Identifying the Depressive Profiles of Adolescent Black Boys who have been School Policed and Disciplined.

• In Event: Youth Surveillance, Mental Health, and Health Disparities among Urban Teens and Young Adults

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of our study was to identify nuanced depressive subgroup among Black adolescent boys who experienced school discipline and policing.

Methods: 802 Black adolescent boys from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCWS) was used to conduct an LCA to examine the subgroup differences among Black adolescent regarding school discipline and school policing on the outcome of depressive symptoms.

Results: Our study identified four subgroups of youths: (1) lowest disciplined and not policed, (2) police stationed regularly, (3) sometimes policed stationed and not disciplined, and (4) school disciplined.
Conclusion: The mental health needs of Black boys are specific and often overlooked. These depressive profiles could be linked and symptomatic of Racial Battle Fatigue.

Author

• Collin Perryman, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health