Depression and Political Alienation

• In Event: Health and Political Behavior

Abstract

A growing body of research finds that depression reduces electoral participation around the world (Ojeda 2015; Landwehr and Ojeda 2019), but little research has examined how depression transforms the way citizens think about politics. In this paper, we argue that the experience of depressive symptoms, which is characterized by feelings of hopelessness and a negative thought spiral, has anti-democratic consequences by causing suffering citizens to be skeptical of the promise and practice of democracy. Analyzing data from the European Social Survey and the German GESIS Panel, we present evidence that citizens are less efficacious, less trusting, less likely to think their country practices democracy, and less certain of the importance of democratic institutions when suffering from depressive symptoms. In other words, citizens with depression are less likely than their healthy counterparts to see politicians as responsive to their needs and desires, to believe that government institutions work for the interest of everyone, and to think that democratic practices are or should be widespread within their country. Depression is thus one avenue through which citizens become politically alienated. These findings are especially troubling given the increasing prevalence of depression as well as its distribution across gender and socioeconomic groups. We conclude by encouraging scholars of politics to more seriously consider the important role of depression in shaping political behavior.

Authors

• Claudia Landwehr, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

• Christopher Ojeda, University of California, Merced