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

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Hao Li¹  Hong Le¹  Guoqing Ma¹  Lijun Zhuo¹  Ling Zheng¹  Qian Wu¹  Hongbing Tao¹ 

[1] School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China;

关键词: discrimination;    internalized stigma;    shame;    mental health;    college students;    COVID-19;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph17249237

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown