An exploration of racially minoritised people’s experiences of race-based stereotype threat during police-initiated encounters.

Abstract

Chapter one of this thesis is a systematic review of 16 studies, aiming to investigate if racially minoritised [RM] people’s psychological experiences and behavioural responses to police-initiated encounters differ from White people’s due to the fear of being judged in line with racialised criminality stereotypes [i.e., race-based stereotype threat; RB-ST]. The findings suggest that RM people experience higher levels of RB-ST during police-initiated encounters, and there was mixed support that this translates to greater self-reported anxiety relative to White people. Evidence that RM people might experience greater physiological arousal and cognitive load or engage in more self-regulatory efforts than White people was limited, and evidence to suggest they demonstrate more suspicious-appearing behaviours than White people was mixed. However, for RM but not White people, anxiety, self-regulatory efforts, and suspicious-appearing behaviour were related to experiences of RB-ST, suggesting potential racial differences underlying experiences of police-initiated encounters. Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed, and directions for future research are outlined.

Chapter two is a qualitative research study using in-depth interviews to explore whether RB-ST, shown to shape Black men’s experiences of police-initiated encounters in the United States, applied to Black men living in the United Kingdom. The mechanisms underpinning experiences of police-related RB-ST were also explored. Eight participant interviews were subjected to reflexive thematic analysis. Interpretation of the data found an awareness of Black criminality stereotypes elicited RB-ST during police-initiated encounters. For most Black men, this led to anxious cognitions, a range of negative affective states, and self-regulatory strategies, which were perceived to mitigate suspicious-appearing behaviours. For fewer Black men, police-related RB-ST was characterised by anxiety-related cognitions leading to increased cognitive load, negative affective states resulting in greater physiological arousal, and self-regulatory efforts, which together were perceived to manifest in suspicious-appearing behaviour. Greater exposure to racism, racial socialisation strategies, and cumulative experiences of police-initiated encounters appeared to reduce the intensity of RB-ST and enhanced perceived coping. Tentative evidence to suggest police-related RB-ST impacts on long-term emotional well-being was also found. The theoretical and clinical practice implications are identified, and future research directions are suggested.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Cassandra Afiya Simms-Sawyers: orcid.org/0009-0001-4570-3370

ORCID for Nick Maguire: orcid.org/0000-0003-4295-8068

ORCID for Alison Bennetts: orcid.org/0000-0003-2461-7868

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