Bearing Witness to Police Brutality Affects Psychological and Cardiovascular Responses in Black Americans and White Americans

Bearing Witness to Police Brutality Affects Psychological and Cardiovascular Responses in Black Americans and White Americans

Police brutality--United States--Psychological Aspects

J. M. Gallegos, Z. E. Ferguson, K. A. McLaughlin, T. L. Dover, C. R. Kaiser

Psychology of Violence

Vol. 15

No. 5

2025

American Psychological Association

Journal article

English

2152081X

United States

Restricted Access

Objective: Images of police violence targeting Black Americans is widely broadcasted in the media. Drawing upon theoretical and historical perspectives on vicarious trauma and social identity, we assess whether exposure to images of racialized police violence affects Black and White Americans’ cardiovascular reactivity and concerns about being victimized by police brutality. Method: Black (N = 77) and White (N = 89) Americans were exposed to view either five images of police violence targeting Black Americans or five control images depicting car-accident-related harm affecting Black Americans. Participants prepared and delivered a speech about the depictions and answered self-reported measures while their cardiovascular activity was recorded. Results: Significant Condition × Timepoint interactions demonstrated that exposure to police brutality images (as compared to control images) increased sympathetic reactivity on the preejection period and heart rate during the speech delivery and heart rate during speech preparation. A significant Condition × Participant Race interaction indicated that exposure to police brutality images (as compared to control images) increased parasympathetic withdrawal (reduced respiratory sinus arrhythmia) among Black (but not White) participants. A significant Condition × Participant Race interaction revealed that police brutality images (as compared to control images) increased Black (but not White) participants’ concerns about personally being victimized by police brutality. Conclusions: Images of police violence activate stress responses for Black and White Americans, with potential disproportionate effects for Black Americans. Implications include well-being following exposure to vicarious racial trauma and consideration for how and when to share such images. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Haley Lesemann