COVID-19 Pandemic Coping, Social Support, and Emotional Health in American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a burden on the health of many people, including significant disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

This study examines the associations between coping behaviors, social support, and emotional health among American Indian and Alaska Native peoples during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This cross-sectional study included survey data collected from November 2021 to May 2022 from American Indian and Alaska Native adults aged 18 years or older without dementia or other serious cognitive impairments who were seen at 6 urban health organizations primarily in urban settings (in New Mexico, Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, and Kansas) in the year prior to the survey.

Exposures of interest included avoidant and direct problem-solving coping behaviors and functional and emotional social support.

The study outcome was self-reported change in emotional health since COVID-19 pandemic onset. Poisson regression was used to model adjusted multivariate associations. Data were weighted to account for age, nonresponse, and disproportionate representation by clinic population.

A total of 1164 participants were included in the analysis, with a mean (SD) age of 42.5 (13.4) years; 830 (61%, weighted sample percentage) were female. Since COVID-19 pandemic onset, 465 patients (39% weighted) reported worsened emotional health. Problem-solving coping mean (SD) utilization score was 2.5 (0.5), avoidant coping mean (SD) utilization score was 2.3 (0.5), mean (SD) functional social support score was 11.4 (2.9), and 219 participants (18% weighted) reported that emotional support was always available. Using problem-solving coping skills was associated with better emotional health (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR], 0.66 [95% CI, 0.54-0.81] for highest vs lowest tertile), as was always (vs never or rarely) getting emotional support (APR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.30-0.55) and having more functional support (APR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.87-0.92] per 1-unit increase in functional social support). In examination of psychological resilience potentially modifying primary exposure associations, no interactions were statistically significant.

In this cross-sectional study of urban American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, problem-solving coping skills and more social support were associated with better emotional health during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings can be used to identify strengths-based approaches to support community emotional health during social upheavals.