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 https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.46 

 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  7 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 7-10 

 

COMMENTARY 

Youth Minorities Struggle with COVID-19 

Emma Tejeda1,2, Dulce Garcia1,3, Katelynn Ferreira1,4, Keyla Trejo1,5, Nevan Nieto1,6, 

Evelina Ruiz1,7, Ana Sanchez1,8, Cytlali Martinez1,9, Destiny Esquivel1,10 

 

1 2nd Annual Junior Clinical Research Internship, South Texas Academy for Education & Training in Research, DHR Health 

Institute for Research & Development 
2 Nikki Rowe High School, McAllen TX 
3 PSJA Southwest Early College High School, Pharr TX 
4 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Mathematics and Science Academy, McAllen TX 
5 Edcouch-Elsa High School, Edcouch TX 
6 Harlingen High School South, Harlingen TX 
7 Port Isabel High School, Port Isabel TX 
8 Medical Professions, Olmito TX 
9 PSJA Southwest, Pharr TX 
10 San Benito High School, San Benito TX 

 

All correspondence should be addressed to Program Director, 2nd Annual Junior Clinical Research Internship Program, DHR 

Health Institute for Research & Development, 5323 S McColl Road, Edinburg Texas, 78539 

Received 06/21/2022 

Accepted for publication 07/13/2022 

Published 07/14/2022 

 

Keywords: COVID-19; Minorities; Youth; Asians; Hispanics;  

 
 

Introduction 

As the world continues to battle COVID-19 

as one, many young Americans have found themselves 

fighting a battle all alone (1). Some argued that 

government imposed lockdown and changes in 

routines may have worsened depression, and anxiety 

in youth minorities while others suggested mental 

health symptoms seemed to be reduced possibly due 

to the feeling of safety that being at home provided, 

the amount of time spent with family, and lessened 

academic pressure (1). However, as the lockdown 

went on for months, researchers confirmed that 

COVID-19 negatively affected and further isolated 

young minorities who were already suffering with 

mental health disorders (2). Evidence highlights how 

American youth, particularly youth minorities, facing 

socio-economic challenges and cultural factors had  

 

their mental health severely impacted (3). In many 

cases, this revealed the lack of communication, 

information and resources available to them (4). As a 

result, minority adolescents have become further 

disadvantaged and unable to perform crucial life skills 

due to depression, anxiety and the lack of interaction. 

Background 

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by 

SARS-CoV-2. This novel virus produces a respiratory 

disease in humans that may lead to severe disease and 

progression to hospitalization and even death. The first 

case was found in December 2019. COVID-19 greatly 

impacted millions across the globe but vaccinations 

against SARS-CoV-2 greatly reduced the risk of 

severe infections (5). Although disease severity has 

been reduced, the social impact of COVID-19 has led 

to suffering with depression and anxiety in many 



Tejeda, et al.  Youth Struggles’ with COVID-19 
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 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  8 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 7-10 

individuals and has exacerbated it in those already 

impacted. Many studies show that COVID-19 

impacted the mental health of adolescents (6).  

Anxiety and depression are more than just 

feelings; they are disorders that interfere with 

everyday activities. The National Institute of Mental 

Health says major depressive disorder or clinical 

depression is a common but serious mood disorder. It 

causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, 

think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, 

eating, or working. To be diagnosed with depression, 

the symptoms must be present for at least two weeks 

(7). 

COVID-19 has also led to the increase in 

anxiety disorders. Occasional anxiety is a normal part 

of life. Many people worry about things such as health, 

money, or family problems. But anxiety disorders 

involve more than temporary worry or fear. For people 

with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety does not go away 

and can get worse over time (6). COVID contributed 

to the decline in teens’ mental health, especially in 

youth minorities. Youth minorities struggled an 

abundant amount during government lockdowns and 

continue to struggle even today. 

Causes  

COVID-19 had a significantly negative effect 

on the mental health of many racial minority teens. 

Factors such as financial hardships, domestic abuse, 

marital status, lack of social interaction, racism, etc., 

greatly changed the way this youth group spent their 

time while in quarantine. These factors caused these 

teens to feel an extreme amount of stress, which in 

many circumstances led to many negative mental 

effects. When talking about monetary issues, domestic 

abuse, and marital status, all these issues connect to 

economic impacts caused by COVID-19. A great 

number of parents of minority teens lost their jobs due 

to COVID-19, or they weren’t able to work because of 

fear of contracting the virus. The lack of money in 

households led to many parental fights which 

increased the rate of domestic abuse (2). However, the 

economic decline wasn’t the only thing that led to 

these issues. The struggle with mental health was also 

greatly influenced by racism. Many of these teens 

were faced with discrimination from people targeting 

their race. There were many hate crimes targeted 

towards minority groups during the pandemic, which 

led to fear in these teens when going out into society. 

Many feared leaving their house and for others 

lockdown restrictions restrained them from doing so. 

This led to lack of social interaction which caused a 

decrease in communication skills (8).  

Latino Youth--Cultural and Social Effects 

COVID-19 affected cultural norms in many 

ways, particularly for the Hispanic community. For 

instance, a popular coming of age event is the 

celebration of young women with a quinceanera. This 

is a wedding-like event that honors young girls and 

their contributions to society. Quinceaneras are way 

more than just parties; they play a vital role in a young 

woman's confidence to take on the challenges that life 

will bring. Not being able to participate in an event that 

has taken place for generations before can take a huge 

toll on young Latina women. The 15-year anticipation 

and planning for this tradition that is now futile for 

some families can really affect the mental health of 

these young individuals.  

The Hispanic culture traditionally embraces 

the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentally. It 

may be difficult for some youth and adolescents to 

subscribe to this way of thinking. When a minority 

Hispanic teenager complains or says that they are 

struggling with depression, the parents usually don't 

believe them and don't believe such disorder exists. 

Parents invalidate, making them alienate themselves 

and therefore dig the proverbial hole for their own kids 

even deeper. COVID-19 has only worsened this 

dilemma during the pandemic and after. The mental 

health of youth minorities is so important and more 

awareness can help youth develop coping 

mechanisms. 

As an added burden, Latino children that 

come from immigrant families are at a heightened risk 

of mental health issues like depression due to the 

increased amount of media coverage on the 

deportation of children like themselves or family 

members. On social media, there is a mass amount of 

viral videos and information about the immigrant 

Latino community placed at the border during the 

pandemic. These videos included imagery of families 

being separated, sleeping in foil bags, and being 

deprived of their basic needs. The close proximity of 

everyone in these videos made it a COVID-19 hotspot. 

These videos were shown to increase depression 

symptoms in Latino children (11). For many, this 

could turn into a reality as many are undocumented 

and don’t have stable ground.   



Tejeda, et al.  Youth Struggles’ with COVID-19 
https://doi.org/10.47488/dhrp.v2iS2.46 

 

 
 

 DHR Proceedings ǀ http://dhrproceedings.org  9 2022, Vol. 2 No. S2 7-10 

Asian Youth 

The mental health effects of COVID-19 

affected Hispanic youth was also prevalent among 

American Asian youth. There was an increase in 

anxiety and depression within the Asian community 

that resulted from the fear of being racially profiled 

and hate crime. Hate crimes against the Asian 

population increased 145% in the 16 major cities in the 

US from 2019 to 2020. A study showed that 543 

Chinese American families have faced either direct or 

indirect racism either in person or online (12). This 

shows how common it was to be racially profiled, and 

validates their heightened feelings of anxiety and 

depression.  

There was a decrease in job availability 

regarding the Asian-owned businesses that required 

close contact such as beauty services. The 

unemployment rate for Asian Americans fell the 

lowest compared to other ethnicities during the Covid-

19 pandemic (12). This could also be another factor 

affecting the youth because financial hardships caused 

an even greater effect on their social and emotional 

health.  

Management 

COVID-19 has brought great stress among 

the people of the United States and as we slowly start 

returning to our everyday life we see that a lot of 

people are left with mental health issues due to the 

lockdown. Just like every other disease or illness, 

mental health should also be treated as soon as 

possible. When it comes to minorities such as Asians, 

Hispanics, and African Americans, it can be difficult 

to access these treatments. However, out of all the 

minorities listed previously, Hispanics have the lowest 

rates of medical insurance in the United States, which 

shows just how hard it is for Hispanics to access 

healthcare (13). This not only makes it nearly 

impossible for these groups to get mental health but 

also exacerbates the spread of SARS-CoV-2 as many 

of them don't get the opportunity to get tested or go to 

the doctor. Something that can be done to prevent the 

spread of COVID-19 in a community is by making 

COVID testing and care accessible and equal for 

everyone. Other things that can be done to manage 

stress is to communicate with other people such as 

neighbors, classmates, counselors and healthcare 

professionals at schools so that they are able to create 

a feeling of security and would furthermore help lower 

the risk of depression (14).  

Aftermath 

The COVID-19 pandemic has left a 

significant impact on the youth minorities and how 

they are struggling in everyday life. From social to 

domestic abuse, racism to financial hardship, and 

marital status to stress. All this forever alters the way 

the youth is living their lives and how they should be 

taking care of themselves. Some struggle on where to 

look for healthcare being available, and even reaching 

out to those in fear of being assaulted or racially 

profiled. They are expected to get straight back to how 

they were living before, which contributes to even 

more stress. All these public problems have a domino 

effect on each other leaving our youth scared and their 

mental health affected. This is not a gradual problem, 

but rather an emergency call for the future of the 

development and safety of children. Due to the 

prolonged lockdowns of the U.S. There are many 

neurological developments being impaired in young 

generations (14). Not only is it affecting their 

development, it is also affecting their economic status 

that may lead to some falling into poverty, again 

exacerbating their health and social challenges. 

Children are trying to catch up to the world's 

expectations despite extreme isolation that COVID -

19 induced, leaving youth to hastily gain critical life 

skills and hopefully make a healthy transition into 

adulthood. 

Acknowledgments 

Dr. Monica Betancourt-Garcia, MD, Scientific 

Director; Melissa Eddie, MS, Program Manager; 

Xochitl Lopez, BS, Program Coordinator 

Funding 

Funded by DHR Health Institute for Research & 

Development; DHR Health; Region One ESC 

GEARUP College Ready, Career Set!; Region One 

ESC GEARUP College Now, Career Connected and 

Region One ESC PATHS 

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