Exposure to Trauma and Political Behavior

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

People undergo mental distress when they are exposed to multiple traumatic events. For example, individuals indirectly exposed via the media or via personally witnessing events such as the September 11 attacks or the Boston Bombings are psychologically impacted.

The impact of witnessing negative interactions with the police on political attitudes and behavior has not been studied adequately. The PI proposes that the inclusion of such events in political analyses will help to determine if the interaction between trauma and demographic characteristics affect political attitudes and behavior. Furthermore, the PI examines the degree to which living in an urban area versus a rural area conditions the manner in which citizens from different demographic groups respond to trauma.

The PIs uses surveys and focus groups to collect data from hard-to-reach groups in rural and urban areas. By examining these various groups and communities, the research offer greater understanding of how trauma manifest differently in citizens from various groups to influence political behavior. The bulk of the research related to mental health and exposure to traumatic events fails to

distinguish among various demographic groups concerning the effects of cumulative traumas. A typical study employs controls for race and ethnicity by including dummy variables in statistical models. The current literature fails to explore whether the unique predispositions of certain demographic groups exacerbate their emotional response to cumulative traumatic events.

In this study, the PI conceptualizes negative interactions with law enforcement as racially traumatic stressful stimuli (RTSS) and includes RTSS in models to analyze cumulative stress and political behavior. Survey methods and focus groups are used to collect data from hard-to-reach groups such as rural people in minority demographics. In addition to the survey, the PI conducts four community-level case studies that draw on interviews with community historians, communities where truth and reconciliation initiatives were present, interviews with mental health professionals in the area, and focus groups.

Through these various data gathering efforts, the PI examines how the inclusion of RTSS in political analyses will help to determine if the interaction between trauma and demographic characteristics affect political attitudes and behavior.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.