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

Abstract

This study uses data from the most recent wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (wave V of Add Health) to examine the predictors of experiencing unfair treatment by police. It also considers the degree to which unfair police treatment is associated with a range of social‐psychological and behavioral outcomes in adulthood, including depressive symptoms, self‐efficacy, suicide ideation, and drug use. Finally, this study examines whether any of the relationships between unfair police treatment and adult outcomes differ by race and ethnicity. Most broadly, results suggest that the odds of reporting ever experiencing unfair treatment by police are disproportionately higher among minorities (and more specifically non‐Latino Blacks), men, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, such experiences are detrimental to all of the social‐psychological and behavioral outcomes in adulthood, even after accounting for the differences in who is most likely to experience unfair police treatment via propensity score methods. Lastly, some of these consequences seem to be more pronounced among non‐Latino Whites compared with non‐Latino Blacks, which we believe is attributable to the unfortunate reality that unfair police contact continues to be a normative life‐course event for Black people in the United States.

Race and Ethnicity Differences in Police Contact and Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward the Police Among Youth

“…Relative to other demographic characteristics, a person’s racial background has been one of the most consistent predictors of attitudes toward police. In general, existing research has largely focused on the experience of black individuals, showing that they have less favorable views of the police than white individuals (Dennison & Finkeldey, 2021; Kramer & Remster, 2018; Peck, 2015; Weitzer & Tuch, 2004; Wheelock et al, 2019). Moreover, Hispanic individuals’ support for the police tends to be lower than that of white individuals yet higher than that of black individuals (Ekins, 2016).…”

Unfair police treatment and sleep problems among a national sample of adults

“…In 2018, more than 61 million Americans interacted with law enforcement and about half of these encounters were initiated by the police (Harrell & Davis, 2020). Research shows that exposure to police stops corresponds to adverse psychological well-being, such as increased depressive symptoms (Del Toro et al, 2019;Dennison & Finkeldey, 2021), post-traumatic stress and stigma (Jackson et al, 2019), and heightened risk of poorer general health (McFarland et al, 2019). These healthrelated consequences are augmented among those that report intrusive and/or procedurally unjust interactions with the police (Jackson et al, 2019(Jackson et al, , 2020McFarland et al, 2019).…”

Toward a Psychological Science of Abolition Democracy: Insights for Improving Theory and Research on Race and Public Safety

“…When people believe they have been stopped without reasonable justification, they feel anger, fear, distress, and annoyance (Nadal et al, 2017). Of crucial importance, across all races, unfair police treatment appears to be associated with depressive symptoms, drug use, lowered self-efficacy, and suicidal ideation (Dennison & Finkeldey, 2021). This is especially concerning because Black people are more likely than White people to report having been unfairly stopped, searched, or questioned by the police-by a margin of 269% in one study (Dennison & Finkeldey, 2021).…”

“…Of crucial importance, across all races, unfair police treatment appears to be associated with depressive symptoms, drug use, lowered self-efficacy, and suicidal ideation (Dennison & Finkeldey, 2021). This is especially concerning because Black people are more likely than White people to report having been unfairly stopped, searched, or questioned by the police-by a margin of 269% in one study (Dennison & Finkeldey, 2021). Less procedurally just police encounters also are associated with more negative mental health symptoms later on (Geller et al, 2014), and, compared to White people, Black people are more likely to report having been questioned intrusively, disrespectfully, and even abusively by police (Epp et al, 2014;Tyler, 2005;Tyler & Huo, 2002;Weitzer & Tuch, 2006).…”