Researchers study how police interactions affect the mental health of young Black men in Milwaukee | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

A new Milwaukee study investigates how interactions with police officers affect the mental health of young Black men. (NNS file photo by Edgar Mendez)  A new research project in Milwaukee is diving deep into how police interactions affect the mental health of young Black men. Dr. Katherine Quinn and Dr. Sara Kohlbeck, both from the Medical College of Wisconsin, are leading the study. They hope their findings will spark change in how communities and police interact. “This is an understudied area,” says Dr. Katherine Quinn, an associate professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “We’re trying to understand what’s happening so we can use the data to inform changes in mental health care, policing practices and social justice systems.”(Photo provided by Medical College of Wisconsin) The research, which began in October, is still in its early stages. Quinn, an associate professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said the study uses two approaches. First, researchers are conducting interviews with young Black men who have experienced police violence. These interviews explore their mental health challenges and personal stories. Second, they plan to survey 200 young Black men to gather more data and better understand how police interactions affect mental health. Kohlbeck,...