Thesis
The Effects of Unfair Police Interactions on the Mental Health of Black Adolescents
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2025
Abstract
Sociological research has found deleterious effects of contact with the criminal legal system on individuals’ mental health outcomes. This project uses the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement to examine the effect of experiencing an unfair police encounter on three mental health outcomes among a general sample of 1126 Black adolescents: depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and diagnosed DSM-IV disorders. Using ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression analyses, this project found that unfair police encounters were associated with greater depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem, and greater prevalence of DSM-IV disorders. These results hold when controlling for demographic characteristics, neighborhood safety, racial centrality, and emotional support. These results imply that unfair police encounters are connected to worse mental health among Black adolescents in the United States.
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Details
- Title
- The Effects of Unfair Police Interactions on the Mental Health of Black Adolescents
- Creators
- Seth Thomas Wood
- Contributors
- Jennifer Schwartz (Advisor)Thomas Rotolo (Committee Member)Monica K Johnson (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Sociology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 66
- Identifiers
- 99901394203901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis