Latinx Immigrants’ Health Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining the Effects of Discrimination,Social Support,and Social Change Agency

Abstract

Latinx immigrants’ health was more likely to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus than U.S.-born individuals. The current study tested a path model based on critical consciousness theory explaining the role of social change agency in the link between discrimination and social support, the impact of the virus, and positive health changes. A sample of 536 Latinx immigrants in the United States were recruited for this study via national immigration policy advocacy networks. Three research questions and nine hypotheses were probed using path analysis, assessing model fit, and estimating indirect effects by bootstrapping. Global fit indices demonstrated that the model was a good fit with the data. Results from path analysis supported six of seven structural links in the path. Specifically, discrimination and social support were negatively linked in a bidirectional way. Discrimination was associated with lower social change agency, while social support was linked to greater agency. Social agency was linked to lower infection history, while discrimination was linked to greater infection history. Positive health changes were predicted by social support. Finally, results from indirect effects supported the mediating role of social change agency in the links between discrimination, social support, and infection history. These results may inform the development of health prevention interventions to mitigate further health disparities, for education and training of health psychologists, and for policies concerned with immigrants’ recovery from the aftermath of the pandemic.