“The Talk” and Its Impact on Childhood Stress: Study

Children who are not given “the talk,” a conversation had in Black families centered on staying safe during encounters with police, are shown to have twice the amount of severe anticipatory stress of direct or vicarious police brutality when compared to their peers who did receive the same guidance, according to an analysis of a Baltimore City survey. The study, “The Role of ‘The Talk’ and its Themes in Black Youths’ Anticipatory Stress of Police Brutality,” published in the January 2024 Pediatrics, found about 95% of families who reported having “the talk” with their children focused on telling children to stay quiet and obey orders given by the police. Authors studied data from the Survey of Police-Adolescent Contact Experiences - a sample survey of Baltimore City Black youth aged 12-21 from August 2022 to July 2023. They found that over 50% of parents also told their children to record the officer on their phones. The survey, while asking about if or how children had “the talk,” also asked respondents to rank how much they worry about themselves or a loved one becoming a victim of police brutality. Despite the overall drop in anticipatory stress for those who had “the talk,” authors found that stress increased substantially when the topic of recording the officer was included. Authors say that “the talk” helps protect children from negative mental health repercussions associated with adverse police encounters but more needs done to understand and combat the broader implications as to why Black families need “the talk.” They say the study could further be expanded to include more cities, real life observations of “the talk” and caregiver perspectives. 

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.