Navigating the Chinese Virus: Political Rhetorics and Misinformation among Low-Income Chinese Older Adults

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 9: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Race and Politics

Abstract

Does high-profile political rhetoric on anti-Asian violence affect mental health among Chinese older adults? What information mechanisms shape Chinese older adults’ political views? In collaboration with a trusted ethnic social service organization, we conducted a pen-and-paper survey experiment at a senior center in Flushing with 415 Chinese older adults aged 60 and older in 2023, followed by semi-structured interviews with a subsample of 30 respondents in 2024. For this information-treatment experiment, respondents were randomly assigned to view one of three media images containing a neutral, negative, or positive example of rhetoric on COVID-19 and anti-Asian violence. We find that political rhetoric had no significant impact on four measures of mental health—anxiety, depression, PTSD, and stress. The null findings raised two questions: how did older Chinese immigrants understand these messages, and did they experience them as psychologically meaningful? Our interviews point to two information mechanisms that explain this null finding: an information disconnect regarding Biden’s anti-Asian hate message and factual skepticism toward Trump’s “Chinese virus” reference.

Authors

• Yu-Jhen Chen, CUNY-Graduate Center

• Van C. Tran, CUNY-Graduate Center

• Na Yin, Baruch College, CUNY