Resource Threat versus Resource Loss and Emotional Well-Being of Ethnic Minorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper used Hobfoll’s conservation of resources theory as a theoretical framework to investigate which kinds of resource loss predicted the emotional well-being (EWB) of ethnic minorities and majority populations during a period of crisis. Data were collected from a national representative survey conducted by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample included 1157 respondents, including 174 Israeli Palestinian citizens (ethnic minority) and 983 Israeli Jews (majority population). Measures of EWB, actual losses and threats of losses of economic, social, and health resources were examined. The results showed that the losses of economic, social, and health resources reduced the EWB of individuals. Negative effects of the actual losses of resources on EWB were greater than those of the perceived threats of loss. The largest effect was for economic resources. There were differences in effects between the ethnic minorities and the majority populations. The study revealed that for the ethnic minorities, who are less powerful and more disadvantaged than ethnic majorities, the depletion of already deficient resources during time of crisis is more important for predicting their EWB than for the majority populations.