Collective Retraumatisation of Minority and Indigenous Groups During the Global Health Crisis

In this study we investigate the mechanisms and symptoms of historical retraumatisation triggered by the perception of ethnic discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic among ethnic minorities in Poland (546 Kashubs and 531 Silesians) and 461 Indigenous people from 20 states in Mexico, plus Mexico City. To this end we examined the role of historical trauma and its symptoms as mediators of the relationship between individual perceptions of COVID-19-related discrimination and generalised anxiety among these groups with differing experiences of historical victimisation. Our hypotheses were tested with the use of SEM modelling techniques. We found that the higher levels of anxiety observed among people experiencing discrimination could be attributed to a retraumatisation process in which historical traumatisation and its symptoms were associated with the negative psychological effects of COVID-19 stigma. Our study provides evidence from differing contexts on two continents showing that historical trauma in minoritised and/or Indigenous communities may exacerbate psychological stress responses during traumatising events that expose such groups to increased ethnic discrimination and stigmatisation.