Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: Police use of force is a problem that in recent years has come back into public spotlight. The Department of Justice estimates that non-fatal police use of force incidents affect more than 700,000 people annually and disproportionately targets people of color, placing them at higher risk for repeated exposure and injury. However, little is known about the psychological outcomes of experiencing police use of force. Whereas some research has explored emotional and behavioral consequences surrounding direct exposure to police use of force, much of the literature has used qualitative methodology with small sample sizes, sacrificing generalizability. One barrier to conducting reliable and generalizable research is that no psychometrically supported measure exists. Using pilot data, the Police Exposure and Impact Scale (PEIS) was developed with exploratory factor analysis method. The current study tested global data fit in a new sample using confirmatory factor analysis and assessed psychometric properties of the scale. Results indicate that the current data did not show good fit to the model (χ2= 409.44, df = 151, p < .001) and that construct validity was not robust. However, an exploratory factor analysis using the new sample revealed a similar two-factor model to the pilot study. Further research is needed to continue the development of the PEIS and assess its association with psychological outcome variables.
Author: Weisman, Pamela M.
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7018580417