The present study investigates associations between cumulative police exposures, police violence stress, and depressive symptoms among Black youth, and whether LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer) identities moderate these associations. Data come from the Survey of Police-Adolescent Contact Experiences (SPACE), a cross-sectional survey of a community-based sample of Black youth ages 12–21 in Baltimore City, Maryland (n = 345), administered from August 2022 to July 2023. We used multivariable ordinary least squares regression to estimate direct associations and product-term analysis to test for effect modification by sexual identities. We also calculate covariate-adjusted predicted depressive symptoms scores by cumulative police exposures and police violence stress across sexual identities. Findings indicate that LGBQ youth collectively reported higher levels of police violence stress than heterosexual youth. Still, LGBQ youth varied in their cumulative police exposures, which were significantly higher among bisexual and queer youth than lesbian or gay youth. Associations between cumulative police exposures, police violence stress, and depressive symptoms were significantly moderated by LGBQ identity, with the largest associations emerging for bisexual and queer youth. Police exposures and police violence stress also compounded to worsen depressive symptoms among the subsample of LGBQ youth. Collectively, our findings suggest that LGBQ youth–especially bisexual and queer youth–may be particularly vulnerable to the mental health harms of cumulative police exposures and police violence stress. Intersectional, public health approaches that combine prevention and treatment strategies are needed to mitigate LGBQ mental health inequities stemming from cumulative police exposures and police violence stress.

本研究调查了黑人青年中累积的警察暴露、警察暴力压力和抑郁症状之间的关联，以及 LGBQ（女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和酷儿）身份是否调节了这些关联。数据来自警察与青少年接触经历调查 (SPACE)，这是一项针对马里兰州巴尔的摩市 12 至 21 岁黑人青少年社区样本的横断面调查（n  = 345），于 2022 年 8 月至 7 月进行2023。我们使用多变量普通最小二乘回归来估计直接关联，并使用乘积项分析来测试性别认同的影响修正。我们还通过累积的警察暴露和不同性别身份的警察暴力压力来计算协变量调整后的预测抑郁症状评分。调查结果表明，LGBQ 青年总体报告的警察暴力压力高于异性恋青年。尽管如此，LGBQ 青少年的累积警察暴露情况各不相同，双性恋和酷儿青少年的暴露程度明显高于女同性恋或男同性恋青少年。 LGBQ 身份显着调节了累积的警察暴露、警察暴力压力和抑郁症状之间的关联，其中最大的关联出现在双性恋和酷儿青年身上。警察接触和警察暴力压力也加剧了 LGBQ 青少年子样本的抑郁症状。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，LGBQ 青少年——尤其是双性恋和酷儿青少年——可能特别容易受到累积的警察接触和警察暴力压力的心理健康危害。需要采取将预防和治疗策略相结合的交叉公共卫生方法，以减轻因警察累积暴露和警察暴力压力而造成的 LGBQ 心理健康不平等。