Despite increased attention to the links between the criminal justice system and health, how criminal justice contacts shape health and contribute to racial health disparities remains to be better understood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 5,488) and several analytic techniques—including a quasi-treatment–control design, treatment-weighting procedures, and mediation analyses—this study examines how criminal justice contacts shape inflammatory and depressive risk and contribute to black–white health gaps. Findings revealed that incarceration is associated with increased C-reactive protein and depressive risk, particularly for individuals who experienced long durations of incarceration. Arrests are also associated with mental health, and mediation analyses showed that racial disparities in arrests and incarceration were drivers of black–white gaps in depressive symptoms. Together, this study provides new evidence of the role of the criminal justice system in shaping health and patterning black–white health gaps from adolescence through early adulthood.

尽管人们越来越关注刑事司法系统与健康之间的联系，但仍有待更好地了解刑事司法联系如何影响健康并导致种族健康差异。使用国家青少年到成人健康纵向研究 (N = 5,488) 和几种分析技术（包括准治疗控制设计、治疗加权程序和调解分析）的数据，本研究探讨了刑事司法接触如何塑造炎症和抑郁风险并导致黑白健康差距。研究结果表明，监禁与 C 反应蛋白增加和抑郁风险有关，特别是对于长期监禁的人。逮捕也与心理健康有关，中介分析表明，逮捕和监禁方面的种族差异是导致抑郁症状出现黑白差距的原因。总之，这项研究提供了新的证据，证明刑事司法系统在塑造健康和塑造从青春期到成年早期的黑白健康差距方面的作用。