OBJECTIVE Given the greater contact that Black youth have with the legal system compared with White youth, it is important to consider the differential ways that police use of force against these youth is perceived. Black youth may be at greater risk than White youth for animalistic (being seen as animal-like) and mechanistic (being seen as object-like) dehumanization, which, along with a tendency for Black youth to be perceived as older (adultification), may impact observers' perceptions of police use of force toward Black youth. This study examined whether dehumanization and adultification were associated with the perceptions of force used and harm caused by police. HYPOTHESES We made five hypotheses. First, participants would dehumanize Black individuals more than White individuals, more mechanistically dehumanize Black women than Black men, and more animalistically dehumanize Black men than Black women. Second, dehumanization would be positively associated with adultification. Third, force would be rated as less appropriate and more excessive for White than for Black targets, particularly for males. Fourth, dehumanization, particularly animalistic dehumanization, would be associated with higher participant ratings of force justification and lower participant ratings of force severity and excessiveness. Fifth, participants would perceive girls as more harmed than boys and White individuals as more harmed than Black individuals. METHOD After completing an implicit dehumanization measure, participants viewed an image (varied on age and gender) of a juvenile, estimated the juvenile's age, and read a vignette in which the juvenile had an altercation with police. Participants rated the amount, severity, and justification of the force used by the officer as well as the physical and emotional harm caused to the juvenile. RESULTS We found that Black targets were dehumanized more than White targets. Adultification, unrelated to implicit dehumanization, predicted perceiving police use of force against juveniles as more justified and less severe. Black girls were most likely to experience adultification; participants generally perceived them as less victimized than Black boys and White girls. CONCLUSIONS Adultification is associated with fewer protections for youth. Those with particular intersectional identities, such as Black girls, may be uniquely vulnerable to harm caused by police victimization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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检查非人化和成人化对警察对黑人女孩和男孩使用武力的正当性的后果。

目标 鉴于与白人青年相比，黑人青年与法律制度的接触更多，因此考虑警察对这些青年使用武力的不同方式是很重要的。黑人青年可能比白人青年面临更大的兽性（被视为动物）和机械（被视为物体）非人化的风险，这与黑人青年被视为年长（成人化）的趋势一起，可能会影响观察者对警察对黑人青年使用武力的看法。这项研究调查了非人化和成人化是否与警察使用武力和造成伤害的看法有关。假设 我们提出了五个假设。首先，与白人相比，参与者对黑人的非人化程度更高，黑人女性比黑人男性更机械地非人化，黑人男性比黑人女性更动物化。其次，非人化与成人化正相关。第三，与黑人目标相比，白人的武力将被评为不太合适和过度，尤其是对男性而言。第四，非人化，尤其是兽性的非人化，将与较高的参与者对武力正当化的评分以及较低的参与者对武力严重性和过度性的评分有关。第五，参与者会认为女孩比男孩受到的伤害更大，而白人比黑人更容易受到伤害。方法 在完成隐含的非人化措施后，参与者观看了青少年的图像（因年龄和性别而异），估计了青少年的年龄，并阅读了一个小插曲，其中少年与警察发生争执。参与者对警官使用武力的数量、严重程度和正当性以及对青少年造成的身心伤害进行了评级。结果 我们发现黑人目标比白人目标更容易被非人化。成人化与隐含的非人化无关，预示着警察对青少年使用武力更合理、更不严厉。黑人女孩最有可能经历成人期；参与者普遍认为他们比黑人男孩和白人女孩更少受害。结论 成年与对青少年的保护较少有关。那些具有特定交叉身份的人，例如黑人女孩，可能特别容易受到警察伤害造成的伤害。