Researchers examine how highly public racial violence affects the mental health of Black individuals in the United States. Violent acts perceived as race-related and anti-Black garner national attention through traditional and social media. The precise effects of publicized racial violence on the mental health of Black individuals are unclear. David Curtis and colleagues identified 49 publicized incidents of racial violence that occurred between 2013 and 2017, including police killings of Black individuals, decisions not to indict or convict the officers involved, and hate crime murders. National interest in each incident was measured by week based on the volume of related Google search queries. Average poor mental health days by racial group was calculated per week using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2012 to 2017, including 217,171 Black respondents and 2,092,683 White respondents in the United States. Black respondents reported more poor mental health days during the weeks when two or more incidents of anti-Black violence occurred relative to none, and when national interest surrounding such events was at higher levels compared with lower levels. Mental health of White respondents was not significantly correlated with the timing of racial violence. The findings suggest that reducing anti-Black violence in the United States may benefit the mental health of Black individuals across the nation, according to the authors.
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Article #20-19624: "Highly public anti-Black violence is associated with poor mental health days for Black Americans," by David S. Curtis et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: David S. Curtis, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; tel: 801-803-3846; email: < david.curtis@fcs.utah.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences