Frequent police stops, parental incarceration and mental health: results among US non-Hispanic Black and White adolescent girls and boys

Background National monitoring of police-public contact does not extend below age 16 and few studies have examined associations with adolescent mental health. Methods We describe the distribution of police stops in a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of adolescents ages 12 to 18 years in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement 2002 and 2007 (n=2557). We used survey-weighted race/ethnicity-stratified and gender-stratified regression models to examine associations between the frequency of police stops and both depressive symptoms and subjective well-being (emotional, psychological and social). We adjusted for several socioeconomic covariates and evaluated effect modification by parental incarceration. Results We estimated that 9.58% of adolescents were stopped two or more times. Despite fewer police stops compared with boys, Black and White girls who were stopped at least two times in the last 6 months had higher average depression scores relative to girls who were not stopped (Black: 2.13 (95% CI: 0.73 to 3.53), White: 2.17 (95% CI: 1.07 to 3.27)) and these associations were stronger among girls whose parents had been incarcerated. Police stops were significantly associated with higher depressive scores for White, but not Black, boys (2+ vs 0 stops: White: 1.33 (95% CI: 0.31 to 2.36, Black: 0.53 (95% CI: -0.28 to 1.34)). Associations between subjective well-being and police stops were stronger among non-Hispanic Black relative to White girls, whereas for boys, associations varied across subjective well-being subscales. Conclusion National monitoring data and public health research should examine adolescent police contact at younger ages stratified by both race/ethnicity and gender in order to better understand its relationship with adolescent mental health.