Parents’ Perspectives Regarding Anti-Asian Racism During COVID-19: Supporting Elementary Students at School

Abstract A surge of racism and xenophobia toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high levels of stress within this community. We conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 40 Chinese American parents (35 mothers, Mage = 40.86; SD = 5.59) with elementary school-aged children (Mage = 8.76; SD= 2.17) to understand parents’ perception of their children’s experiences with discrimination and how schools can support Asian American students. Interviews were coded using thematic analyses. The majority of parents (n = 28, 70%) expressed concerns about racial discrimination for their children. However, 28 (70%) parents did not have any specific discussions about racism and discrimination with their children partially because parents felt that the topic of race/racial discrimination was too complex for children to understand. Some parents (22.5%) were also worried that too much discussion about race and discrimination would trigger more discrimination. We identified parents’ beliefs about potential risk and protective factors for racial bullying and discrimination. Parents also generated strategies regarding how schools can help prevent racial discrimination for Asian American students. These strategies set the foundation for collaborative efforts and solutions to prevent bullying and mitigate the harm caused by the historically-based marginalization of Asian Americans during the COVID-19 and beyond. IMPACT STATEMENT This is one of the first qualitative studies to understand Chinese American parents’ perception of their children’s experiences with racial discrimination during COVID-19. Based on the thematic analysis of 40 interviews, we identified parents’ beliefs about potential risk and protective factors for racial discrimination and how schools can help prevent bullying and discrimination for Asian American elementary students. These parent-generated strategies can set the foundation for collaborative efforts to prevent bullying and mitigate the harm caused by the historically-based marginalization of Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.