Gen Z and the Mental Health Correlates of Political Engagement in Hard Times

• In Event: Young Voters

Abstract

In recent research, we (Perlis et al 2021) and others (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm) find evidence that Covid-19, along with an extended period of political turbulence, has exacerbated already elevated levels of stress, anxiety, alienation, and depression among a generation of young Americans (Generation Z). One recent report suggests an association between such symptoms and decreased propensity to vote (Landwehr and Ojeda 2021). However, depression and anxiety are heterogeneous categories (https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(20)30046-9/fulltext; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21929846/) such that their relationship with activity may depend on the nature of depressive symptoms. In a societal context, when faced with depression and anxiety -- factors associated with low external efficacy -- some individuals may respond by withdrawing from social and political engagement, while others respond in the opposing manner, by embracing such engagement as an opportunity to restore their sense of efficacy. In the latter case, such engagement may take the form of civic and political engagement (i.e., through protest, organizing, discussion, voting). Alternatively, it may take the form of less productive means of engagement, like joining alt-right and neo-fascist groups The extraordinary challenges facing young adults today afford us an opportunity to explore the correlates of withdrawal vs. involvementengagement, as well as these two quite different forms of engagement. We explore the social, political, health, and demographic factors contributing to these different outcomes among younger Americans through a unique multi-wave panel survey involving over 2,000 young Americans (age 18-24) in November and December of 2020, and January and February of 2021. (These data were/will be collected as part of The COVID States Project). This allows us to explore the responses of different groups of young Americans to major events surrounding the 2020 election campaign, the post-election legal challenges and controversies, and the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. We predict, first, that the association between depression and activity is moderated by gender, degree of social support, socioeconomic status, and extent of education. Specifically, we posit that weaker social ties, lower SES, and less education will be more likely to be associated with withdrawal or negative engagement and stronger social ties, higher SES, and greater education associated with more positive engagement. Second, we hypothesize that specific depressive symptoms are associated with differential activity - that is, presence of amotivation, fatigue, and impaired concentration are associated with greater withdrawal, while anxiety and sleep disruption (via disinhibition) are associated with increased positive engagement.

Authors

• Matthew A. Baum, Harvard University

• Roy Perlis, Harvard Medical School

• Mauricio Santillana

• Jon Green, Northeastern University

• Jennifer Lin, Northwestern University

• Matthew D. Simonson, University of Pennsylvania

• James N. Druckman, Northwestern University

• David Lazer, Northeastern University

• Katherine Ognyanova, Rutgers University

• John Della Volpe, Harvard Kennedy School