"USA - NY - City of New York Police VARIATION" by conner395 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Exposure to Police Violence May Be Associated With Mental Health Disparities

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
"USA - NY - City of New York Police VARIATION" by conner395 is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr. Jordan E. DeVylder, PhD
Graduate School of Social Service
Fordham University, New York, New York

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: This study is intended to address the lack of empirical research on police violence from a public health perspective.

The main findings are that police violence is relatively widespread in Baltimore and New York City, is disproportionately directed toward people of color and sexual or gender minorities, and is associated with psychological distress, suicidal behavior, and psychosis-like symptoms.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? 

Response: Police violence exposure is commonly reported in New York Cities and is related to mental health difficulties and distress.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: Future research will need to better understand the direction of causality underlying associations between police violence and mental health. It is possible that police violence, like other forms of violence exposure, leads to poor mental health outcomes. It is also feasible that people with mental health difficulties are disproportionately likely to interact with police, with some subset of these interactions turning violent.

No disclosures

Citation:

DeVylder JE, Jun H, Fedina L, et al. Association of Exposure to Police Violence With Prevalence of Mental Health Symptoms Among Urban Residents in the United States. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(7):e184945. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.4945

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Last Updated on November 26, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD