Colloquium in Mar. 2022
Kim, Harris Hyun-Soo (Professor, Dept. of Sociology at Ewha Womans Univ., South Korea) and Yool Choi (Professor, Dept. of Sociology at Chung-Ang Univ., South Korea)
This study examines the role of environmental contexts in mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. By using multilevel models, the study analyzes the pooled cross-sectional data of the US Census Household Pulse Survey, which was collected from 1.5 million and over Americans during 21 weeks from April to November in 2020.
According to the analysis, the study finds that during the pandemic whites are more depressed than ethnic minorities, and that this positive relationship between being White and depression is ameliorated by a higher level of household income, and exacerbated by job/food insecurity. At the regional level, the association is decreased in regions with a higher level of social capital, and increased in regions with a higher level of corona-virus infection, ethnic diversity, and geographic mobility.
As the first research to analyze interactions between race and environmental contexts in relation to mental health during the pandemic, this study suggests the concept of ‘resilience’ as a critical social determinant of health.
♣ Please let us apologize for not uploading the photos for this virtual colloquium.
