Police Stops Among Adolescents With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Implications for Traumatic Stress.

Area of Science:

• Criminology
• Developmental Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Police interactions with youth are a significant public health concern.
• Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) may be disproportionately affected by these encounters.
• Understanding the impact of police stops on vulnerable youth populations is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in police stop experiences and outcomes between youth with and without IDD.
• To analyze the association between IDD diagnosis and the characteristics of police stops.
• To examine the impact of police stops on the psychological stress of youth with IDD.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) national sample (n=3,444).
• Logistic regression models assessed the link between IDD diagnosis and direct police stops.
• Negative binomial and linear regressions examined IDD's association with officer intrusiveness, procedural justice, emotional distress, and police-initiated post-traumatic stress (PI-PTSS) among youth who experienced a stop (n=918).

Main Results:

• No significant difference in the odds of experiencing a direct police stop between youth with and without IDD.
• Youth with IDD who experienced a direct police stop reported higher levels of emotional distress during the stop.
• Youth with IDD also reported higher levels of PI-PTSS compared to their peers without IDD.

Conclusions:

• Direct police stops appear to have more severe negative impacts on the stress and mental health of youth with IDD.
• Findings highlight the need for policy reform and specialized officer training to protect the well-being of youth with IDD.
• Further research is recommended to explore and address the mental health implications of police encounters for youth with IDD.