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Principal Investigator: CINDY H LIU
Organization: BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $859,895
Funding agency: National Institute of Mental Health
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The United States does not have sufficient science to mount an evidence-based response to combat the health
detriments of present-day anti-Asian American (AA) hate. AA parents and children are struggling with a deeply
troubling new sociopolitical context, a context with unprecedented levels of anti-Asian hate and violence fueled
by references to COVID-19 as the “China virus.” Physical assaults against AAs skyrocketed by 145% in 2020
and have spiked to 164% in the first quarter of 2021. Among AA youth, 80% report being bullied or verbally
harassed and 24% reported being shunned. Our evidence base for how racism impacts AA mental health
under “normal” circumstances is insufficient and woefully inadequate. This R01 fills a critical gap in the science
of how discrimination affects AA adolescent mental health, how adolescents respond to racial discrimination,
and the agents involved in racial socialization processes involving AA adolescents. There are no longitudinal
studies that investigate the effects of racial discrimination on AA adolescent mental health while also
incorporating novel observational methods to determine how parents, peers, and social media are racial
socializing AA adolescents. This project will follow 350 Chinese American adolescents (12-15 years), their
Chinese heritage parent, and a peer to investigate the effects of discrimination experiences, discrimination
responses, and racial socialization processes on adolescent mental health (depression, anxiety, suicidality)
and on chronic stress (hair cortisol) over three timepoints. The long-term objective is to develop a biomedical
evidence base focused on how parents, peers and social media can be leveraged to mitigate the negative
health consequences of discrimination. Our multi-method approach (observation, survey, interview, biomarker)
investigates the following aims: Aim 1. To assess how racial discrimination is associated with Chinese
American adolescent (a) mental health (depression, anxiety, suicidality) and (b) biomarkers of chronic stress
(hair cortisol) over three years. Aim 2. To determine how adolescent characteristics (internalization of the
model minority myth, ethnic identity) moderate the association between discrimination and mental
health/chronic stress. Aim 3. To (a) understand how parent characteristics (racial socialization, mental health,
ethnic identity), moderate the association between adolescent discrimination and adolescent mental
health/chronic stress (hair cortisol). We also consider “upwards socialization”; how adolescents are active
agents in their own socialization and the socialization of those around them. Discrimination during adolescence
has especially pernicious effects on concurrent and downstream adult health and understanding AA
adolescent discrimination will help identify those at risk for problematic mental health. This study will inform
urgently needed individual-, family- and peer-based interventions to address mental health for AA adolescents
who are facing unprecedented risks to mental health at this time.
Terms: <0-11 years old><12-20 years old><21+ years old><Address><Adolescence><Adolescent><Adolescent Development><Adolescent Youth><Adult><Adult Human><Aeroseb-HC><Affect><American><Anxiety><Asian Americans><Attitude><Behavior><Belief><Biological><Biological Markers><COVID-19><COVID-19 affected><COVID-19 consequence><COVID-19 effect><COVID-19 impact><COVID-19 impacted><CV-19><Cetacort><Characteristics><Child><Child Youth><Children (0-21)><China><Chinese><Chinese American><Chronic stress><Climate><Clinical><Cognitive Discrimination><Communities><Conscious><Consciousness><Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019><Cort-Dome><Cortef><Cortenema><Cortisol><Cortispray><Cortril><Dermacort><Development><Discrimination><Eldecort><Emotional><Emotional Depression><Emotional well being><Event><Exposure to><Family><Feeling suicidal><Feels well><Goals><Hair><Hate><Health><History><Hydrocortisone><Hydrocortone><Hytone><Individual><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Interview><Investigators><Knowledge><Learning><Longitudinal Studies><Mainland China><Measures><Mediating><Mental Depression><Mental Health><Mental Hygiene><Mental health promotion><Meteorological Climate><Methods><Minority><Modeling><Modernization><Non-Hispanic><Nonhispanic><Normal mental condition><Normal mental state><Normal psyche><Not Hispanic or Latino><Nutracort><Observation research><Observation study><Observational Study><Observational research><Outcome><Parents><Politics><Process><Proctocort><Psychological Health><Psychological Well Being><Public Health><Race><Races><Racial Group><Recording of previous events><Reporting><Research><Research Personnel><Researchers><Risk><Science><Sense of well-being><Single major depression><Single major depressive episode><Socialization><Source><Suicidal thoughts><Survey Instrument><Surveys><Symptoms><Testing><Time><Translations><United States><Violence><Virus><Well in self><Work><Youth><Youth 10-21><adolescence (12-20)><adolescent mental health><adulthood><aged><anti-Asian><anxiety symptoms><anxious symptom><bio-markers><biologic><biologic marker><biomarker><bully><bullying><climatic><combat><coronavirus disease 2019><coronavirus disease 2019 consequence><coronavirus disease 2019 effect><coronavirus disease 2019 impact><coronavirus disease-19><coronavirus disease-19 impact><coronavirus infectious disease-19><depression><depression symptom><depressive><depressive symptoms><developmental><discrimination based on race><discrimination due to race><emotional wellbeing><emotional wellness><ethnic identity><evidence base><experience><experienced discrimination><flu><harassment><histories><innovate><innovation><innovative><interventional strategy><juvenile><juvenile human><kids><long-term study><longitudinal outcome studies><longterm study><major depressive episode><media consumption><media use><member><mental well-being><mental wellbeing><mental wellness><novel><parent><parent role><parental role><peer><perceived discrimination><perception of discrimination><physical assault><physical attack><psychological distress><psychological wellbeing><psychological wellness><public health relevance><race bias><race discrimination><race-based discrimination><race-related discrimination><racial><racial background><racial bias><racial discrimination><racial origin><racial population><racial subgroup><racism><response><self wellness><self-reported discrimination><sense of wellbeing><single episode Major Depression><single episode major depressive disorder><social media><suicidal><suicidal ideation><suicidal thinking><suicidality><suicide ideation><theories><thoughts about suicide><translation><verbal><violent><violent behavior><virtual><youngster>