The Effects Of Hate

Evidence Of Potential Outcomes Or Longer-Term Effects

Experiencing incidents of hate can cause trauma. The impact of trauma can also manifest in various forms of behavior and mood changes.

Some incidents in the CAH database note that the impacted individual experiences a change in behavior and/or participation, a deterioration of their emotional and/or physical health, and a change in their performance at work or school. The database shows changes in behavior because the hate incidents tend to cluster around several courses of action including increasing security (purchasing security cameras, fences, extra locks, or motion-sensor light) around respondents’ homes, preventing children from playing outside, being more aware or fearful of one’s surroundings when out on the street, changing one’s actions while outside, or relocating. In the Hate Incidence Poll, 15 percent confirmed that some experience a desire to change behavior to prevent future incidents. An example of this behavior appears in the CAH database. A report to the CAH database reads that a woman who owns a salon received repeated threatening, racist letters as well as vandalism to her business. She reinforced the security of the premises, stating “Those locks are on that door because I’m scared. I am. I don’t know what is going to happen next.” Additionally, some parents in the CAH database whose homes have been impacted prevent their children from playing outside. An individual reported that their neighbor repeatedly threatened them with a pellet gun or hurled racist slurs. The parents grew afraid of what the neighbor might do and said, “They were afraid to allow their sons to play in the yard, and [the father] felt helpless to protect them.”