The role of social identity and procedural fairness in shaping the impact of police interactions on mental health: a justice-identification model.

Abstract

Research suggests a link between people's engagement with the police and their mental health, but little is known about how police activities affect the mental health of those they interact with. This paper develops a new theoretical model, the justice-identification model (JIM), to explain the social psychological dynamics underlying this relationship. The JIM integrates two unconnected frameworks - the social identity approach to health (SIAH) and procedural justice theory (PJT). It proposes that police contact negatively impacts mental health when it is associated with procedural injustice and exclusion but enhances health when it signals procedural justice and inclusion. Situating police-citizen interactions within an environment of inequality, we highlight how procedural fairness shapes the exercise of power by police officers. Social identity and experiences of procedural justice are framed as either stressors or sources of positive psychological connection. This analysis is instantiated in seven hypotheses that are broadly supported by existing empirical evidence. The JIM identifies three pathways linking exposure to policing and mental health through procedural justice and social identification. The paper explores the practical and theoretical implications of this model for mitigating negative mental health effects of police interactions and discusses strategies and priorities for both theory and practice.