Panic and Trust during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study on Immigrants in South Korea

Abstract

In the COVID-19 pandemic, marginalized groups like migrants are disproportionately affected. As panic, fear of neglect, and mistrusting institutions in these groups are presumed to be apparent, their detachment to health services still needs to be investigated. This study comparatively analyzed the level of panic and trust between South Koreans and immigrants who are living within highly affected areas of South Korea. Mann–Whitney-U-Test and Pearson correlation showed panic is more pronounced in the Korean group while having a similar panic display pattern with the immigrants. The immigrant group appears to highly trust the Korean health system, health institutions, local media, and the local native community. Beyond conventional expectations, participant’s average panic score showed a statistically significant positive correlation with items of the trust scale, indicating a level of individual reliance amid the pandemic panic. Thus, ascertaining institutional trust and matured citizenry are identified as factors for effective public health outcomes. During such a pandemic, this study also reminded the public health needs of immigrants as secondary citizens, and presumptions of immigrants' mistrust in such settings might not always be true.

The Role of Resilience for Migrants and Refugees’ Mental Health in Times of COVID-19

“…Isolation could emotionally reactivate a traumatic experience in which fundamental rights were truncated, as well as other psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, fear and confusion, among others [ 1 ]. Moreover, a fear of disease has been linked to mental health, which has also been reported in refugee cases in the literature [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”

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“…I waited for three days before my clothes arrived. (Mark, Filipino, male, 29 years old, factory worker) Perhaps because they were compensated during the quarantine and fully insured by the National Health Insurance, James and Mark placed much trust on the host country's medical governance (see a similar situation in South Korea, Yoon et al, 2021) in comparison with the chaotic situation in their home country. While James seemed tolerant of the government's order on migrant immobility, he became agitated when describing how the factory removed their luggage and belongings from the dormitory while they were in quarantine facilities.…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of anxiety disorders - a literature review

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