The Mediating Role of Internalized Stigma and Shame on the Relationship between COVID-19 Related Discrimination and Mental Health Outcomes among Back-to-School Students in Wuhan

Hao Li, Ling Zheng, Hong Le, Lijun Zhuo, Qian Wu, Guoqing Ma and Hongbing Tao
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Hao Li: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Ling Zheng: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Hong Le: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Lijun Zhuo: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Qian Wu: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Guoqing Ma: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Hongbing Tao: School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: Outbreaks of an epidemic, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), always brings about far-ranging discrimination and stigmatization to the epicenter. This was a cross-sectional survey conducted to assess experienced discrimination, internalized stigma, shame, and mental health (anxiety, depression, distress, insomnia) among college students who merely had a perceived linkage with COVID-19, and explore the linkage between discrimination and negative mental health outcomes through the mediating effects of shame and internalized stigma. A total of 995 participants (53% female) were involved in this study, in which 40.9% of college students were reported to be discriminated against because of their experience in Wuhan. The experience of COVID-19-related discrimination is indirectly associated with anxiety, depression, and insomnia, in which shame and internalized stigma play a complete mediating effect. Meanwhile, it is both directly and indirectly associated with distress through shame and internalized stigma. The findings of this study suggest that COVID-19-related discrimination is associated with shame and internalized stigma, which in turn predict psychological symptoms over time.

Keywords: discrimination; internalized stigma; shame; mental health; college students; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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