IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i12p4330-d372695.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Can I Live”: Black American Adolescent Boys’ Reports of Police Abuse and the Role of Religiosity on Mental Health

Author

Listed:
  • Ashley N. Jackson

    (George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes

    (George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Jewel D. Stafford

    (College of Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA)

  • Helen Robinson

    (George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Phylicia C. Allen

    (George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

Abstract

State sanctioned violence aimed at Black individuals and communities is an issue that has pervaded American history and society since before the establishment of the United States. For Black males, anticipating and preparing for involuntary police contact, unfortunately, is an inevitable part of life. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of reports of police abuse on mental health and perceived racial out-group perceptions and the protective role of religiosity among a nationally representative sample of Black American adolescent boys (M age = 14.98). Linear multiple regression was used to determine the interactive effects of subjective religiosity and reported police abuse on Black American adolescent boys. Higher reports of subjective religiosity were associated with lower depressive symptomatology. Reports of police abuse were associated with lower public regard beliefs (belief that society views Black Americans less favorably). Results highlight the impact experiencing police abuse has on Black adolescent boys and we conclude with implications, areas for future research and intervention points.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashley N. Jackson & Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes & Jewel D. Stafford & Helen Robinson & Phylicia C. Allen, 2020. "“Can I Live”: Black American Adolescent Boys’ Reports of Police Abuse and the Role of Religiosity on Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:12:p:4330-:d:372695
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4330/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/12/4330/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Williams, D.R. & Neighbors, H.W. & Jackson, J.S., 2003. "Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(2), pages 200-208.
    2. Williams, D.R. & Haile, R. & González, H.M. & Neighbors, H. & Baser, R. & Jackson, J.S., 2007. "The mental health of Black Caribbean immigrants: Results from the National Survey of American Life," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(1), pages 52-59.
    3. Geller, A. & Fagan, J. & Tyler, T. & Link, B.G., 2014. "Aggressive policing and the mental health of young urban men," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(12), pages 2321-2327.
    4. Sewell, Abigail A. & Jefferson, Kevin A. & Lee, Hedwig, 2016. "Living under surveillance: Gender, psychological distress, and stop-question-and-frisk policing in New York City," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1-13.
    5. William C. Horrace & Shawn M. Rohlin, 2016. "How Dark Is Dark? Bright Lights, Big City, Racial Profiling," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(2), pages 226-232, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carbonaro, Richard, 2022. "System avoidance and social isolation: Mechanisms connecting police contact and deleterious health outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    2. Fine, Adam D. & Del Toro, Juan & Orosco, Carlena, 2022. "Consequences of fearing police: Associations with youths' mental health and felt obligation to obey both the law and school rules," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Chae, David H. & Lincoln, Karen D. & Adler, Nancy E. & Syme, S. Leonard, 2010. "Do experiences of racial discrimination predict cardiovascular disease among African American men? The moderating role of internalized negative racial group attitudes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1182-1188, September.
    4. Juan Del Toro & Alvin Thomas & Ming-Te Wang & Diane Hughes, 2019. "The Health-Related Consequences to Police Stops as Pathways to Risks in Academic Performance for Urban Adolescents," Working Papers wp19-09-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    5. Kristin Turney, 2019. "Vicarious and Contingent Consequences of Adolescent Police Exposure," Working Papers wp19-01-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    6. Kristin Turney, 2019. "Vicarious and Contingent Consequences of Adolescent Police Exposure," Working Papers wp19-12-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    7. Katherine H A Footer & Ju Nyeong Park & Saba Rouhani & Noya Galai & Bradley E Silberzahn & Steven Huettner & Sean T Allen & Susan G Sherman, 2020. "The development of the Police Practices Scale: Understanding policing approaches towards street-based female sex workers in a U.S. City," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Asad, Asad L. & Clair, Matthew, 2018. "Racialized legal status as a social determinant of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 19-28.
    9. Sewell, Abigail A. & Jefferson, Kevin A. & Lee, Hedwig, 2016. "Living under surveillance: Gender, psychological distress, and stop-question-and-frisk policing in New York City," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1-13.
    10. Jackson, Dylan B. & Testa, Alexander & Vaughn, Michael G., 2020. "Low self-control and the adolescent police stop: Intrusiveness, emotional response, and psychological well-being," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A., 2007. "Beyond acculturation: Immigration, discrimination, and health research among Mexicans in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(7), pages 1524-1535, October.
    12. Amanda Geller, 2017. "Policing America's Children: Police Contact and Consequences Among Teens in Fragile Families," Working Papers wp18-02-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    13. Simckes, Maayan & Willits, Dale & McFarland, Michael & McFarland, Cheryl & Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali & Hajat, Anjum, 2021. "The adverse effects of policing on population health: A conceptual model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    14. Jackson, Dylan B. & Testa, Alexander & Semenza, Daniel C. & Skinner, Rebecca & Vaughn, Michael G., 2022. "Police stops and youths’ educational expectations: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    15. Liat Ayalon, 2018. "Perceived Age Discrimination: A Precipitator or a Consequence of Depressive Symptoms?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(5), pages 860-869.
    16. Kevin Lang & Ariella Kahn-Lang Spitzer, 2020. "Race Discrimination: An Economic Perspective," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 68-89, Spring.
    17. Johnston, David W. & Lordan, Grace, 2012. "Discrimination makes me sick! An examination of the discrimination–health relationship," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 99-111.
    18. Song, Jieun & Mailick, Marsha R. & Greenberg, Jan S., 2018. "Health of parents of individuals with developmental disorders or mental health problems: Impacts of stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 152-158.
    19. repec:pri:crcwel:wp08-15-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Gaeul Kim & Jinmok Kim & Su-Kyoung Lee & Juho Sim & Yangwook Kim & Byung-Yoon Yun & Jin-Ha Yoon, 2020. "Multidimensional gender discrimination in workplace and depressive symptoms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, July.
    21. Ingrid Gould Ellen & Stephen L. Ross, 2018. "Race and the City," Working Papers 2018-022, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:12:p:4330-:d:372695. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.