White Americans’ Reactions to Racial Disparities in COVID-19

• Published in: The American political science review Vol. 117; no. 2; pp. 773 - 780
• Main Author: STEPHENS-DOUGAN, LAFLEUR
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.05.2023
• Subjects: African Americans; Attitudes; Black people; Control Groups; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Health disparities; Human rights; Letter; Outdoor activities; Political science; Public health; Race; Racial inequality; Racial stereotypes; Stereotypes; Threats; Whites
• ISSN: 0003-0554; 1537-5943
• DOI: 10.1017/S000305542200051X

I fielded a survey experiment on a nationally representative sample of 591 white Americans to test whether exposure to information about the disparate impact of COVID-19 on Black people influenced white Americans’ opinion about COVID-19 policies. I found that racially prejudiced white Americans who were exposed to the treatment diminished the importance of wearing a face mask. They also became more supportive of outdoor activities without social distancing guidelines, more likely to perceive shelter-in-place orders as a threat to their individual rights and freedoms, and less likely to perceive African Americans as following social distancing guidelines. Conversely, white Americans who did not endorse an anti-Black stereotype were less likely to perceive shelter-in-place orders as a threat to their individual rights and more likely to perceive African Americans as following social distancing guidelines. These findings highlight that well-intentioned public health campaigns may inadvertently exacerbate existing race-based health disparities.