Adverse Childhood Experiences and Perceived Unfair Police Treatment: Differences by Race and Ethnicity

Nonparticipation in Work and Education in Emerging Adulthood and Depressive Symptoms through Early Midlife

More than one-in-eight young adults in the US between the ages of 16 to 24 were not in employment, education, or training (NEET) in 2020 - a level not seen since the Great Recession. This study examines the long-term association between NEET status in emerging adulthood and later depressive symptoms using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1995-2018). Growth curve models chart the association between NEET status and depressive symptoms over time in the US. The analytic sample includes 9,349 individuals and 28,047 person-wave observations for respondents between ages 18 to 43. In a fully specified model, respondents who reported NEET status in emerging adulthood (ages 18-26), exhibited greater depressive symptoms across emerging adulthood through early midlife (ages 33-43) (b=0.44, 95% CI 0.33, 0.54) compared to those participating in employment, education, or training. Associations persisted even after accounting for early life disadvantage and using propensity score matching to further diminish possible sources of bias. Results indicate that disconnection from school and work during emerging adulthood may constitute a risk factor for depressive symptoms through early midlife.

United States Youth Arrest and Health Across the Life Course: A Nationally Representative Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND

Youth are arrested at high rates in the United States; however, long-term health effects of arrest remain unmeasured. We sought to describe the sociodemographic characteristics and health of adults who were arrested at various ages among a nationally representative sample.

METHODS

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we describe sociodemographics and health status in adolescence (Wave I, ages 12-21) and adulthood (Wave V, ages 32-42) for people first arrested at age younger than 14 years, 14 to 17 years, and 18 to 24 years, compared to never arrested adults. Health measures included physical health (general health, mobility/functional limitations, death), mental health (depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts), and clinical biomarkers (hypertension, diabetes). We estimate associations between age of first arrest and health using covariate adjusted regressions.

RESULTS

Among the sample of 10,641 adults, 28.5% had experienced arrest before age 25. Individuals first arrested as children (ie, age <14) were disproportionately Black, compared to White. Compared to individuals never arrested, people arrested before age 25 had more depressive symptoms and higher rates of suicidal thoughts during adolescence. Arrest before age 25 was associated with worse self-reported health, higher rates of functional limitations, more depressive symptoms, and greater mortality by adulthood (ages 32-42).

CONCLUSIONS

Arrest before age 25 was associated with worse physical and mental health--and even death in adulthood. Child arrest was disproportionately experienced by Black children. Reducing arrests of youth may be associated with improved health across the life course, particularly among Black youth, thereby promoting health equity.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, health insurance status, and health care utilization in middle adulthood

RATIONALE

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) negatively impact health over the life-course. Yet, compared to the robust literature on the consequences for ACEs for health, substantially fewer studies assess the implications of exposure to ACEs for health insurance status and health care utilization in adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between accumulating ACEs and (1) an individual's health insurance status, and (2) usual source of care, as well as examine the mediating role of adult socioeconomic status.

METHODS

Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 8,757). Multinomial logistic regression is used to assess the relationship between ACEs and health insurance status and the usual source of care.

RESULTS

Net of control and mediating variables, accumulating exposure to ACEs -particularly four or more ACEs- is associated with a higher likelihood of being uninsured and utilizing the emergency room as the usual source of care. Adult socioeconomic status including educational attainment, household income, employment status, and being uninsured-in the case of usual source of care-substantially mediates these associations.

CONCLUSION

ACEs carry negative repercussions for health insurance and patterns of healthcare utilization that spans into adulthood, and this is largely driven by poor adult socioeconomic status.

Anticipation of Racially Motivated Police Brutality and Youth Mental Health

Purpose

Exposure to police brutality is a significant risk to adolescent mental health. This study extends this literature by exploring connections between anticipation of racially motivated police brutality and multiple facets of adolescent mental health.

Methods

Students ages 14 to 18 (n = 151) were recruited from a study administered in Baltimore City public schools. Between December 2020 and July 2021, participants completed a questionnaire assessing anticipatory stress regarding racially motivated police brutality and current mental health. Regression models examined associations between this anticipatory stress and mental health. Latent profile and regression analyses were used to examine whether anticipatory stress was more salient among adolescents with comorbid mental health symptoms, compared to those without comorbid symptoms.

Results

Youth with anticipatory stress stemming from both personal and vicarious police brutality had more symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, as well as lower hope, compared to youth without anticipatory stress. The association between anticipatory stress and anxiety was stronger for girls than boys.

Conclusions

Findings from this study highlight racialized police brutality as a common anticipated stressor among youth, particularly for girls. Findings have implications for policing interventions, including development of additional trainings for police officers and promoting positive police/youth interactions.