Race and the Association Between Police Stops and Depression Among Young Adults: A Research Note

Abstract

Police stops are stressful experiences that may be harmful for health. The present study examines the association between police stops and symptoms of depression in the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health. The study sample included non-Hispanic Black ( n = 2,118) and White ( n = 5,629) adults aged 18–26 years surveyed in 1996 and 2001/2002. Both Black and White young adults who have been stopped by police had more symptoms of depression compared to their never stopped counterparts. Among Blacks, the association was attenuated but persisted after controlling for criminal behavior and justice contact. In contrast, among Whites, the association between police stops and depression was smaller in magnitude, and it was explained by self-reported criminal behavior. Given the frequency and the number of people in contact with police, we point to the need to sensitize police departments to potential mental health consequences of proactive policing, and the decreased willingness of the public to seek police help as a result of previous distressing encounters.

Self‐reported experiences and consequences of unfair treatment by police*

“…In line with Agnew's GST, research on police interaction and mental health suggests that contact with law enforcement is associated with worse self‐reported psychological health, such as depressive symptoms and symptoms of PTSD (e.g., Baćak & Nowotny, 2018; Hirschtick et al., 2020; Jackson et al., 2019; Turney, in press; for a review see McLeod et al., 2020). Evidence also indicates that police contact is even more detrimental when the contact is perceived as unjust (McFarland et al., 2019).…”

“…On the one hand, the consequences of perceived unfair treatment by police may be particularly damaging among people of color given that minorities might interpret unfair treatment by police as racial discrimination that may enact psychological and physiological stress processes associated with perceived and anticipated experiences of racism (Anderson, 2013; Baćak & Nowotny, 2018; McFarland, Taylor, McFarland, & Friedman, 2018). That is, minorities may subjectively assess unfair police treatment as a particularly undeserved violation of justice given long‐standing historic patterns of discrimination among police against minority populations.…”

Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents Exposed to Personal and Vicarious Police Contact

“…Indeed, a burgeoning literature documents a relationship between police contact and mental health impairments among adolescents, many of whom are experiencing criminal justice contact for the first time (Del Toro et al 2019; Rios 2011; Stuart 2016). There are opportunities to build upon this research by considering the consequences of both personal and vicarious police contact for adolescent mental health (McFarland, Geller, and McFarland 2019), by examining the relationship between intrusive police contact and mental health among adolescents (Jackson et al 2019), and by documenting variation in responses to personal and vicarious police contact across gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty status (Baćak and Nowotny 2020).…”

The association between experiencing police arrest and suicide ideation among emerging young adults: Does race matter?

“…Racial/ethnic disparities in the legal system in the United States (U.S.) have been well-documented ( Hetey and Eberhardt, 2018 ). Black people experience the greatest number of negative consequences of personal and vicarious police contact compared to other racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. ( Baćak and Nowotny, 2020 ; McFarland et al, 2018 ; Sewell and Jefferson, 2016 ). Furthermore, Black people are 3–4 times more likely to experience non-lethal use of force during police contact such as stop-and-frisk stops, and are more likely to report the police force used was “excessive” ( Fryer, 2019 ; Motley et al, 2020 ).…”