Race and Gender Differences in Adolescent Police Encounters: Evidence from the ABCD Study

• In Event: Poster Session 2

Abstract

Adolescence is an important developmental period during which individuals are more sensitive to negative experiences. One potentially negative experience that becomes more common during this time, particularly for youth of color, is police encounters. Adolescent police contact has been described as an adverse childhood experience that can negatively impact adolescents’ mental health. Police contact occurs at the intersection of various identities leading to racialized and gendered impacts. Though much has been explored regarding adolescent police contact, there is a dearth of studies utilizing current and generalizable data and few studies examine the details of adolescents’ encounters with police. Using data from the most recent wave of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the current poster aims to analyze the prevalence of negative police interactions among adolescents, focusing on racial and gender disparities. Additionally, racial and gender differences in the nature of these encounters (e.g., aggressive vs. nonviolent) will be compared. Preliminary results show heightened police contact amongst boys and adolescents racialized as Black, with the latter group also experiencing more aggressive encounters.

Authors

• E. Cole Green, University of Tennessee

• Elizabeth I. Johnson, University of Tennessee

• Jasmine N. Coleman, University of Tennessee