Perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization in Chinese immigrant families before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: An exploratory natural experiment

Yiran Yang; Rosanneke A G Emmen; Daudi van Veen; Judi Mesman

doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.09.001

Perceived discrimination, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization in Chinese immigrant families before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: An exploratory natural experiment

Int J Intercult Relat. 2022 Nov:91:27-37. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.09.001. Epub 2022 Sep 10.

Authors

Yiran Yang¹, Rosanneke A G Emmen^{1

2}, Daudi van Veen¹, Judi Mesman^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Societal Challenges, Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden University, Turfmarkt 99, 2511DP The Hague, the Netherlands.
² Institute of Education and Child Studies, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333AK Leiden, the Netherlands.

Abstract

Emerging research from the United States indicates that people with an East Asian background experience COVID-19-related racial discrimination. There is some (although not consistent) evidence that these discrimination experiences can in turn have psychological and behavioral consequences, such as strengthening one's ethnic identity and influencing parents' ethnic-racial socialization practices. The current study presents a unique natural experiment examining self-reported perceived discrimination experiences, ethnic identity, and ethnic-racial socialization among 80 Chinese immigrant mothers in the Netherlands before and after the COVID-19 outbreak (39 mothers recruited before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and 41 during). The main findings from our exploratory analyses indicated an impact of the pandemic with higher (subtle) discrimination and stronger ethnic identity among Chinese immigrant mothers living in the Netherlands, highlighting how personal experiences related to intergroup processes have changed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis in the European context.

Keywords: COVID-19; Chinese; Ethnic identity; Ethnic-racial socialization; Perceived discrimination.