Race and Ethnic Group Disparities in Emotional Distress Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bui, Cindy N; Peng, Changmin; Mutchler, Jan E; Burr, Jeffrey A

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Framed within Conservation of Resources theory, this study addressed race-ethnic differences in the relationships between emotional distress and current and expected Coronavirus Disease - 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic stressors. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study employed data from the Household Pulse Survey, a large national survey collecting weekly data to understand the experiences of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic (age 55 and above; N=94,550). Emotional distress included depression and anxiety symptoms. COVID-19 stressors included current and expected income, housing, healthcare, and food insecurities. RESULTS: Older persons of color reported higher rates of stressors and emotional distress than their White counterparts. In relation to current stressors, older Black persons responded with less emotional distress and older Latino persons responded with more emotional distress than older White persons. In addition, older persons of color were more likely to expect future resource losses related to COVID-19, and the association between these expectations and emotional distress varied by race-ethnic group. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings reflected the disproportionate negative impact of COVID-19 stressors on emotional distress among older persons of color, providing a baseline for future studies to further examine the impacts of the pandemic among diverse older adult populations.