Anticipation of Racially Motivated Police Brutality and Youth Mental Health

• In Event: Police Contact and Health

Abstract

Exposure to police brutality is a significant risk to adolescent mental health. The present study extends this literature by exploring connections between anticipation of racially motivated police brutality and multiple facets of adolescent mental health. Students ages 14 to 18 (n = 151) were recruited from a larger study administered in Baltimore City public schools. Between December 2020 and July 2021, participants completed a survey assessing anticipatory stress regarding racially motivated police brutality and current mental health. Regression models examined associations between anticipatory stress regarding racially motivated police brutality and mental health across gender. Latent profile and latent regression analyses were used to examine whether anticipatory stress was more salient among adolescents with comorbid mental health symptoms. Youth with anticipatory stress regarding both personal and vicarious police brutality had more symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and behavioral dysfunction, as well as lower hope, as compared to youth without anticipatory stress. These associations tended to be driven by girls within the sample. Findings from this study highlight racialized police brutality as a common anticipated stressor among youth. Findings have implications for policing interventions, including development of additional trainings for police officers and improving police interactions with youth of color.

Authors

• Lindsey Webb, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Dylan B. Jackson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Monique Jindal, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Sirry Alang, Lehigh University

• Tamar Mendelson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Laura K. Clary, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health