Study gauges police-related stress among gay and bisexual men

A study among a national cohort of gay and bisexual mean reveals extreme police-related stress in men of color and low‐income men, compared to their white and higher-income counterparts.

For the study, published in the American Journal of Community Psychology, CUNY SPH doctoral candidates Erinn Bacchus and Alexa D'Angelo, along with Professor Christian Grov, used data collected as part of the Together 5000 study, a U.S. national, internet‐based cohort study of men, trans men and trans women who have sex with men.

As part of the cohort study, participants received annual internet‐based surveys. On their 36‐month assessments, which began in fall 2020 and ran through spring 2021, the researchers included measures on experiences regarding police‐related stress. In total, 4,236 gay and bisexual men completed the assessment and were included in the final sample.

The results show that the odds of reporting extreme police‐related stress were 2.7 times higher for Black individuals than for their white counterparts. Odds were also significantly greater for those who have experienced race‐based or identity‐based discrimination.

"People of color and sexual minorities have been historically over‐policed and targeted based on their race/ethnicity and identity," says Bacchus. "Police‐related stress should be considered for its potential deleterious effect on HIV vulnerability and reporting violent crime—such as intimate partner violence and hate crimes—to police."