Psychophysiological and affective reactivity to vicarious police violence

Abstract

Little is known about how vicarious police violence, or instances of police violence observed but not directly experienced, impacts health among Black individuals. Using a lab-based paradigm in a sample of young adults (N = 101), this study examined: (a) psychophysiological reactivity to instances of vicarious police violence, particularly the assault and shooting of Black individuals; (b) affective reactivity to instances of vicarious police violence; and (c) how racial identity, one important moderator, influences psychophysiological and affective responses to vicarious police violence. Using electrocardiography and impedance cardiography, participants' cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic physiological responses were continuously monitored. Three sets of high-quality color photographs (neutral, non-violent distress, violence) were viewed on a computer.Participants rated their affect after each set using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Following this task, racial identity was assessed using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Short Form. Findings indicated that vicarious police violence was associated with greater sympathetic reactivity and negative affect relative to the neutral and non-violent distress conditions. Additionally, higher levels of racial centrality exacerbated the association between vicarious police violence and negative affect. Findings suggest that Black individuals may wish to limit their consumption of media depicting the assault and shooting of other Black individuals, with the caveat that the best solution is ultimately the cessation of police violence.

Measuring institutional and structural racism in research on adolescence and developmental science

“…We have recently explored the possibility of using publicly available data furnished by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which includes state‐, county‐, and city‐level information regarding cultural symbols (e.g., location of confederate statues, information reflecting the names of highways, parks, and buildings) as proxies for cultural racism. We have also considered how the use of imagery depicting police violence and other forms of nonviolent distress with Black actors (Sosoo et al, in press ) might tap into both vicarious and cultural racism experiences. Capturing and quantifying cultural racism (as well as institutional racism) is critical to understanding the insidious nature of structural racism.…”

“They Just Keep Coming”: A Study of How Anti-Black Racial Violence Informs Racial Grief and Resistance Among Black Mothers

“…Vicarious racial violence, such as witnessing an incident of police brutality in-person or replayed on a television screen, is emotionally, physically, and psychologically taxing for those who experience and/or witness it (Anderson et al, 2018;Bryant-Davis et al, 2017;Carter, 2007;Helms et al, 2010). Amidst growing calls to recognize and address the negative effects of vicarious racial violence on the health and wellbeing of Black Americans (American Public Health Association, 2020; Mosley et al, 2021;Sosoo et al, 2022), a few scholars have begun to highlight how vicarious racial trauma represents a maternal health issue (Joe et al, 2019;Mehra et al, 2022;Tyler, 2022). From a reproductive justice standpoint, Black mothers should have: (a) the right to maintain bodily autonomy, (b) the ability to choose whether to have children, and (c) the freedom to parent their children in safe and sustainable communities (Rogers, 2015).…”

“…Regarding clinical efforts to reduce racial stress among Black Americans, assessing adolescent and caregivers' prior and current experiences with racial violence and identifying psychosomatic symptoms related to such exposure, may help clinicians screen for necessary cultural considerations in treatment (Metzger et al, 2021). Scholars have also highlighted the importance of raising awareness about how Black women's social positioning influences their experiences with structural oppression (i.e., intersection of racism and sexism), as well as their coping practices (Spates et al, 2020). For instance, Black women may "shift," or enact a set of behaviors to protect their inner thoughts and feelings (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003)-thus presenting a different version of themselves to White clinicians compared to Black clinicians.…”

“…For instance, Black women may "shift," or enact a set of behaviors to protect their inner thoughts and feelings (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003)-thus presenting a different version of themselves to White clinicians compared to Black clinicians. In addition, clinical training programs and diagnostic manuals should draw more attention to Black women's multi-layered coping methods, such as praying, relying on social networks, and engaging in social activism (Spates et al, 2020).…”

Brain–body pathways linking racism and health.

“…As a consequence of these societal conditions, the majority of Americans engage in interpersonal racism (Galvan et al, 2022), whether implicit and unintentional or explicit and intentional, toward members of oppressed racial groups (Dovidio et al, 2002; Jones, 2000). Interpersonal racism can also result in vicarious racism, where members of oppressed groups experience racism indirectly through witnessing the racism encountered by their racial in-group members (e.g., hearing stories, watching footage; Chae et al, 2021; Heard-Garris et al, 2018; Sosoo et al, 2022). Together, each of these subtypes of racism can influence the health of the constituents living within that society, particularly those from oppressed groups such as Black Americans (Nazroo et al, 2020).…”