COVID-19 Stress and the Health of Black Americans in the Rural South

Abstract

Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To better understand changes in and predictors of their mental and physical health, in the current study, we used three waves of data (two prepandemic and a third during summer 2020) from 329 Black men and women in the rural South. Results indicated that health worsened after the onset of the pandemic, including increased depressive symptoms and sleep problems and decreased self-reported general health. Greater exposure to COVID-19-related stressors was significantly associated with poorer health. Prepandemic stressors (financial strain, racial discrimination, chronic stress) and prepandemic resources (marital quality, general support from family and friends) were significantly associated with exposure to COVID-19-related stressors and with health during the pandemic. Findings underscore how the pandemic posed the greatest threats to Black Americans with more prepandemic psychosocial risks and highlight the need for multifaceted interventions that address current and historical stressors among this population.

Keywords: Black Americans; COVID-19; mental health; physical health; social determinants of health.

Fig. 1.

General analytic model showing direct and indirect effects of prepandemic stressors or resources on health during the pandemic through exposure to COVID-19-related stressors.