Discrimination Experiences among Asian American and Pacific Islander Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Association with Mental Health Outcomes: Updated Findings from the COMPASS Study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Reports of escalated discrimination experiences among Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) continue. METHODS: Using the original and follow-up surveys of the COVID-19 Effects on the Mental and Physical Health of AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) Survey Study (COMPASS I and COMPASS II) (n = 3177), we examined changes over approximately a 1-year period in discrimination experiences attributable to being AAPI and factors associated with worse mental health outcomes. RESULTS: Experiences of discrimination remained high in COMPASS II with 60.6% (of participants (compared to 60.2% among the same people in COMPASS I) reporting one or more discrimination experiences, and 28.6% reporting worse mental health outcomes. Experiences of discrimination were associated with modest but significant increase in the odds of worse mental health adjusted OR 1.02 (95% CI 1.01-1.04). Being younger, being of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or Hmong descent (relative to Asian Indian), and having spent 50% or less of their lifetime in the US (vs. US born), were significantly associated with worse mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The fall-out from the pandemic continues to adversely impact AANHPI communities. These findings may help influence policy initiatives to mitigate its effects and support interventions designed to improve mental health outcomes.