Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to examine racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the relationship
between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and perceived unfair police treatment
in the United States.
Methods
Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 8,876). Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between
accumulating ACEs and perceived unfair police treatment. Moderation analyses were
conducted to assess interactions between ACEs, race, and ethnicity.
Results
Those with four or more ACEs were 3.4 times as likely to report perceived unfair police
treatment by adulthood, relative to individuals with zero ACEs (odds ratio = 3.411,
95% confidence interval = 2.634, 4.418). Still, Black individuals have the highest
probability of experiencing unfair police contact, and this pattern remains relatively
stable irrespective of the number of ACEs. The probability of perceived unfair police
treatment significantly increases alongside accumulating ACEs for all other racial
and ethnic groups.
Discussion
Exposure to accumulating ACEs substantially elevates the likelihood of perceived unfair
police treatment. However, perceived unfair police treatment is so common in the lives
of Black Americans; it occurs at considerably high rates irrespective of ACE exposure.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 04, 2022
Accepted:
November 23,
2021
Received:
June 22,
2021
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.
