Black males are disproportionately the victims of police killings in the United States, yet few studies have examined their personal narratives of trauma and bereavement resulting from police violence. Informed by critical race theory and stress and coping theory, we used a modified grounded theory approach to conduct and analyze in-depth, semistructured life history interviews with 40 young Black men (aged 18-24 years) in Baltimore, Maryland. Study participants were recruited from a GED and job readiness center serving Baltimore youth. Study results offer a nuanced understanding of the patterning and mental health consequences of police violence for young Black men. Participant disclosures of witnessing and experiencing police violence began in childhood and spanned through emerging adulthood, met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fifth Edition criteria for trauma exposure, and embodied theoretical conceptualizations of racial trauma. Exposures to police violence fostered distrust of police and informed participants’ appraisals of their vulnerability to police violence across the life course. Six study participants disclosed losing loved ones to police killings. Injustice and hypervigilance accompanied grief. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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“这是我生活中的第一恐惧。这是警察”：调查年轻黑人男子因警察暴力和警察杀人而遭受的创伤和损失

在美国，黑人男性不成比例地成为警察杀人的受害者，但很少有研究调查他们对警察暴力造成的创伤和丧亲之痛的个人叙述。在批判种族理论和压力与应对理论的指导下，我们使用改进的扎根理论方法对马里兰州巴尔的摩的 40 名年轻黑人男性（18-24 岁）进行了深入、半结构化的生活史访谈，并对其进行了分析。研究参与者是从为巴尔的摩青年服务的 GED 和就业准备中心招募的。研究结果提供了对警察暴力对年轻黑人男子的模式和心理健康后果的细微了解。参与者披露目睹和经历警察暴力的情况始于童年，并跨越新兴的成年期，符合《精神疾病诊断和统计手册》第五版的创伤暴露标准，并体现了种族创伤的理论概念。暴露于警察暴力会加剧对警察的不信任，并告知参与者他们在整个生命过程中对警察暴力的脆弱性的评估。六名研究参与者透露，因警察杀人而失去亲人。不公正和过度警惕伴随着悲伤。讨论了对研究、政策和实践的影响。不公正和过度警惕伴随着悲伤。讨论了对研究、政策和实践的影响。不公正和过度警惕伴随着悲伤。讨论了对研究、政策和实践的影响。