protect PoC from the negative effects of racial microaggressions. These buffering effects, however, only emerged for PoC endorsing high levels of ethnic identity and resilience, and it should be noted that for most participants, the link between racial microaggressions and psychological distress was still significant. Future studies might need to explore additional individual and interpersonal alongside institutional factors that can protect PoC from racism-related harms.

Assumptions of immigration status: A moderated mediation analysis of racial microaggressions and internalization impacting latinx and asian college students.

Racial oppression in the United States has changed many forms post-2016 elections, including anti-immigrant sentiments towards highly visible immigrant communities, such as Latinx and Asian people. The weaponization of immigration status against Latinx and Asian people in the U.S. has increased drastically post-2016 and equity researchers have responded with scholarship primarily addressing the systemic and macro levels of these oppressive behaviors. Less is known during this period about the shifts of everyday racism-related attacks - such as racial microaggressions. Racial microaggressions are daily stressors that can severely impact the targets' well-being and people of color often engage in coping strategies to disarm and neutralize these stressors. The internalization of these degrading and stereotypical messages is a common coping strategy with people of color adopting these negative images into their self-view. Using a sample (N = 436) collected in the Fall of 2020, we unpack the relationships between immigration status microaggressions, psychological distress, and internalization among Latinx and Asian college students. We compared the frequencies of immigration status microaggressions and psychological distress between Latinx and Asian respondents. We used a conditional (moderated mediation) process model to explore possible significant interactions. Our findings suggested that Latinx, compared to Asian students, significantly reported more experiences of immigration status microaggressions and psychological distress. A mediation analysis showed that internalizing coping strategies partially mediated the relationship between immigration status microaggressions and poor well-being. Finally, a moderated mediation model's results highlighted that being Latinx moderated the positive relationship between immigration status microaggressions and psychological distress through internalization.

Drugs and racial microaggressions: A mediation analysis of racism, mental health, and coping strategies.

INTRODUCTION: Racial microaggressions are daily slights and denigrations perpetrated toward people of color (PoC). These forms of everyday racism are significant stressors for PoC and can insult, invalidate, and assault racial identities. Past findings on discrimination indicate a strong link between engagement in maladaptive behaviors (e.g., substance use and behavioral addictions) and perceived racism. Although the topic of racism is receiving more traction, a dearth of knowledge still persists on racial microaggressions and how these daily interactions can elicit negative coping behaviors, particularly substance use. The current study examined the relationship among microaggressions, substance use, and psychological distress symptoms. Specifically, we aimed to explore if PoC cope with racial microaggressions by using substances. METHODS: We surveyed 557 PoC within the United States using an online platform. Participants answered questions related to their experiences with racial microaggressions, drug and alcohol use as coping strategies for discrimination, and self-reported mental health. Experiences with racial microaggressions was the main predictor variable and the drug and alcohol use as coping strategy was the main outcome variable. The study tested psychological distress as the main mediator for the relationship between racial microaggressions and drug and alcohol use. RESULTS: Findings indicated that microaggressions were a significant predictor of psychological distress symptoms, B = 0.272, SE = 0.046, p < .001, and psychological distress was a significant predictor of coping strategies that involved substance and alcohol use, B = 0.102, SE = 0.021, p < .001. Racial microaggressions were no longer a significant predictor of coping strategies that involved substance and alcohol use after controlling for psychological distress, B = 0.027, SE = 0.024, p = .260. In an exploratory approach, our model was further explained by assessing alcohol refusal self-efficacy, which results suggest be a second mediator in the relation between racial microaggressions and substance use. CONCLUSION: Overall, results suggest that racial discrimination exposes PoC to higher risks for both poorer mental health and the misuse of substances and alcohol. Practitioners treating PoC with substance abuse disorders might also need to assess the psychological impact of experiences with racial microaggressions.

Critical action to redress systemic oppression: a person-centered approach.

Introduction: In 2020, public outcry against police brutality prompted many social media users to post black squares and use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter (BLM). Many of the people who posted these squares were engaging in performative action in the sense that they failed to engage with BLM's history and core principles. Drawing from a critical action framework, the current research seeks to more deeply understand what drives people to engage in more versus less impactful forms of action to resist systemic oppression. Methods: We employed a mixed-methods and person-centered methodological approach with the goal of providing nuanced information about factors that distinguish among individuals who engage in different forms of action. Participants were 359 undergraduates who reported that they engaged in some form of action to support BLM. Findings: Latent profile analysis identified three subgroups (i.e., latent classes) in the larger sample, which we labeled (1) intentional action, (2) intermediate action, and (3) passive action. Participants in each latent class differed from one another in their sociopolitical attitudes, sociodemographic background, and level of action to support BLM. Through the qualitative coding process, the research team unearthed three overarching themes and a range of subthemes that help to explain why the members of each class engaged in different forms of action. Discussion: We conclude by proposing a flexible intervention that may motivate individuals to engage in critical action to support BLM.

A decolonial and liberation lens to social justice research: Upholding promises for diverse, inclusive, and equitable psychological science.

In the face of harmful disparities and inequities, it is crucial for researchers to critically reflect on methodologies and research practices that can dismantle systems of oppression, accommodate pluralistic realities, and facilitate opportunities for all communities to thrive. Historically, knowledge production for the sciences has followed a colonial and colonizing approach that continues to silence and decontextualize the lived experiences of people of color. This article acknowledges the harm to people of color communities in the name of research and draws from decolonial and liberation frameworks to advance research practices and psychological science toward equity and social justice. In this article, we propose a lens rooted in decolonial and liberatory principles that researchers can use to rethink and guide their scientific endeavors and collaborations toward more ethical, equitable, inclusive, respectful, and pluralistic research practices. The proposed lens draws on literature from community psychology and our lessons learned from field studies with historically marginalized Latinx communities to highlight six interrelated tensions that are important to address in psychological research from a decolonizing and liberatory lens. These interrelated tensions involve conflicting issues of (a) power, (b) competence, (c) practices and theories, (d) rationale, (e) approach, and (f) trust. In addition, seven practical recommendations and examples for decolonial and liberatory research practices are outlined. The recommendations can assist researchers in identifying ways to ameliorate and address the interrelated tensions to give way to decolonial and liberatory research practices. Community and social justice scientists have the responsibility to decommission oppressive research practices and engage in decolonization and liberation toward a valid, ethical, equitable, and inclusive psychological science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The slow violence of racism on Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Racism against people of Asian descent increased by over 300% after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the United States, with one in five Asian Americans reporting direct experiences with overt discrimination. Large-scale efforts and resources initially, and quite understandably, prioritized investigating the physiological impact of the coronavirus, which has partially delayed research studies targeting the psychological effects of the pandemic. Currently, two studies tracked the unique relationships between psychosocial factors, such as experiencing everyday racism, and the self-reported wellbeing of Asian Americans in the United States and compared these associations with Latinx Americans. Study 1 (April 2020-April 2021) examined how Asian and Latinx Americans varied in their levels of wellbeing, fear of the coronavirus, internalized racism, and everyday experiences with racism. Study 2 (September 2021-April 2022) included the same variables with additional assessments for victimization distress. We used the CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline to pair collected data from our studies with specific moments in the pandemic-from its known origins to springtime 2022. Results highlighted how slow and deleterious forms of racist violence could wear and tear at the wellbeing of targeted people of color. Overall, this research underscores the possible hidden harms associated with slow-moving forms of racism, as well as some of the unseen stressors experienced by people of color living in the United States.