During the COVID-19 pandemic, racial minorities in the United States were left in a double bind when deciding to wear face masks to prevent the spread of the virus: risk being racially profiled or risk COVID-19. Two studies examine Black and Asian individuals’ experiences of race-related social identity threat wearing face masks during COVID-19, and its impact on safety and health behaviors. Black, Asian, and White participants in the United States responded to surveys (S1: N = 776; S2: N = 534) on their experiences wearing masks early in the pandemic (May 2020) and 3 months later (August 2020). Across both studies, results indicated that, compared to White individuals, Black and Asian participants reported experiencing mask-related, race-based social identity threat from both the public and police, with Black individuals particularly concerned about mask-related threat in police interactions. Mediational analyses demonstrated that mask-related social identity threat led to avoidance of police when help was needed at both time points, and decreased face mask usage early in the pandemic for both Black and Asian people. Results highlight these unique social identity concerns faced by racial minorities and have implications for protecting racial minorities’ health and safety during the pandemic.

在COVID-19大流行期间，美国少数族裔在决定戴上口罩以防止病毒传播时陷入双重困境：冒种族歧视的风险或冒COVID-19的风险。两项研究调查了黑人和亚裔个人在COVID-19期间戴着口罩与种族相关的社会身份威胁的经历及其对安全和健康行为的影响。美国的黑人，亚裔和白人参与者回答了调查（S1：N = 776； S2：N（= 534）他们在大流行初期（2020年5月）和3个月后（2020年8月）戴口罩的经历。在两项研究中，结果均表明，与白人相比，黑人和亚裔参与者报告了来自公众和警察的与面具相关的基于种族的社会身份威胁，其中黑人特别关注警察互动中与面具相关的威胁。中介分析表明，与面罩相关的社会身份威胁导致在两个时间点都需要帮助时可以避开警察，并且在大流行期间为黑人和亚洲人减少了口罩的使用。结果突出显示了少数族裔面临的这些独特的社会认同感，并在大流行期间保护了少数族裔的健康和安全。