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Overall, adolescents exhibit a high level of confidence in the police. Nevertheless, it is problematic when certain social groups show lower levels of confidence in the police as this can affect police legitimacy. Based on a representative survey of ninth-grade students in Lower Saxony (N = 12,444), conducted in 2019, the current study examines confidence in the police among adolescents with and without a migration background. As well as an examination of the correlation, the study analyses whether the lower rate of confidence in the police among adolescents with a migration background can potentially be explained by them being exposed to a greater share and burden of influencing factors which impact confidence in the police (e.g. police contact, involvement with delinquent peers and neighbourhood characteristics). It is shown that adolescents with a migration background exhibit lower levels of confidence in the police than adolescents without a migration background. Although the correlation decreases upon the inclusion of other factors that influence confidence in the police, this relationship cannot be fully explained by the fact that young people with a migration background are also more burdened by the other determinants. However, the strongest correlations with confidence in the police are found for affinity for violence, friendship with delinquent individuals, police contact, property offenders, fear of crime and incivilities.
Overall, adolescents exhibit a high level of confidence in the police. Nevertheless, it is problematic when certain social groups show lower levels of confidence in the police as this can affect police legitimacy. Based on a representative survey of ninth-grade students in Lower Saxony (N = 12,444), conducted in 2019, the current study examines confidence in the police among adolescents with and without a migration background. As well as an examination of the correlation, the study analyses whether the lower rate of confidence in the police among adolescents with a migration background can potentially be explained by them being exposed to a greater share and burden of influencing factors which impact confidence in the police (e.g. police contact, involvement with delinquent peers and neighbourhood characteristics). It is shown that adolescents with a migration background exhibit lower levels of confidence in the police than adolescents without a migration background. Although the correlation decreases upon the inclusion of other factors that influence confidence in the police, this relationship cannot be fully explained by the fact that young people with a migration background are also more burdened by the other determinants. However, the strongest correlations with confidence in the police are found for affinity for violence, friendship with delinquent individuals, police contact, property offenders, fear of crime and incivilities.
Growing evidence suggests that experiences with police are associated with a range of negative mental health problems among youth. This study examined the impact of negative police contact on changes in adolescent internalizing problems, measured by anxiety and depression. Six waves of data from a longitudinal study in Zurich, Switzerland were used in order to assess the direct relations between first reported police contact in the years prior to the survey moment and internalizing problems at the time of the survey and follow-up waves. The sample consists of a cohort of youth (max n = 1353, 49.4% females) spanning ages 11 to 24 (mean age and SD at each wave = 11.32 (0.37), 13.67 (0.36), 15.44 (0.36), 17.45 (0.37), 20.58 (0.38), 24.46 (0.38)). Specifically, difference-in-differences techniques for multiple time periods were employed to assess the average treatment effects for the treated population (first contact with police) compared to those who were never treated (never had contact). Across all models, police contact did not lead to an increase in internalizing problems. These results diverge from previous studies mostly conducted in the United States, and possible explanations including differences in historical contexts of policing, juvenile justice, health care, and dosage of intrusive contacts are discussed.
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