The Consequences of Witnessing Arrests on Youth Mental Health

• In Event: Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment and Witnessing Arrests on Youth and Adults

Abstract

Approximately 10 million arrests were made in the U.S in 2019. Research on the psychological consequences of witnessing arrests has focused on young children witnessing familial arrests in the home. This experience is associated with deleterious outcomes for youth, including internalizing and externalizing symptoms. There is a dearth of research on the experience of witnessing arrest in the community context, although research on witnessing police stops among adolescents in the community suggests maladaptive outcomes with increased depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms, particularly for Black and Latine youth. In an examination of 106 racially and ethnically diverse urban youth, we found that over three-quarters of the sample had witnessed an arrest in their community. Of those, approximately 90% reported witnessing the arrest of a community member and 30% reported witnessing a peer arrest. Arrest type was differentially associated with psychological symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Analyses will examine whether the person arrested is associated with psychological symptoms and whether there are gender, race, and ethnicity differences in arrest experiences and symptoms. Given the presence of armed law enforcement in the community, as well as the salience of non-familial relationships in adolescence, witnessing community arrests may have significant mental health effects.

Author

• Gilberto Torres, City University of New York, The Graduate Center