Understanding Stress and Coping Among Women of Color in the United States in the Age of COVID-19

This study was conducted to identify processes of coping with COVID-19 and determine their impact on emotional well-being for women of color in the United States. Data were collected from 368 women between May and July 2020 using an online survey guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, which included an assessment of COVID-19 stressors, Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI), 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Over half of the women were depressed (59.0%) and felt ill (69.3%) from the stress of COVID-19. Planful problem solving (M = 4.58, SD = 2.70) was the primary way to cope with COVID-19. A small, positive correlation existed between COVID-19 stressors and depressive symptoms (r = 0.27, p < .001). COVID-19 had a significant impact on the increase of stress (MI = 0.53, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (MI = 5.90, p < .001) as well as the decrease of resilience (MD = 2.17, p < .001) for women of color in the United States. These results can be translated into actionable care plans for clinicians and public health professionals that inform the development of tailored, culturally appropriate, equitable, and gender-specific mental health care for women of color in the age of COVID-19.