Racial discrimination is associated with food insecurity, stress, and worse physical health among college students.

BACKGROUND: Students of color disproportionately experience racial discrimination and food insecurity, which both lead to poor academic and health outcomes. This study explores the extent to which the location of racial discrimination experienced is associated with food insecurity, stress, physical health and grade point average among college students METHODS: A cross sectional study design was implemented to survey 143 students from a racially diverse public university. Logistic regression models assessed if discrimination at various locations was associated with food insecurity and linear models assessed how racial discrimination was associated with physical health, stress and grade point average RESULTS: Student's experiencing food security had an average discrimination score of 2.3 (1.23, 3.37), while those experiencing food insecurity had a statistically significant (P < 0.001) higher average discrimination score 7.3 (5.4, 9.21). Experiencing any racial discrimination was associated with increased odds of experiencing food insecurity when experienced from the police (OR 11.76, 95% CI: 1.41, 97.86), in the housing process (OR 7.9, 95% CI: 1.93, 32.34) and in the hiring process (OR 6.81, 95% CI: 1.98, 23.48) compared to those experiencing no racial discrimination after adjusting for race, gender, age and income. CONCLUSION: The location in which a student experienced racial discrimination impacted the extent to which the racial discrimination was associated with food security status. Further research is needed to explore potential mechanisms for how racial discrimination may lead to food insecurity.

Police discrimination among Black, Latina/x/o, and White adolescents: Examining frequency and relations to academic functioning.

INTRODUCTION: Concerns regarding police brutality and violence against people of color in the U.S. remain high in the current sociohistorical moment in which the recent murder of George Floyd by a police officer is highly salient. Although the prevalence and consequences of such experiences for Black and Latina/x/o adults have been documented in the literature, there is a limited understanding of youths' negative experiences with police. METHODS: Utilizing a sample of 1378 adolescents (Mage = 16.16 years, SD = 1.12), the current study examined Black, Latina/x/o, and White youths' self-reports of ethnic-racial police discrimination and linked these experiences to youths' academic engagement and academic grades. RESULTS: Black and Latina/x/o youth reported significantly greater experiences of ethnic-racial police discrimination than their White counterparts; nearly 24% of Black youth and 20% of Latina/x/o youth experienced at least one instance of ethnic-racial police discrimination in the last year, compared to only 2.9% of White youth. Differences by gender emerged among Latina/x/o youth. Police discrimination was associated with lower academic engagement and lower academic grades among all youth. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate that the greater prevalence of ethnic-racial police discrimination in the lives of youth of color, relative to their White counterparts, mirroring the experiences of adults. Furthermore, coupled with the significant links with academic adjustment, the current findings demonstrate an additional factor that is likely implicated in the Black and Latina/x/o vs. White academic achievement gap.

Police discrimination and police distrust among ethnic minority adolescents in Germany.

In light of ongoing debates about racially motivated police violence, this paper examines two separate but interrelated phenomena: instances of police discrimination and mistrust in police and the judicial system among ethnic minorities in Germany. Analyses are carried out based on waves 1, 3, and 5 of the CILS4EU-DE data collected among 14 to 20 year-old respondents in Germany. The focus of the paper lies on young men from the Middle East, as well as Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, who-as our study demonstrates-tend to disproportionally more often report discrimination experiences and particularly low levels of trust in police and courts compared to other ethnic minorities and the majority populations in Germany, and partially also in comparison to their female counterparts. We also show that more frequent experiences of police discrimination are associated with greater distrust of the police and partially also with courts among young men from the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa. Female adolescents from similar backgrounds are also more distrustful of the police, but this is not explained by their own experiences of police discrimination.

Police Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms in African American Women: The Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure Study.

Introduction: There are significant and pervasive disparities in police violence and discrimination toward African Americans/Blacks. It is possible that these disparities may lead to heightened vulnerability for poor mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the associations between experiences of police discrimination and depressive symptoms in a community-based sample of African American/Black women. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional multivariable regression analysis using data from the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure Study that were collected over a 4-year period from September 2015 to June 2019. Depressive symptoms were assessed using 21 items from the Beck Depression Inventory. Police discrimination was assessed by questionnaires ascertaining experiences of discrimination by police; harassment by police or security guards; and experiences of being unfairly stopped, searched, threatened, or abused by police. Results: The analytical sample included 214 participants. Nineteen percent of participants indicated that they believed they experienced harassment from security guards/police due to their race/ethnicity. Fourteen percent of participants indicated that they had been unfairly stopped, searched, questioned, or abused by police. Police harassment was associated with higher depressive symptoms by an average of 4.48 (standard error [SE]=1.35, p<0.001). African American/Black women who were unfairly stopped, searched, or abused by police had higher depressive symptoms by an average of 4.54 (SE=1.57, p<0.01). Conclusion: African American/Black women who experienced police discrimination experienced higher prevalence of depressive symptoms. There is an urgent need for reliable population-level data on police mistreatment and interventions at the individual, community, and societal levels.

Latina/o Youths' Discrimination Experiences in the U.S. Southwest: Estimates from Three Studies.

Despite growing awareness of the negative effects of ethnic-racial discrimination, we know little about the frequency of these experiences among Latina/o youth. Utilizing three independent studies, we examined estimates of general discrimination and police discrimination among Latino/a youth living in the U.S. Southwest (total N = 1,066; ages 12 to 21 years old). Ethnic-racial discrimination experiences differed by adolescent gender; for girls, 47% reported discrimination at age 12; highest estimates were at age 17 (70%) and 18 years old (68%). Boys reported greater general discrimination than girls during early and late adolescence; the highest estimates were observed at ages 19, 20, and 21 years (94%, 86%, and 87% respectively). Gender differences also emerged with police discrimination; boys reported being hassled by a police officer more often than girls at every age. Findings suggest that most Latino/a adolescents experience discrimination, and Latino/a boys are particularly vulnerable.

SUBSTANCE USE AMONG SEXUAL AND GENDER MINORITIES: ASSOCIATION WITH POLICE DISCRIMINATION AND POLICE MISTRUST.

We investigated associations between experiences with police discrimination, police mistrust, and substance use in a convenience sample of 237 sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults in California. In a cross-sectional survey, collected between January 2016 and July 2017, participants reported substance use, lifetime experiences with SGM-related police discrimination, police mistrust, demographics and SGM visibility. In adjusted logistic regression models, we found a positive association between lifetime police discrimination and past-two-week heavy episodic drinking. Police mistrust also was positively associated with past-month marijuana use. Several significant interactions between lifetime police discrimination or police mistrust with other socially stigmatized identities including being African American, insecure housing, and being a gender minority on a few substance use outcomes suggest that effects of police discrimination and mistrust on substance use are stronger among participants with multiple stigmatized identities. Results suggest the importance of policies and interventions that focus on eliminating police discrimination and increasing police legitimacy to reduce risk of substance use among SGM individuals.

Intersectional social control: The roles of incarceration and police discrimination in psychological and HIV-related outcomes for Black sexual minority men.

RATIONALE: Although Black gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men face disproportionately high levels of incarceration and police discrimination, little research examines how these stressors may drive HIV and psychological health inequities among these men. OBJECTIVE: In this study we examined associations between incarceration history, police and law enforcement discrimination, and recent arrest with sexual HIV risk, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) willingness, and psychological distress among Black sexual minority men. METHOD: Participants were a U.S. national sample of 1172 Black sexual minority men who responded in 2017-2018 to self-report measures of incarceration history, past year police and law enforcement discrimination, recent arrests, sexual HIV risk, PrEP willingness, and psychological distress. We used structural equation modeling to examine direct and indirect pathways from incarceration, police and law enforcement discrimination, and arrests to sexual HIV risk, PrEP willingness, and psychological distress. RESULTS: Past-year police and law enforcement discrimination prevalence was 43%. Incarceration history was positively associated with later police and law enforcement discrimination, which, in turn, was positively associated with recent arrest. Incarceration and recent arrest and were associated with greater sexual HIV risk; incarceration and police and law enforcement discrimination were associated with lower PrEP willingness; and police and law enforcement discrimination was associated with higher psychological distress. Mediation analyses showed that the effects of incarceration were partially mediated by police and law enforcement discrimination. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest police discrimination may be a mechanism of mass incarceration and fundamental driver of health inequities among Black sexual minority men.