The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. Latinx mental health: A validation of the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII) scale.

Abstract

Known and emerging data continue to document the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on traditionally marginalized communities living in the United States, particularly Latinx. However, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, no validated measures were available to assess how this health crisis affected Latinx communities. The present study sought to assess the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of Latinx adults living in the United States (N = 2,300). Because Latinx are a heterogeneous group, we employed a person-centered approach to evaluate potential differences across negative COVID-19 pandemic impact indicators using the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (Grasso et al., 2020). Additionally, we assessed how these unique profiles were associated with anxiety/depression and alcohol use. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses suggested a six-factor oblique solution for the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory. Results from a latent profile analysis identified six unique COVID-19 impact profiles that differentiated mental health outcomes. Profiles also differed along important Latinx within-group differences. The findings highlight the unique and heterogeneous COVID-19 experiences reported across the Latinx community with significant implications for mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).