The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Well-being of Asians and Asian Americans

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Asians and Asian Americans (A/AA), leading to various stressors and challenges. This dissertation comprises three studies aimed at understanding psychological resilience among A/AA during the pandemic. The first study, a scoping review, examined the conceptualization and operationalization of psychological resilience and its associated protective factors and mechanisms among A/AA. Findings revealed diverse conceptualizations, with personal growth being understudied compared to the absence of psychopathology and stable functioning. Protective factors and mechanisms included personal traits, ethnic identity, social support, and coping mechanisms. The second study investigated the association between COVID-19-related stressors and stress-related growth, and how this relationship varies by age, gender, and ethnicity. Using data from the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander COVID-19 Needs Assessment Study (N=3120), multiple weighted linear regressions were conducted. Results showed that perceived systemic racism was associated with stress-related growth in some models. Gender and ethnicity moderated the associations between social stressor burdens, material stressors, and stress-related growth, emphasizing the importance of considering intersectionality within A/AA. The third study examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between social stressor burdens and stress-related growth among Asian and Asian American women (N=1894). Weighted linear regressions and mediation analyses using the Preacher and Hayes method revealed that both receiving and providing social support were associated with stress-related growth. Notably, providing social support partially mediated the relationship between social stressor burdens and stress-related growth, highlighting the importance of considering the direction of social support in understanding stress-related growth processes among Asian and Asian American women.