2 - (SYM 11) A Qualitative Exploration of Concerns Experienced by Black Individuals When Considering Emergency Psychiatric Services

One in four fatal police encounters involve a person with SMI (Fuller, Lamb, Biasotti, & Snook, 2015) and police are 3 times more likely to use force on Black individuals than any other race. (Fryer, 2019; Edwards, Lee, & Esposito, 2019). Together, these data points inform the hesitancy that can be experienced by Black individuals in seeking police assistance when a loved one experiences a serious mental health crisis. Using mixed methods, we collected data on 233 Black adults across the United States to explore their perceptions around the utilization of police assistance in psychiatric emergency situations to better understand the source of this hesitancy and to identify culturally congruent ways of decreasing discomfort. Regression analyses supported the hypothesis that more favorable perceptions of police were related to a higher likelihood of seeking police assistance. Contrary to hypotheses, however, higher mental illness stigma was also related to greater help-seeking. Content analyses revealed that 50% of participants endorsed hesitation (n = 117, 50.2%) in seeking police assistance for help transporting a loved one to a mental health facility. The most common reasons include concerns that that police might physically hurt, aggress, injure, or kill their loved one (n = 33). Seventy-two (31%) denied anticipating hesitation. Among the alternatives to police assistance, participants suggested involving a health and/or mental health professionals (n = 43) or involving trusted others (n = 21) in emergency situations. Regarding advice-giving to others, one-hundred and eighty participants (77%) reported that they would recommend professional help (n = 115) if their friend’s son were experiencing hearing voices and/or having thoughts of suicide. Participants were also asked to share additional thoughts not already captured. Of those that did (60%), most described the desire that police should treat all equally (n = 47). These findings suggest that despite the mistrust that has developed following news of police brutality (e.g., deaths of Black men with psychosis), steps can be taken towards improving comfort with and likelihood that people will seek emergency psychiatric services for their loved ones when necessary. Efforts towards this will be best informed by continuing to seek input from primary stakeholders (i.e., Black Americans) during the development of emergency response models.