COVID-19 and Psychological Distress: Racial Differences Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Tyrone C Hamler; Ann W Nguyen; Dawne M Mouzon; Harry O Taylor; Weidi Qin; Ryon J Cobb

doi:10.1093/geront/gnac043

COVID-19 and Psychological Distress: Racial Differences Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Gerontologist. 2022 May 26;62(5):780-791. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnac043.

Authors

Tyrone C Hamler¹, Ann W Nguyen², Dawne M Mouzon³, Harry O Taylor⁴, Weidi Qin⁵, Ryon J Cobb⁶

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA.
² Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
³ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
⁴ Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁶ Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.

Abstract

Background and objectives: COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted older adults and Black individuals. Research has focused on physical outcomes, with less attention to the psychological effects of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the interplay between perceptions of the COVID-19 outbreak as a threat to one's day-to-day life, race, and psychological distress among middle-aged and older men and women.

Research design and methods: Analyses were conducted on a subsample of self-identified non-Latino Whites and Black individuals aged 50 and older (N = 3,834) from the American Trends Panel. Psychological distress was assessed with 5 items adapted from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Perceived COVID-19 day-to-day threat was assessed with a single question. Negative binomial regressions tested the study aim.

Results: Perceptions of COVID-19 day-to-day threat were positively associated with psychological distress. Black individuals reported lower distress than Whites. Regardless of gender, greater perceptions of COVID-19 day-to-day threats were associated with greater distress among both White respondents and Black respondents. However, this association was weaker among Black respondents than White respondents. Among men only, the association between COVID-19 day-to-day threat and distress varied by race, patterned similarly to the race differences identified in the total sample. This association did not vary by race among women.

Discussion and implications: This study contributes to the emerging literature focused on older adults and COVID-19 related stressors and psychological distress. An intersectional lens shows how structural oppression may shape perceptions of the pandemic. Future work should consider coexisting intersections in marginalized identities and mental health during COVID-19.

Keywords: Health disparities; Mental health; Race; Resilience; Stress.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America 2022.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Aged
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Psychological Distress*
Race Factors
SARS-CoV-2
United States / epidemiology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding