Neighborhood racial context and perceptions of police-based discrimination among black youth
Neighborhood racial context and perceptions of police-based discrimination among black youth
Article Type: Perspectives on policing From: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, Volume 33, Issue 1
E. Stewart, E. Baumer, R. Brunson et al. CriminologyVol. 47 No. 32009pp. 847-87
Stewart et al. (2009) expanded research on procedural justice and discrimination. Specifically, they examined perceptions of racial discrimination amongst black youth in Georgia and Iowa. In this study the authors explored community and individual factors that may impact feelings of discrimination amongst minority youths.
This study used two waves of data from the Family and Community Health Study. The Family and Community Health Study collected data on the development of black children in variety of family types. According to Stewart et al. (2009)the survey interviewed 763 respondents for waves 2 and 3. The authors used multilevel modeling as their principle analytical technique. Their dependent variable was a self-reported perception of racial discrimination. This variable was coded as a dummy variable. Explanatory variables were divided into two groups: individual-level variables and neighborhood-level variables. The following variables were used at the individual level: Family socio-economic status, single caregiver, gender, personal prior police discrimination, parental prior police discrimination, violent delinquency, school suspension, prior arrest, adherence to street code values, region, and urban environment. The following variables were used at the neighborhood level: percent white, black growth, neighborhood violence rate, and neighborhood affluence.
Stewart et al.’s (2009) full model found that males were more likely to report discrimination. The authors also found that those that had previously experienced discrimination and those whose parents had previously experienced discrimination were more likely to report discrimination. Finally,those that had a prior arrest, school suspension, adhered to street code values and lived in an urban environment were more likely to report discrimination. Respondents that lived in areas with higher violent crime rates and those that lived in more affluent neighborhoods were more likely to report discrimination. Finally, the authors found that respondents living in areas with a high percentage of white residents and were experiencing a great deal of black growth were more likely to report discrimination.
Daniel LytleUniversity of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
