Mental Well-Being of Chinese Immigrants in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey Investigating Personal and Societal Antecedents

Xin Ming and Menno D. T. De Jong
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Xin Ming: ELAN, Department of Teacher Development, Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
Menno D. T. De Jong: Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Behavioral, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted people’s lives worldwide, with negative consequences for mental health and well-being. Antecedents of mental health and well-being in times of COVID-19 have been underresearched, especially among minority groups. Therefore, an online survey was conducted investigating the personal and societal antecedents of mental well-being among Chinese immigrants in the Netherlands (N = 268). Constructs included perceived decrease of mental well-being and attitude toward the Netherlands as dependent variables and a range of potential antecedents as independent variables. Results show that participants judged the Chinese COVID-19 situation significantly more positively than the Dutch situation. Five antecedents of decreased mental well-being were found: financial concerns, social isolation, feelings of lost time, experienced racism, and distrust of Dutch COVID-19 information and figures. The antecedents of participants’ attitude toward the Netherlands were largely different: missing China, perceived difficulty of traveling to China, distrust of Dutch government measures, trust in Chinese government measures, and distrust of Dutch COVID-19 information and figures. Fear of the virus itself did not significantly affect either of the dependent variables. The results call for a broad perspective on factors associated with mental well-being and for special attention for minority groups in the societal dynamics.

Keywords: COVID-19; immigrants; mental well-being; pandemic; racism; trust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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