Date of Conferral
2023
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Jerrod Brown
Abstract
AbstractFor many years, African American mothers have endured negative experiences with law enforcement (LE) involving themselves, their children, or both. These personal experiences with LE contribute to the lack of trust African American mothers have in LE. The purpose of this study was to explore African American mothers’ perceptions of LE in terms of trust. Social conflict theory was used as the conceptual framework for this study. Eight African American mothers residing in the United States were recruited by means of snowball sampling to participate in semistructured interviews. The resulting interview transcripts were coded via the six-steps method, and the data were analyzed using the in-full method. From the analysis of the data, three main themes and nine subthemes emerged. The three main themes were contact with LE, perception of LE as it relates to trust, and hopelessness. The findings revealed the need to hold LE accountable for transgressions and crimes, give culturally appropriate training to LE, and increase benevolent policing in neighborhoods to increase rapport between LE and African American communities. This study can result in positive social change by contributing to the decrease in number of violent encounters and deaths associated with African Americans and LE.
Recommended Citation
Wilkes, Caisha, "African American Mothers’ Perceptions of Trust of Law Enforcement" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14609.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14609
