From Cara Murez
HealthDay reporter
THURSDAY, May 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) – A new poll confirms what many young black Americans already know: They are prone to anxiety disorders, especially while in or awaiting police contact.
“I think it’s important when you consider what’s going on in society,” said survey author Robert Motley, director of the Race and Opportunity Lab at Washington University in St. Louis.
“And I think it helps us understand better, as much of these police violence and mental health investigations have only begun to emerge since the Mike Brown incident,” Motley said, referring to the shooting of a black teenager by a white cop in Ferguson, Mon.
“We still don’t know exactly what the effect is, number one, because we don’t really know the actual rates of exposure, not even how many people are killed by the police, but just how many people are just the non-fatal use of force by the Police are exposed. ” ” he said.
The survey found that the fear of police contact was moderately high among the 300 respondents, all of whom attended a community college or university in St. Louis. Being male, being unemployed, and having experienced more violence in the community were significantly associated with greater fear of police contact.
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The researchers used a scale to rate the severity of anxiety symptoms a participant had during the past 30 days during or when anticipating police contact in light of previous experience, including direct experience of police use of force, observation of the police force Use of force or display of a police video Use of force in the media.
The study also found that respondents had, on average, witnessed police violence almost twice, witnessed police violence in person more than seven times, and watched a video of police violence more than 34 times.
Participants also witnessed violence in the community – acts of violence, including without the involvement of the police – an average of more than ten times in their lives.
Motley said his research interest has always been the exposure of young black adults to community violence, but he was more influenced by the violence that occurred shortly after his arrival in St. Louis than Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was influenced by a police officer was shot in 2014.
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Brown is one of many names familiar to those who study police violence or read the news, including George Floyd, who was killed in Minnesota last year.
The study was presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual virtual meeting last weekend. Results presented at medical meetings are preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Failure to get help for their anxiety can lead to behaviors like substance abuse, as well as causing them to shut down emotionally and not go to school. It can have a negative impact on family and relationships, Motley noted.
Anxiety can activate the body’s stress response system, making it difficult to focus, prioritize tasks, and preoccupy a person with a sense of danger around them, said Dr. Jessica Isom, psychiatrist at Codman Square Health Center in Boston. Chronic stress can lead to other health problems, from high blood pressure to poor quality sleep, she added.
“Chronic stress, which comes across the board as a person who is black in this country, essentially contributes to the same thing that adversely affects the mind and body,” said Isom, who was not part of the study.
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In everyday life there can be triggers for fear of police contacts, e.g. For example, if you see a police car while you are driving and are concerned about whether the officers are watching you and taking you to a security guard at the mall or in a town bank, she said.
Providers like doctors and teachers can work to reduce racial stress by making sure they aren’t contributing to it in their work. Isom suggests a trauma-related approach specifically for the police.
“The only way to make sure you approach people in a humane way is the same thing we do in healthcare. We need to approach people from a trauma-informed lens, which means you have the interaction through the maybe.” that person has not had a positive experience and may be responding to a disastrous notion of what that interaction means, “Isom said.
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“Because of this, you should take extra care to 1. check how they are experiencing the interaction; 2. provide information about what you are doing and why you are doing it; and 3. keep yourself in check. Your increased stress response as a.” The person in power will not help the person in your power, “she said.
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Motley now wants to study a larger sample of people and begin producing national estimates for exposure to violence.
These results could help doctors become aware that when they see an ethnic minority person in their offices, including the emergency room, that they should assess a person’s exposure to violence and anxiety symptoms, he said.
“And hopefully we can give them the proper care they need,” said Motley.
More information
The Washington Post has maintained a database of police on duty shootings since 2015.
SOURCES: Robert Motley, PhD, Director of the Race and Opportunity Lab, Washington University, St. Louis, MO; Jessica Isom, MD, MPH, psychiatrist, Codman Square Health Center, Boston, and clinical educator, Yale University, New Haven, Conn .; American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, May 1-3, 2021
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