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Asian and Pacific Migration Journal :... Jun 2022Emigrants from Kerala, India, were among the international migrants affected by the displacing consequences of COVID-19 - job losses, decreasing wages, inadequate social...
Emigrants from Kerala, India, were among the international migrants affected by the displacing consequences of COVID-19 - job losses, decreasing wages, inadequate social protection systems, xenophobia and overall uncertainty - which led to large-scale return migration to India. Returning home due to exogenous shocks calls into question the voluntary nature of return, the ability of returnees to reintegrate and the sustainability of re-embedding in the home country. The role of return migrants in the development of their societies of origin is also unclear. In this commentary, we explore the circumstances of return migration since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on a case study of Kerala and provide insights on the future of emigration from this corridor along with policy suggestions. The role of return migrants in the development of their societies of origin requires further research and policy interventions.
PubMed: 35991298
DOI: 10.1177/01171968221115259 -
Journal of Psychopathology and... 2023Stressful events may lead to the consumption of alcohol as a self-medicating and coping strategy. The self-medication hypothesis and addiction loop model served as the...
Stressful events may lead to the consumption of alcohol as a self-medicating and coping strategy. The self-medication hypothesis and addiction loop model served as the theoretical frameworks to understand how various COVID-19 pandemic stressors serve as risks for alcohol usage and state alcohol cravings. The study hypothesized that higher COVID-19 stressors (past month) would predict higher alcohol use (past month), and both were hypothesized to uniquely explain stronger alcohol cravings (state). Adult alcohol users ( = 366) participated in this cross-sectional study. Respondents completed measures of the COVID Stress Scales (socioeconomic, xenophobia, traumatic symptoms, compulsive checking, and danger & contamination), drink frequency and drink quantity, and state alcohol cravings (Alcohol Urge Questionnaire and Desires for Alcohol Questionnaire). Results from a structural equation model involving latent factors determined that higher pandemic stress explained greater alcohol use, and both factors uniquely contributed to stronger state alcohol cravings. A structural equation model premised on specific measures revealed that higher xenophobia stress, higher traumatic symptoms stress, higher compulsive checking stress, and lower danger & contamination stress uniquely predicted drink quantity, but not drink frequency. Furthermore, greater drink quantity and drink frequency independently predicted stronger state alcohol cravings. The findings recognize that pandemic stressors operate as cue-induced triggers for alcohol use and cravings. The COVID-19 stressors identified in this study could be targeted in interventions based on the addiction loop model designed to mitigate the effects of stress cues on alcohol use and present cravings for alcohol.
PubMed: 37215643
DOI: 10.1007/s10862-023-10033-z -
Gender, Work, and Organization Jul 2021This paper provides my personal experience as a COVID-19 survivor during and postrecovery periods. The stigma that my children and I underwent exposed us to the...
This paper provides my personal experience as a COVID-19 survivor during and postrecovery periods. The stigma that my children and I underwent exposed us to the fragility of a social system that we struggle with all through our life to remain a part of. My story revealed a strong symbiotic relationship between the disease (COVID-19) and the patient's low acceptance in society, primarily attributed to misinformation and xenophobia around the COVID-19. This autoethnography speaks for several other COVID survivors who met with the same fate of being discriminated against and stigmatized. As a COVID patient and survivor, the traumatic experience was creating a fear psychosis in me, the effect of which I presume will stay beyond COVID-19. This condition of a syndemic seems to linger and negatively affect my outlook toward society. If COVID survivors develop a syndemic condition in a pandemic situation, it will require significant efforts to reserve it or sometimes even become irreversible.
PubMed: 34230779
DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12692 -
Health Education & Behavior : the... Feb 2021Online misinformation regarding COVID-19 has undermined public health efforts to control the novel coronavirus. To date, public health organizations' efforts to counter...
Online misinformation regarding COVID-19 has undermined public health efforts to control the novel coronavirus. To date, public health organizations' efforts to counter COVID-19 misinformation have focused on identifying and correcting false information on social media platforms. Citing extant literature in health communication and psychology, we argue that these fact-checking efforts are a necessary, but insufficient, response to health misinformation. First, research suggests that fact-checking has several important limitations and is rarely successful in fully undoing the effects of misinformation exposure. Second, there are many factors driving misinformation sharing and acceptance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic-such as emotions, distrust, cognitive biases, racism, and xenophobia-and these factors both make individuals more vulnerable to certain types of misinformation and also make them impervious to future correction attempts. We conclude by outlining several additional measures, beyond fact-checking, that may help further mitigate the effects of misinformation in the current pandemic.
Topics: COVID-19; Communication; Health Communication; Humans; Pandemics; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2; Social Media; Trust
PubMed: 33322939
DOI: 10.1177/1090198120980675 -
SSM - Population Health Dec 2021There is an increasing need to understand the structural drivers of immigrant health inequities, including xenophobic and racist policies at the state level in the...
There is an increasing need to understand the structural drivers of immigrant health inequities, including xenophobic and racist policies at the state level in the United States. Databases aggregate state policies related to immigration and research using single year indices examines state policy and immigrant health. Yet none of these sources use a theoretically informed social determinants of immigrant health approach to consider state environments longitudinally, include both exclusionary and inclusionary policies, and are relevant to immigrants from any region of the world or ethnic group. Using an established social determinants of immigrant health framework, a measure of structural xenophobia was created using fourteen policies across five domains: access to public health benefits, higher education, labor and employment, driver's licenses and identification, and immigration enforcement over a ten-year period (2009-2019). To create the Immigration Policy Climate (IPC) index, we used data from state legislatures as well as policy databases from foundations, advocacy organizations, and scholarly articles. We identified and coded 714 US state policies across the 50 US States and the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2019. We calculated annual IPC index scores (range: 12 - 12) as a continuous measure (negative scores: exclusionary; positive scores: inclusionary). Results show that the US has an exclusionary immigration policy climate at the state-level (mean IPC score of -2.5). From 2009 to 2019, two-thirds of state-level immigration policies are exclusionary towards immigrants. About 75% of states experienced a 4-point change or less on the IPC index, and no state changed from largely exclusive to largely inclusive. By aggregating comprehensive, detailed data and a measure of state-level immigration policies over time, the IPC index provides population health researchers with rigorous evidence with which to assess structural xenophobia and an opportunity for longitudinal research on health inequities and immigrant health.
PubMed: 34660879
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100938 -
SSM. Qualitative Research in Health Dec 2022The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected minoritized racial groups, especially Latinx immigrants, evidenced by the high rates of COVID-19 infections,...
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected minoritized racial groups, especially Latinx immigrants, evidenced by the high rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths among this population. With increasing xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment in parallel to the pandemic, it is critical to understand the perspectives of Latinx populations. This study explores Latinx immigrant women's perceptions of racism and xenophobia in their health care experiences in New York City (NYC) during the COVID-19 pandemic and, further, seeks to understand the role of perceived discrimination in health care settings and on health care access. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method of analysis from twenty-one in-depth interviews conducted with foreign-born women in the five boroughs of New York City from diverse countries across Latin America. Four central themes emerged including: structural inequalities, discriminatory health care experiences, victimization in public institutions, and overcoming discrimination in health care settings. Latinx immigrant women described the ways in which perceptions and experiences of discrimination shaped their capacity to address health-related needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides evidence to a growing body of literature suggesting that structural racism and xenophobia and perceptions of anti-immigrant discrimination, including resulting structural inequalities, may have a negative effect on individuals' ability to access and engage the health care system, resulting in avoidance of health care services - a critical need during a global pandemic. Scholars, policymakers, and practitioners alike should be mindful of how racism and xenophobia shape Latinx immigrant communities' engagement with the health care system.
PubMed: 35578651
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100094 -
Frontiers in Sociology 2020The focus in this paper is on understanding the complex intersections between crises and memory politics in shaping conversations about citizenship through an...
The focus in this paper is on understanding the complex intersections between crises and memory politics in shaping conversations about citizenship through an examination of the two defining crises of our time: the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008 and the migrant crisis in the European Union (starting in 2011 and continuing). The paper looks at these crises as narrative devices that intersect with memory politics in ways that heighten and intensify xenophobic and nationalist anxieties. The paper's discussion is primarily theoretical, complemented with evidence drawn from public statements and policy platforms of three key right-wing Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany (the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the Rassemblement National (RN), and the Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD).
PubMed: 33869423
DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2020.00014 -
Land Use Policy Apr 2021COVID-19 is a humanitarian challenge that puts a spotlight on the need to understand the new provocations and how to prevent the escalation of different types of...
COVID-19 is a humanitarian challenge that puts a spotlight on the need to understand the new provocations and how to prevent the escalation of different types of conflict. The present contribution gravitates around three major problems - foreign land grab, COVID-19 pandemic, and xenophobia. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study that investigates how COVID-19 has influenced the xenophobia feelings and the perceptions on foreign land acquisitions. Therefore, one objective is to investigate Romanian landowners' attitudes toward land grabbing effects, consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and xenophobia. Another objective is to reveal how well a set of variables could predict the preference for the nationality of the buyer in land transactions. The binary logistic regression indicates that the preference for the nationality of the buyer in agricultural land transactions can be predicted by three variables. The effect of COVID-19 on population health is found to have a significant prediction power. Even if only a moderate to low level of xenophobia among the interviewed persons is present, when land is under discussion, negative judgments and feelings towards non-Romanian citizens emerge. Authors consider that correcting misperceptions can be achieved through information campaigns using messages that reinforce positives outcomes of foreign investments. The study provides empirical justification for regulations, law enforcement mechanisms, and information campaigns that should profoundly reflect and support the multicultural dynamics of the European societies.
PubMed: 36540345
DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105284 -
Heliyon Feb 2024Xenophobia has been in existence for centuries, though subtle and not too pronounced as of recent years. It has now pervaded all spheres including businesses, academia...
BACKGROUND
Xenophobia has been in existence for centuries, though subtle and not too pronounced as of recent years. It has now pervaded all spheres including businesses, academia and industries. Previous studies have found it to be disruptive both to organizations and employees.
PURPOSE
To explore acts of xenophobia among nurse educators, underpinned by the frustration and aggression theory.
METHOD
A qualitative study involving twenty-five nurse educators in Botswana was carried out between July 2019 and August 2020. Open-ended semi-structured questions were used to collect face to face in-depth interviews from participants.
FINDINGS
Dehumanizing comments, labelling and discrimination were the three themes that emerged from interpretative analysis. Affected persons were mostly foreign nationals and people of different ethnic groupings.
CONCLUSION
The study concluded that there is need for a policy that addresses acts of xenophobia and an intervention to mitigate acts of xenophobia.
PubMed: 38317904
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24825 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2022Empathy enables human beings to understand and share the internal states of others. Studies show that empathy for pain is higher for in-group compared to out-group...
Empathy enables human beings to understand and share the internal states of others. Studies show that empathy for pain is higher for in-group compared to out-group members. This might be driven by attitudes and biases towards out-groups. In a between subject design, N = 621 participants filled in questionnaires measuring xenophobia and trait empathy and were presented with photos of suffering individuals either from the in-group or an out-group, which had to be rated with respect to negative affect and the willingness to help the depicted persons. Results do not show more compassion with members of the in-group in general, but a negative effect of xenophobia on state empathy in the out-group condition. Additional moderation analyses show that this effect is less evident in presence of high trait empathy scores. Our results highlight the importance of empathy trainings to attenuate the effects of xenophobic attitudes on social cohabitation in our increasingly polarized and culturally diverse societies.
Topics: Humans; Empathy; Xenophobia; Surveys and Questionnaires; Attitude
PubMed: 36347950
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23776-8