Ethnic Group Differences in Economic Stress and Out-Group Prosocial Behaviors During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cultural Process Model

Abstract The goal of the current study was to examine intervening culture and family related mechanisms in the links between pandemic-related economic stress and young adults’ ethnic out-group prosocial behaviors. Participants were 467 young adults (mean age = 22.58, range = 19-27 years old) from across the U.S. (50.1% female; 55.7% identified White as their racial group, 20.3% Black/African American, 12.2% Asian American, 8.0% identified as other, including Latino/a participants who did not identify as White). Participants completed online measures of their experiences with economic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, their ethnic identity, identification with filial piety as a culture value, and their own tendencies to engage in six forms of out-group prosocial behaviors. The results demonstrated indirect links between economic stress and multiple forms of out-group prosocial behaviors via ethnic identity and filial piety as well as direct links between economic stress and ethnic identity and out-group prosocial behaviors. Interestingly, there were ethnic group differences that emerged in the direct paths such that economic stress was a particularly strong predictor of prosocial behaviors for ethnic majority participants, and ethnic identity was stronger for ethnic minority participants. Discussion will explore ethnic differences in these associations as well as the role of cultural and family values as important mechanisms in the links between pandemic-related economic stress and out-group prosocial behaviors.