TY - JOUR
T1 - Police harassment and psychosocial vulnerability, distress, and depressive symptoms among black men who have sex with men in the U.S.
T2 - Longitudinal analysis of HPTN 061
AU - Remch, Molly
AU - Duncan, Dustin T.
AU - Geller, Amanda
AU - Turpin, Rodman
AU - Dyer, Typhanye
AU - Scheidell, Joy D.
AU - Cleland, Charles M.
AU - Kaufman, Jay S.
AU - Brewer, Russell
AU - Hucks-Ortiz, Christopher
AU - van der Mei, Willem
AU - Mayer, Kenneth H.
AU - Khan, Maria R.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was supported by the National Institutes of Health ( R01DA044037 , Maria Khan, PhD). The HPTN 061 study was supported by NIAID , NIDA , and NIMH under cooperative agreement #UM1 AI068619 . Rodman Turpin and Typhanye Dyer are also supported by #U48 DP006382 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . The funders had no role in study design, data analysis or interpretation, or manuscript preparation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - The mental health impact of exposure to police harassment is understudied, particularly among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM), a group at elevated risk of exposure to such discrimination. This study aimed to identify the associations among BMSM between recent police harassment and psychosocial vulnerability, psychological distress, and depression measured six months later. Data come from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061 Study, a cohort study of BMSM recruited in 6 U.S. cities (Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Washington DC). Participants completed baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up interviews. A convenience sample of 1553 BMSM was recruited between July 2009 and October 2010 of whom 1155 returned for a follow-up interview 12 months later. Accounting for previous police interaction, poverty, psychopathology, drug use, and alcohol use, we estimated associations between recent police harassment reported at the 6 month follow-up interview and 12 month outcomes including psychosocial vulnerability (elevated racial/sexual identity incongruence), psychological distress (being distressed by experiences of racism and/or homophobia), and depression. About 60% of men reported experiencing police harassment between the baseline and 6-month interview due to their race and/or sexuality. Adjusted analyses suggested police harassment was independently associated with a 10.81 (95% CI: 7.97, 13.66) point increase and 8.68 (95% CI: 6.06, 11.30) point increase in distress due to experienced racism and distress due to experienced homophobia scores, respectively. Police harassment perceived to be dually motivated predicted disproportionate levels of distress. Police harassment is prevalent and associated with negative influences on psychosocial vulnerability and psychological distress among BMSM. Reducing exposure to police harassment may improve the psychosocial health of BMSM.
AB - The mental health impact of exposure to police harassment is understudied, particularly among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM), a group at elevated risk of exposure to such discrimination. This study aimed to identify the associations among BMSM between recent police harassment and psychosocial vulnerability, psychological distress, and depression measured six months later. Data come from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061 Study, a cohort study of BMSM recruited in 6 U.S. cities (Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Washington DC). Participants completed baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up interviews. A convenience sample of 1553 BMSM was recruited between July 2009 and October 2010 of whom 1155 returned for a follow-up interview 12 months later. Accounting for previous police interaction, poverty, psychopathology, drug use, and alcohol use, we estimated associations between recent police harassment reported at the 6 month follow-up interview and 12 month outcomes including psychosocial vulnerability (elevated racial/sexual identity incongruence), psychological distress (being distressed by experiences of racism and/or homophobia), and depression. About 60% of men reported experiencing police harassment between the baseline and 6-month interview due to their race and/or sexuality. Adjusted analyses suggested police harassment was independently associated with a 10.81 (95% CI: 7.97, 13.66) point increase and 8.68 (95% CI: 6.06, 11.30) point increase in distress due to experienced racism and distress due to experienced homophobia scores, respectively. Police harassment perceived to be dually motivated predicted disproportionate levels of distress. Police harassment is prevalent and associated with negative influences on psychosocial vulnerability and psychological distress among BMSM. Reducing exposure to police harassment may improve the psychosocial health of BMSM.
KW - Black men who have sex with men
KW - Mental health
KW - Minority health
KW - Police
KW - Racism
KW - Sexual minority
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100753
DO - 10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100753
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100896231
SN - 2352-8273
VL - 13
JO - SSM - Population Health
JF - SSM - Population Health
M1 - 100753
ER -