NEW YORK, NY — A recent AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll highlights the significant concern about racism within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the United States. The poll, conducted from October 10-20, 2023, found that 86% of AAPI individuals consider racism a serious problem in the country.
The survey, which involved 1,178 participants, revealed that about half of the AAPI respondents have faced racial or ethnic discrimination. Disturbingly, 16% reported being victims of a hate crime, including physical assault, property damage, or threats, in the past year. Additionally, 34% experienced hate incidents, such as verbal harassment (23%), racial slurs (22%), or physical assault threats (11%).
These findings align with research showing increased attacks against AAPI communities since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite most AAPI adults expressing satisfaction with their mental health, the survey uncovered significant stress levels. Seven out of ten AAPI adults experienced stressors like irritability (50%), excessive worry (49%), or difficulty relaxing (46%) in the last two weeks. Twelve percent of respondents meet the criteria for a higher risk of an anxiety disorder, based on the General Anxiety Disorder scale.
Politically, the survey found diverse leanings within the AAPI community, with around half identifying as Democrats, over a quarter as Republicans, and about 20% as independents or unaffiliated. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held more favorable views among AAPI adults compared to Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Views on Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy were less favorable, with a significant number of respondents unfamiliar with these candidates.
The study, offering interviews in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Korean, represents the AAPI household population in the U.S. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.2 percentage points, highlighting the survey’s broad representation of the AAPI community’s perspectives.