Formal Social Control and Mental Health

Ethnic Variation among Black Women

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8249397
AutoresR D Talbert (0000-0001-5211-2838, University of Connecticut, autor de correspondencia), E J Patterson (0000-0002-8701-9665, Georgetown University)
Año2024
Volumen10
Número1
Páginas139-158
Fecha de publicación2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Race and Ethnicity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2332-6492 • E-ISSN: 2332-6506
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/23326492231187294
OpenAlexW4385423027
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas67

The present study uses elements of the social stress and intersectionality theories to examine associations between forms of criminal justice contact and mental health among African American and Afro-Caribbean women. While mass incarceration disproportionately targets, detains, and affects Black populations, the experiences and consequences of criminal justice contact for Black women remain understudied. Utilizing the National Survey of American Life ( n = 3,011), this study examined ethnic-stratified associations between criminal justice contact and three mental health indicators among Black women—psychological distress, self-rated mental health, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We assessed justice contact based on any contact (i.e., direct contact and/or family member incarceration), and then disaggregated contact into direct (i.e., personally experienced negative police interactions, arrests, and incarceration) and familial incarceration. Findings showed that any contact as well as direct forms of contact were associated with higher psychological distress for African American women and odds of PTSD for both groups. Furthermore, negative police interactions and family member incarceration were associated with psychological distress for African American women, while only familial incarceration worsened self-rated mental health for Afro-Caribbean women. This study yields important insights for research at the intersection of gender-ethnic status, spillover outcomes of formal social control, and mental health stratification

Criminal justice · Criminology · Distress · Ethnic group · Intersectionality · Mental health · Psychiatry · Sociology · Clinical Psychology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology