Purpose
The current study investigated the association between bicultural identity integration (BII, incorporating BII-harmony and BII-blendedness), national identity, and anxiety related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among ethnic minority college students. In addition, this research examined the mediation role of power values in the relationship between BII, national identity, and COVID-19-related anxiety.
Methods
This cross-sectional research design made use of online surveys. Using convenience sampling, participants comprised 235 Chinese ethnic minority college students drawn from four colleges in the ethnic minority autonomous regions of China. Data were collected during June 2020. Participants mainly lived in ethnic minority communities or villages in southwest China before receiving higher education at urban campuses.
Results
Correlation analysis revealed that BII-harmony, BII-blendedness, and national identity were significantly negatively correlated with COVID-19-related anxiety. Mediation model analysis showed that power values were significantly positively correlated with COVID-19-related anxiety. Power values play a mediating role in the relationship between BII-harmony, national identity, and COVID-19-related anxiety, and have an inhibitory effect on this relationship.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that BII-harmony and national identity could have the function of protecting ethnic minority college students from COVID-19-related anxiety. Emphasizing individualistic personal power values could increase COVID-19-related anxiety, whereas a collectivist identity reduces anxiety. These findings could provide another perspective on psychological interventions to reduce anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.