Sleep Problems Among Black Youth Exposed to Police Violence on Digital Media

Police violence is a public health crisis in the United States that disproportionately impacts young people of color.1,2 By age 15, over 70% of Black youth have witnessed police stops in their neighborhoods and schools, and 40% of Black boys have been directly stopped by police.3,4 Exposure to police aggression-such as harsh language and threats or use of force-is heavily racialized, as Black male youth are more than 3 times as likely to be subjected to police aggression when stopped compared with White male youth (67% v 21%).3 Beyond in-person police interactions, social and digital media content on fatal or nonfatal incidents of police violence in the community is an important but understudied form of exposure to police violence. A small group of studies have suggested that these digital media exposures have the potential to increase depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among Black adolescents and emerging mental health and critical health resource for optimal youth functioning and development. Still, 1 recent qualitative study distress plays in this process.